The six most outrageous quotes from Garth Drabinsky’s day parole hearing
Garth Drabinsky must be a very well-behaved inmate, because the Livent co-founder and convicted fraudster was granted day parole last week after serving just over a year of his five-year sentence. Beginning November 11, Drabinsky can resume his life in the wide world, although he must live at a Toronto halfway house and is barred from owning a company or managing other people’s money. Drabinsky told the board he plans to keep a low profile, producing for film and stage and—bizarrely—lecturing at a business school. Given Drabinsky’s penchant for the spotlight, though, we’re dubious as to whether he’ll really remain under the radar. And speaking of his love of the limelight, we poured over the tearful testimony from his parole hearing and found a handful of excerpts—plus a gem from a Globe and Mail article—that suggest the theatre impresario hasn’t lost his flair for the dramatic.
• On losing his appetite in prison: “When I looked at myself in the mirror in the library, I didn’t recognize myself.…I looked like I had been on a ship coming from overseas on the worst voyage.”
• On an epiphany he had while incarcerated: “Forget about building any empires anymore. I’ve done that.”
• On how the fraud was his fault—but also not his fault: “I never directed anyone to cross over the line knowingly. I obviously did do that by the dynamic of my character—the force of my character coupled with my role in the organization.”
• On the month he spent in maximum security: “The isolation, the trauma I experienced…I hadn’t experienced anything like that since I was three years old when I was moved to isolation and quarantine when I first had polio. It affected me beyond description.”
• On a realization he made after costing investors an estimated $500 million: ”I should never have been CEO of the company….That was a mistake.”
• The Globe and Mail, on Drabinsky’s theatrics during the parole hearing: “He was in tears several times during the parole hearing, and talked at length in response to questions. Board member Carol Fletcher-Dagenais several times asked him to answer directly, to stop offering irrelevant details, and to refrain from unnecessarily mentioning names of prominent people he knows.”
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Garth Drabinsky must be a very well-behaved inmate, because the Livent co-founder and convicted fraudster was granted day parole last week after serving just over a year of his five-year sentence. Beginning November 11, Drabinsky can resume his life in the wide world, although he must live at a Toronto halfway house and is barred from owning a company or managing other people’s money. Drabinsky told the board he plans to keep a low profile, producing for film and stage and—bizarrely—lecturing at a business school. Given Drabinsky’s penchant for the spotlight, though, we’re dubious as to whether he’ll really remain under the radar. And speaking of his love of the limelight, we poured over the tearful testimony from his parole hearing and found a handful of excerpts—plus a gem from a Globe and Mail article—that suggest the theatre impresario hasn’t lost his flair for the dramatic.
• On losing his appetite in prison: “When I looked at myself in the mirror in the library, I didn’t recognize myself.…I looked like I had been on a ship coming from overseas on the worst voyage.”
• On an epiphany he had while incarcerated: “Forget about building any empires anymore. I’ve done that.”
• On how the fraud was his fault—but also not his fault: “I never directed anyone to cross over the line knowingly. I obviously did do that by the dynamic of my character—the force of my character coupled with my role in the organization.”
• On the month he spent in maximum security: “The isolation, the trauma I experienced...I hadn’t experienced anything like that since I was three years old when I was moved to isolation and quarantine when I first had polio. It affected me beyond description.”
• On a realization he made after costing investors an estimated $500 million: ”I should never have been CEO of the company....That was a mistake.”
• The Globe and Mail, on Drabinsky’s theatrics during the parole hearing: “He was in tears several times during the parole hearing, and talked at length in response to questions. Board member Carol Fletcher-Dagenais several times asked him to answer directly, to stop offering irrelevant details, and to refrain from unnecessarily mentioning names of prominent people he knows.”
• Theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky's apology stops short of confession to fraud [Globe and Mail]
• Garth Drabinsky granted day parole [Canadian Press]
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Its always all about him, isnt it!
once a crook always a crook…..lock up your daughters and bank account…he’s out on the loose.
the guy is a really nice guy. i was in prison with him at beaver creek and no its not always about him. he is a very respectful and caring man who was more then willing to help anyone. so if you dont know him on a personal level and only read media then shut the fuck up!
Your language shows how much you mingle with the real world. We, the general public, only know him, & his former colleague know him, as always about him.
I did time with him at the Creek.
He acted with the same sense of entitlement he always had often going to the Warden’s office on the pretense of getting newspapers for the library and then spending hours just shooting the shyte and name dropping for those bumpkins to take in.
He must have his parole officer in his pocket as he said he would be able to do that and it looks like he has as he has a condition against managing money yet somehow manages his family’s trust filled with stolen money. I guess it matters who you know. As long as he doesn’t defraud a parole board member while on parole this p.o.s. should be fine.
You are full of it and a shill. I wish I found this article when you made that post as I would have called b.s. on it.
What was your range? Name me anyone that works in Canteen?
What about the time Drabinsky was walking around with stolen headphones that he knew were not his? The guy just “assumed” he was entitled to something that was wrongly given to him and did not even try to find the real owner. This “really nice guy” was always close to getting a boot-f_cking and if you were there you know it. The only thing that stopped it regarding the headphones was how pathetic and weak his scrawny leg made him look and the intervention of a particular lifer.
I hope he commits another fraud while on parole just to read what his shills post about that.