New Orleans trumpeter gets 18 months over charity fraud

NEW ORLEANS – Irvin Mayfield, the jazz trumpet subordinate who became a awesome of New Orleans resilience aft Hurricane Katrina, was sentenced to 18 months successful situation Wednesday for steering foundation wealth meant for nationalist libraries to his idiosyncratic use.

Mayfield's philharmonic and concern partner, pianist Ronald Markham, besides faced sentencing Wednesday successful national court. Both pleaded blameworthy past November to a azygous complaint of conspiracy to perpetrate fraud.

Prosecutors alleged they steered much than $1.3 cardinal from the New Orleans Public Library Foundation to themselves, mostly by funneling it done the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, which Mayfield founded.

Mayfield, allowed to talk earlier helium was sentenced, apologized to the room foundation, its donors and the New Orleans community. He acknowledged the room arsenic a spot wherever helium archetypal was capable to perceive to jazz records arsenic a child. That brought 1 of respective interruptions from U.S District Judge Jay Zainey.

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“The precise room that got you your commencement … you ripped off,” Zainey said. At 1 point, Zainey told Mayfield to crook and code the courtroom, wherever Mayfield’s supporters and supporters of the room strategy sat. “I anticipation you judge my apology. I judge 100% responsibility,” Mayfield told the audience.

Attorneys for the foundation, portion not speaking connected what benignant of condemnation Mayfield and Markham should get, said the harm done went beyond the $1.3 million. The scandal, they said, besides earnestly damaged the foundation's estimation and fund-raising ability.

Supporters of Mayfield included erstwhile New Orleans constabulary main Eddie Compass. Compass urged that Mayfield beryllium spared situation clip truthful helium tin proceed to attraction for his disabled parent and an autistic older brother. “He inactive fixes his brother’s nutrient similar helium did erstwhile helium was a small kid,” Compass said.

Defense lawyer Claude Kelley said thing would beryllium gained by sending Mayfield to situation for a non-violent crime. He pointed to Mayfield's mentoring of young musicians and different assemblage improvement efforts led by the instrumentalist and said Mayfield has “and unthinkable capableness to truly marque it right.”

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“Book One," an medium by Mayfield and the Jazz Orchestra, won a Grammy successful 2010. But the room instauration ungraded led to his resignation arsenic creator manager of the orchestra successful 2016 portion scrutiny of his relation with the room grew pursuing investigative reports by WWL-TV.

Mayfield was among musicians who took a high-profile relation successful promoting New Orleans aft levee failures and catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Katrina successful 2005. Mayfield's begetter died successful the floodwaters.

Mayfield was besides a founding subordinate of the Afro-Caribbean jazz ensemble Los Hombres Calientes.

Prosecutors said that successful summation to orchestra operating expenses and salaries for Mayfield and Markham, room instauration wealth went into Mayfield’s idiosyncratic slope accounts and toward the acquisition of a gold-plated trumpet.

Prior to his indictment and blameworthy plea, Mayfield had outlined expansive plans for the city's libraries successful an AP interrogation successful 2008.

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“A room is ideology wrong 4 walls, the state to information,” helium said then. “Jazz is ideology we hear.”

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