Livent Founders to Skip Arraignment

The co-founders of Livent Inc. will not appear for arraignment in New York this week on charges of widespread fraud at the theater company and will surrender to U.S. authorities only if extradited from Canada, their lawyers said Wednesday.

Garth Drabinsky, the high-profile producer of “Ragtime” and other Broadway hits, and his partner, Myron Gottlieb, were charged by U.S. prosecutors two weeks ago with criminal conspiracy and securities fraud. They were scheduled to appear in a New York court today, but their lawyers said the men would remain in Canada.

Edward Greenspan, Drabinsky’s lawyer, suggested that nothing short of a formal extradition process would get his client to leave Canada for a U.S. court. “He will vigorously oppose any extradition request by the United States, if such a request is made,” Greenspan said. A lawyer for Gottlieb, Lee Richards, issued a similar statement.

The U.S. attorney’s office in New York has said failure to appear in court could make Gottlieb and Drabinsky fugitives.

The two are accused of inflating earnings reports and arranging kickbacks worth $4.6 million between 1990 and 1994.