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Former Overture Center director gets 12 months

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Also by Associated Press:

Clinton says 'tide turning' with win (April 23, 2008)
Former Overture Center director gets 12 months (April 23, 2008)

by Associated Press

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The first director of Madison’s landmark arts venue was sentenced Tuesday to one year in prison for running private businesses out of his city office and evading taxes in a case that sparked a major First Amendment ruling.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb told Robert D’Angelo that he made many contributions to Madison during his 15 years as the city’s top arts official.

“On the other hand, you breached the trust of the community at the same time and committed crimes against both the city and the Internal Revenue Service,” Crabb said.

Crabb ordered D’Angelo to report next month to serve a one-year prison term, which was at the low end of the federal guidelines. She also sentenced him to two years of extended supervision and ordered him to pay a $4,000 fine, on top of the $37,000 he has already paid in back taxes.

D’Angelo was hired to lead the Madison Civic Center in 1990 and then became the first director of the Overture Center for the Arts, a $205 million venue across the street from the courthouse where D’Angelo learned his fate Tuesday.

D’Angelo, 63, had pleaded guilty in January to one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return under a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Prosecutors say D’Angelo ran two personal businesses from his office using city computers, workers and supplies, buying and selling used CDs and books over the Internet and performing arts consulting work. The two endeavors brought in $238,000 in gross revenue over a five-year period, income that he did not report to the IRS.

D’Angelo abruptly resigned in 2005 amid allegations that he sexually harassed a former Overture Center receptionist. He was then indicted last year on the mail fraud and tax charges after a lengthy federal investigation.

The investigation turned into a First Amendment clash after online retailer Amazon.com Inc. refused a prosecution subpoena demanding the company identify thousands of customers who bought books from D’Angelo.

A federal judge ruled the customers have a constitutional right to keep their reading habits shielded from the government in what Amazon called a landmark ruling. Prosecutors withdrew the subpoena and said they obtained the customer information they needed after seizing one of D’Angelo’s computers.

In a brief statement in court Tuesday, D’Angelo apologized to Madison citizens, three former mayors that he worked under and his friends and family.

“I’ve caused all these people a great deal of pain with my actions, for which there’s no excuse,” he said.

Crabb told D’Angelo his actions showed “a deliberate, blatant disregard for your position of public trust in this community” and undermined the U.S. tax system.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Graber sought up to 18 months of prison time, the high end of the guidelines. In his sentencing memorandum, he portrayed D’Angelo as an arrogant bully who thought he was above the law and treated his department “like his own personal playground.”

“He made the rules, everybody followed his rules, and nobody questioned Bob,” Graber wrote. “He used city resources as his own to run two private businesses on a daily basis, year-after-year, simply because he could.”

D’Angelo’s sentencing comes as the Overture Center faces a shaky long-term financial outlook due to the slowing economy. The trust fund set up to pay for its construction and maintenance fell into partial default earlier this month, which threatens plans to pay for maintenance projects in coming years.

D’Angelo said he hoped his case would not reflect negatively on the Overture Center or its employees.

“Their service to the arts will last longer than the embarrassment that I have caused,” he said.

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