Indicted Lawyer Keeps Job Representing Striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Attorney Leonard Leibowitz, indicted on federal charges in New York for allegedly embezzling $150,000 from a defunct union, will keep representing the striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians.
Leibowitz, 72, will continue working on the labor negotiations front of the dispute between management and DSO musicians, who went on strike in October. Greg Bowens, a DSO spokesman for the musicians, called the embattled lawyer “a valuable member of the negotiating committee,” the Detroit Free Press reported.
The longtime attorney is accused of using his position at the Independent Artists of America Union, which represented American Ballet Theatre dancers and stagehands, to write himself checks and to help ready reports that had forged signatures, the paper says. Leibowitz’s lawyer said the checks, written between 1997 and 2005, were union-approved loans.
A Department of Justice press release (PDF) outlines Leibowitz’s alleged mishandling of union funds in more detail. According to the release, Leibowitz told union officials he needed the loans in part for his children’s private schools and to pay back money he owed the government. Leibowitz also conceded that by 2000, he knew he borrowed more than he could return.
Leibowitz pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court Monday. His trial is set for Oct. 3.
Related coverage:
Detroit Free Press: “DSO musicians go on strike”
