Vail philanthropist found guilty of fraud
Rocky Staff and Wire Reports
Published November 19, 2008 at 10:34 a.m.
Updated November 19, 2008 at 10:34 a.m.
Photo by Adam Rountree, Bloomberg News
Alberto Vilar gave millions to the Vail Valley arts community.
A Manhattan jury has convicted philanthropist Alberto Vilar after prosecutors accused the investment adviser of swindling investors out of millions of dollars.
Federal prosecutors accused Vilar and a business partner of falsely telling investors their money would be safely invested. The government alleged that the men actually poured millions of dollars into risky technology stocks before the stocks crashed.
The mother of actress Phoebe Cates testified that $5 million of her money was mishandled by Vilar and a co-defendant.
Defense attorneys insisted that Vilar was innocent and that he never intended to mislead anyone.
The charges included conspiracy to commit securities, mail, wire and investment fraud.
Vilar visited Beaver Creek for the first time in the late 1980s and went on to pour more than $10 million into the Vail Valley, helping to finance the peforming arts center in Beaver Creek that bears his name and remodel the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail. The opera lover was able to keep most but not all of his promises in the area.
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November 19, 2008
11:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
wyhammertime writes:
And I bet they let him walk away from all of this and in a few day's he will be labeled a hero so sad that people prey on others for personal gain !!!
November 19, 2008
4:27 p.m.
Suggest removal
roger44 writes:
One born every day they say, there will be more out there for him if he gets any jail time.