Posted on 08/05/2010 11:25:05 AM PDT by Utah Binger
He sulked, he squirmed, he dickered over language.
But after months of post-plea stalling and fidgeting, Upper East Side art gallery giant Lawrence Salander was finally sentenced today to serve at least six years behind bars for a massive, decade-long, $120 million fraud scheme.
Salander, 60, was cuffed and carted off to prison in punishment for soaking a roster of 29 wealthy friends and investors, including John McEnroe, Robert De Niro, and some of the East Coast art world's biggest investors and owners.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/art_swindler_lawrence_salander_sentenced_hhs091vVUTu8H3Y3KXF3KN#ixzz0vkzNAnNd
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
“Tough day for a swindler.”
Not that tough, hold up a gas station for $200 and you get more jail time
Thanks for posting. I love hearing about rich libs getting swindled by their ‘friends’ bah!
The scene could have been entitled, “Still Life with a Sobbing Swindler.”
There stood disgraced upper East Side gallery owner Larry Salander - with tears in his eyes - as he was sentenced on Tuesday to at least six years in prison for ripping off $120 million worth in art from Robert De Niro, John McEnroe and other wealthy friends and investors.
And there, staring daggers at Salander from the other side of the courtroom, were 10 of his victims.
“He got off easy,” said a disgusted Ellyn Shander, whose father’s paintings by Picasso, Cezanne and other European masters were pilfered by Salander. “This man broke [our father’s] trust, stole his legacy and broke our hearts.”
“If I’d been robbed at gunpoint or (by) a thief in the night, (it) would have been preferable,” said Earl Davis, the son of renowned American artist Stuart Davis.
Salander stole 90 of Davis paintings - valued at $18 million.
Dressed in a rumpled khaki sports jacket and slacks, the 61-year-old thief had the chutzpah to beg for a lighter prison sentence - even though he hasn’t payed a penny back to his victims.
“I’ve lost my life, my business and my reputation,” he sobbed after apologizing to his victims, his wife, Julie, and three children from a first marriage. “I’m utterly and completely disgraced.”
Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus didn’t fall for the sob story, sending Salander to jail for the maximum time allowed under the plea deal.
Once Salander lived like a prince on a lavish 60-year-old estate in Millbrook, N.Y. His luxurious lifestyle included flying on private jets to his kids’ little league games. All that came crashing down last year when he was hit with a 100-count indictment.
Former clients desperate to get the paintings they’d entrusted Salander with began filing lawsuits and forced his Salander-O’Reilly gallery into bankruptcy.
He pleaded guilty to 29 counts of grand larceny in March.
“Lawrence Salander is a pathologically self absorbed con man who betrayed his friends, partners, investors heirs and living artists,” Assistant District Attorney Kenn Kern told the judge.
This is especially rich for us. Larry tried to scam us out of a Stuart Davis painting back in the nineties. We were having Earl Davis authenticate it for us. Had a very hard time getting it back.
But we did.
“hold up a gas station for $200 and you get more jail time”
For THAT, you get 45,000 years in Supermax/s
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.