Fraud inquiry begins for Livent's Drabinsky
Canadian theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky is expected in a Toronto courtroom Monday to face nearly 20 fraud-related charges.
Drabinsky's preliminary hearing begins on charges related to "accounting irregularities" involving hundreds of millions of dollars during the years he ran the entertainment company Livent.
Over the next three months, a judge will review evidence in the case and decide whether it should go to trial.
During his reign at Livent, Drabinsky produced hit Broadway musicals such as Ragtime and toured them around the continent.
- INDEPTH: Livent timeline
The plays won a total of 19 Tony Awards, the top honour in American theatre circles.
Drabinsky also meticulously restored historic theatres in New York, Chicago and Toronto.
However, after he relinquished control of Livent in 1998, the company's new owners raised questions about the books.
The RCMP and American authorities launched separate investigations, and the U.S. government indicted Drabinsky for fraud in early 1999.
The case couldn't proceed because the former theatre mogul chose to remain in Canada.
- FROM OCT. 22, 2002: Drabinsky, Gottlieb charged with fraud in Livent case
The RCMP charged Drabinsky and his partner, Myron Gottlieb, with fraud four years later.
"We are alleging that the accused defrauded creditors and private and public investors of approximately one-half of a billion dollars," RCMP Inspector Craig Hannaford said at the time.
Drabinsky has vigorously insisted he is innocent.
"I have committed no wrongdoing," he said. "The final act of this tragedy has yet to be played out. And when it is, Myron Gottlieb and I are certain we will be vindicated."