Founders of Broadway producer : Livent lose appeal

Toronto - Ontario Court of Justice upheld the fraud convictions of two Canadian theatrical impresario behind the 1990 Broadway hits, "Show Boat" and "Ragtime", but has reduced its sentences.In decision was announced Tuesday morning rejected the Ontario Court of Appeal request for a new trial of Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, founders of the now-defunct theater production company LIVENTA Inc. 

But the court reduced the sentence of five years from the date of Drabinsky and Gottlieb have seven years from six to four. In March 2009, two men convicted of fraud and forgery. Forgery conviction was later stayed.The appeals court said that the lower court should have considered the fact that there was no evidence of actual economic losses due to fraud. 

Prosecutors claimed that the couple were targeted LIVENTA accountants to falsify financial statements to artificially increase revenue and attract investment.The lower court found that Drabinsky and Gottlieb had also developed a plan for book bills, arguing the company assets.On blow appeals lawyer Edward Greenspan, the former employees , which recognized against Drabinsky and Gottlieb were reliable, and that government lawyers have not shown any of them knew about the fraud. 

LIVENTA, which went public in 1993, was a force of more than a dozen major productions in New York and Toronto, including the success of the Broadway revival of the musical "Showboat." LIVENTA show has won a total of 14 Tony Awards. 

The company went bankrupt in 1998 after allegations of fraud came to the verdict light.With Drabinsky and Gottlieb have almost run out of ways to escape jail time. The decisions from the Ontario Supreme Court can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but it is not willing to discuss the matter.