Posted on 11/03/2021 4:31:19 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Irvin Mayfield, the jazz trumpet player who became a symbol of New Orleans resilience after Hurricane Katrina, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday for steering charity money meant for public libraries to his personal use.
Mayfield's musical and business partner, pianist Ronald Markham, was also sentenced to 18 months Wednesday in federal court. Both pleaded guilty last November to a single charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Prosecutors alleged they steered more than $1.3 million from the New Orleans Public Library Foundation to themselves, largely by funneling it through the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, which Mayfield founded.
Attorneys for the foundation, while not speaking on what kind of sentence Mayfield and Markham should get, said the damage done went beyond the $1.3 million. The scandal, they said, also seriously damaged the foundation's reputation and fund-raising ability.
Prosecutors said that in addition to orchestra operating expenses and salaries for Mayfield and Markham, library foundation money went into Mayfield's personal bank accounts and toward the purchase of a gold-plated trumpet.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Interesting. I wonder who made the trumpet for him. I used to play many moons ago, I was gonna be a professional musician, just didn’t have the drive and determination needed. The best manufacturers I knew of at the time were Bach, Selmer, Yamaha, and a small company in Chicago by the name of Schilke.
I’m sure there are more fine handcrafted instruments made today.
I should have said this, too- I hate too see a musician do stupid things like this.
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