An attorney for a small, independent union of ballet dancers and stagehands pleaded guilty Thursday to falsifying reports about more than $350,000 in checks he wrote to himself, his law firm and his ex-wife, from the union account. Leonard Leibowitz faces up to 1 year in federal prison at his Oct. 14 sentencing.
Leibowitz represented the Independent Artists of America, a union of about 80 dancers and stagehands at Lincoln Center’s American Ballet Theatre. Union members paid a total of about $80,000 a year in dues, and Leibowitz controlled the account.
“In 1997, Leibowitz told a union official he was having financial difficulties and obtained an advance on his monthly retainer,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “It was later discovered that Leibowitz wrote IAA checks totaling more than $350,000 to himself, his law firm, and his former wife.”
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.