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Noel Muir of Uniondale on New York's Long Island, was
awaiting arraignment on a charge of grand larceny in Brooklyn's
criminal court on Tuesday morning, and could not be reached for
comment. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Taylor, who is known for his improvisational, percussive style
at the keyboard, was awarded a prestigious Kyoto Prize by
Japan's Inamori Foundation in 2013 and was invited to Japan to
collect his prize at a ceremony last November.
Noel Muir, a contractor who had done work for Taylor's neighbor,
came with him, according to a statement by the district attorney
in Brooklyn.
While in Japan with the 85-year-old pianist, Muir, 54, provided
the Inamori Foundation with the details of a bank account to
which it could wire the prize money, the statement said.
Muir said the name on the account was The Cecil Taylor
Foundation. A wire for $492,722.55 arrived in the account two
weeks after the ceremony.
In fact, the account was under the name MCAI Construction,
Muir's company, the prosecutor's statement said, and since then
the account has been depleted.
"The defendant befriended Mr. Taylor and won his trust," Kenneth
Thompson, the district attorney, said in a statement, "which
later made it easier for him to allegedly swindle this
vulnerable, elderly and great jazz musician."
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Bill Trott)
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