Robert De Niro sits as star witness over art-fraud trial at Manhattan court
“Limitless” actor, Robert De Niro took the stand to testify against a former gallery director over larceny charges for pocketing proceeds from his father’s paintings.
While his latest film with Bradley Cooper, "Limitless" has won the North American box-office over the weekend, veteran actor, Robert De Niro is still fighting over the art-fraud trial at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York.
"The Taxi" star took the stand Friday as star witness testifying against a former gallery director over art-fraud trial involving his father’s paintings.
The testimony of the ‘Raging Bull’ actor will be used in the case filed against Leigh Morse, former gallery director of Salander-O’Reilly Galleries LLC.
According to the Associated Press, Morse is suspected of depositing to her personal bank account proceeds from the sale of a two major artworks painted by the actor’s late father, Robert De Niro Sr.
The 54-year-old Morse has pleaded not guilty to grand larceny and other charges denying pocketing $77,000 in proceeds from the sales of De Niro’s father’s artworks.
Morse is believed to have participated in fraud scheme initiated by the gallery owner, Lawrence Salander whom Morse had worked for as gallery director.
Lawrence Salander had already pleaded guilty last year of the accusations hurled against him of swindling an estimated $120 million from the estate of De Niro’s father’s estate. Salander’s victims also included John McEnroe and more of his other clients, said AP
Salander was the target of De Niro’s attack when he took the stand Friday, often described by AP as appearing confident with the same bravado and self-assurance seen of him in many of his characters in his movies.
Providing the judge and the lawyers of detailed responses, the actor told his story of how he has regarded Salander before he found out that he was scheming against him and his father’s estate.
"I wasn't watching as carefully as I probably should have" early in the estate's involvement with gallery owner Lawrence Salander," De Niro said, according to the Associated Press .
The actor added, “But I trusted Larry implicitly. I thought that anything that he did, it was going to be good."
An agreement presented in court shows that the sales proceeds from the works of his father will be divided equally, along with the expenses in getting the artworks sold.
According to AP, Salander’s gallery is responsible for arranging shows for the works of De Niro Sr., who is known for his approach using abstract expressionism.
The younger De Niro explained that his doubts came fairly recently when he started to question how Salander was funding all his trips abroad using mostly private jets to transport himself and his entourage.
“It didn’t seem to add up to me, but I was under the impression that there were big deals going on in Europe and so forth, and he was making a lot of money in art,” the actor was quoted by AP as telling the court.
His doubts were confirmed when he found out that Salander, said AP, ‘had signed over ownership’ for some of the works of his father to a gallery in Venice, Italy. The problem, said De Niro was Salander’s entered into the agreement in Venice without telling him or asking for his permission.
Since it was Morse under the trial and not Salander, Morse’s lawyers asserted that Salander’s actions do not necessarily reflect that of Morse, who is suspected of depositing to her own account part of the proceeds from sales of two of De Niro’s artworks.
When Morse’s lawyer the "Analyze This" actor what AP called a ‘convoluted and hypothetical question’, De Niro responded by saying: "I don't know where you're going, sir." To the delight of courtroom reporters covering the day’s hearing and the onlookers present at the Manhattan courtroom.
When found guilty of working with Salander, who is now serving 18 years in prison, Morse is facing up to seven years in prison over the grand larceny filed against her by the state.
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