Alberto Vilar

Alberto Vilar, billionaire opera donor and new board member of Los Angeles Opera, announced at a Beverly Hills press conference Tuesday a gift of $24 million to the classical music world. L.A. Opera will receive $10 million of that sum--the company's largest single donation in its 15-year history. The Kirov Opera and Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, will receive $14 million. Vilar's L.A.

Arts patron gets 9 years Former international arts patron Alberto Vilar was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for stealing from investors at his Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan announced the sentence at a hearing in Manhattan federal court, where Vilar, 69, was convicted in 2008 of all 12 criminal counts against him, including fraud and conspiracy. Vilar also was ordered to pay $21.9 million in restitution. Prosecutors said Vilar and his former Amerindo partner, Gary Tanaka, stole from clients to keep the firm afloat and to fund Vilar's philanthropic pledges and lifestyle after Internet and technology stocks plunged beginning in 2000.

Alberto Vilar, the multimillionaire New York money manager and benefactor to the world's leading opera and ballet centers, was arrested late Thursday and charged by U.S. authorities with stealing $5 million in client funds, which he allegedly used to pay bills and continue his philanthropy. The financier, who reported a net worth of $950 million in December, according to prosecutors, is accused of using an investor's funds to make donations to Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.

Alberto Vilar, convicted of fraud and conspiracy last month for stealing as much as $20 million from clients of his San Francisco-based investment firm, has been ordered to remain in jail while he awaits sentencing. Vilar, 68, hailed until a few years ago as an international arts patron, was convicted Nov. 19 and had been free pending his March 20 sentencing date. But prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk, and on Thursday a New York judge agreed. Vilar's attorney said he would appeal the decision.

Over English breakfast tea at the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, billionaire arts philanthropist Alberto Vilar announces his engagement to be married--sort of. "There she is, Karen Painter," the 61-year-old divorce says proudly, his eyes lighting up as Painter, a Harvard musicology professor who recently conducted a music symposium at the 2002 Ojai Music Festival, approaches the table near the end of a Saturday morning meeting with Vilar. "She's my fiancee."

The recent woes of billionaire opera philanthropist and money manager Alberto Vilar, released from a New York jail on bail June 20 after languishing there for nearly a month, have had New York and London buzzing. But Los Angeles is surprisingly quiet. You'd expect to hear something from Los Angeles Opera, the recipient of a $12-million Vilar pledge that fell through.

Philanthropist and technology investor Alberto Vilar and co-defendant Gary Tanaka pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday to new charges that they defrauded wealthy investors of millions. Vilar and Tanaka, co-founders of Amerindo Advisors, were expected to go on trial in April on previously filed charges.

Re "Donor Vilar Owes $500,000 to L.A. Opera for 'Lohengrin,' " by Diane Haithman, Sept. 21: Alberto Vilar has done more to support the musical arts in the United States than all the greedy CEOs of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia etc. combined. If his ability to continue his largess is now curtailed because of business reverses and our weak economy, perhaps we should focus on thanking him for his past generosity instead of berating him for his current inability to contribute to the extent that he has in the past.

A Manhattan judge has ordered electronic monitoring of opera-loving philanthropist Alberto Vilar after his conviction on fraud charges. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sullivan ordered the monitoring after a probation officer said Wednesday that Vilar sometimes didn't answer the phone at home. Sullivan also set a March 20 sentencing date. Vilar, 68, and a co-defendant, Gary Alan Tanaka, were convicted last week of conspiring to commit various frauds. Until a few years ago, the Cuban American Vilar had been hailed as an international arts patron, making multimillion-dollar pledges to Los Angeles Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London and other companies.

Alberto Vilar, convicted of fraud and conspiracy last month for stealing as much as $20 million from clients of his San Francisco-based investment firm, has been ordered to remain in jail while he awaits sentencing. Vilar, 68, hailed until a few years ago as an international arts patron, was convicted Nov. 19 and had been free pending his March 20 sentencing date. But prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk, and on Thursday a New York judge agreed. Vilar's attorney said he would appeal the decision.

A Manhattan judge has ordered electronic monitoring of opera-loving philanthropist Alberto Vilar after his conviction on fraud charges. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sullivan ordered the monitoring after a probation officer said Wednesday that Vilar sometimes didn't answer the phone at home. Sullivan also set a March 20 sentencing date. Vilar, 68, and a co-defendant, Gary Alan Tanaka, were convicted last week of conspiring to commit various frauds. Until a few years ago, the Cuban American Vilar had been hailed as an international arts patron, making multimillion-dollar pledges to Los Angeles Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London and other companies.

Philanthropist and technology investor Alberto Vilar and co-defendant Gary Tanaka pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday to new charges that they defrauded wealthy investors of millions. Vilar and Tanaka, co-founders of Amerindo Advisors, were expected to go on trial in April on previously filed charges.

London's Royal Opera House said it has removed the name of troubled philanthropist Alberto Vilar from the building's spectacular atrium after he failed to honor a multimillion-dollar pledge. The decision follows a breakdown in the relationship between Britain's premier opera company and the Cuban-born financier, who was arrested in New York in May on charges of business fraud. Vilar, 64, has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Alberto Vilar, a once-highflying philanthropist and technology investor, was indicted Tuesday on new charges related to alleged cheating of clients. A grand jury in New York charged Vilar, 64, with 10 counts, including new charges of conspiracy to commit fraud as well as a count of wire fraud, in an indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan.

The recent woes of billionaire opera philanthropist and money manager Alberto Vilar, released from a New York jail on bail June 20 after languishing there for nearly a month, have had New York and London buzzing. But Los Angeles is surprisingly quiet. You'd expect to hear something from Los Angeles Opera, the recipient of a $12-million Vilar pledge that fell through.

Philanthropist and money manager Alberto Vilar, facing charges of misappropriating $5 million from a longtime friend and client, was released from a New York jail late Monday. Three people, including Kirov Opera conductor Valery Gergiev, raised a total of $1.6 million in cash to help free Vilar, according to the New York Post. Vilar, 64, had been in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan since late May after he could not secure a $10-million bail bond.

I was not surprised to read that Los Angeles Opera's anticipated imported production of "War and Peace" was a "casualty of donor discord" ("L.A. Opera's 'War and Peace' Casualty of Donor Discord," by Diane Haithman, Aug. 23). However, I was rather astonished at the veiled tone of the article, with its implications that the blame somehow lies with "Los Angeles Opera's chief benefactor, Alberto Vilar," and its departed executive director, Ian White-Thompson, instead of our Teflon-coated artistic director, Placido Domingo, whose ambitions appear to be expanding at a greater pace than our funding to support them.

London's Royal Opera House said it has removed the name of troubled philanthropist Alberto Vilar from the building's spectacular atrium after he failed to honor a multimillion-dollar pledge. The decision follows a breakdown in the relationship between Britain's premier opera company and the Cuban-born financier, who was arrested in New York in May on charges of business fraud. Vilar, 64, has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Arts patron and technology investor Alberto Vilar pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he misappropriated $5 million from a longtime friend and client, Vilar's lawyer said. Vilar, who has been jailed in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his May 26 arrest, appeared at the hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Arts patron and investor Alberto Vilar was indicted Thursday by a grand jury after U.S. prosecutors charged Vilar two weeks ago with stealing $5 million from a longtime client and friend. The grand jury charged Vilar with eight counts of fraud and money laundering in an indictment that was the same as a complaint filed two weeks ago in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Vilar, whose early calls on technology stocks such as Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc.