Hermann, Marc, A.
Alberto Vilar was convicted on money laundering and fraud charges. But he got to stay out late to see the opera, thanks to a judge.
Convicted mega-swindler Alberto Vilar will get his night at the opera after all.
Just as the fat lady was getting ready to sing, a flip-flopping federal judge took pity on the notorious huckster and is allowing him some extra time out on Saturday night so he can catch a Tchaikovsky libretto at the Met.
Judge Richard Sullivan didn’t explain his reasoning for cutting Vilar, 73, a break in a one-line order that was released Friday. He’d denied the same request just a day before, and it appeared the curtain was coming down on the con man’s dreams.
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Vilar is free on bail while awaiting resentencing, but one of the conditions of his release is an 11 p.m. curfew — and the Met’s production of “Eugene Onegin” doesn’t end until 11:35 p.m.
“Alberto Vilar has been offered free tickets to a sold-out opera this Saturday night by the conductor, his original bail signer Valery Gergiev,” his lawyer, Vivian Shevitz, wrote the judge earlier this week.
“The opera does not let out until after his curfew. Mr. Vilar would like the opportunity to socialize after the opera for a short time, and asks that his curfew be extended to 1:30 a.m.”
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The judge was unmoved.
“Mr. Vilar should maintain his regular curfew,” he responded.
Shevitz then wrote him another letter asking him to reconsider - and told him to think of the conductor.
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As “Mr. Gergiev is conducting, Mr. Vilar would appreciate the opportunity to not disturb the conductor by leaving the opera before it’s over that night,” she wrote.
That got Sullivan to budge - he issued a one-line order saying that “defendant Vilar’s curfew on October 12, 2013 is extended to 1:30 am.”
Shevitz declined comment on Friday.
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The move was surprising, because Sullivan has been consistently tough on the disgraced patron of the arts.
The Court of Appeals upheld the financier’s conviction, but ordered that he be resentenced because Sullivan's nine-year sentence might have been miscalculated.
The high court said Vilar could be out on bail while he appealed — and Sullivan let him loose on a $10 million bond, electronic monitoring to make sure he doesn’t leave New York, and a curfew that keeps him inside from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
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In February, Shevitz sent the judge a letter whining that those terms were too tough on Vilar and his co-defendant, Gary Tanaka.
The judge refused to ease the restrictions, but then in a head-scratching twist, extended his curfew until midnight, allowing Vilar to attend three operas in April.
Ace criminal lawyer Gerald Shargel, who’s not involved in the case, said the judge did the right thing.
“Bail is not supposed to be a punishment. The concern is risk of flight and whether the person presents a danger to the community,” he said, adding that “requests for relaxation of bail conditions are commonplace. And as a music lover myself, I think this was kind and appropriate.”
The feds say that some of the $22 million Vilar helped himself to was donated to the Met and other charities. They’re asking that his bail be revoked altogether.
DGREGORIAN@nydailynews.com
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