N.J. Man Who Conned Marsalis Heads to Jail

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N.J. Man Who Conned Marsalis Heads to Jail

Jul 16th - 12:15pm

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man who took money from jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and his manager as part of an investment plan, then spent the cash on himself, is going to jail.

During a hearing Friday in a federal court in Newark, Jay Bailey, 40, was sentenced to 35 months in prison for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wynton Marsalis Enterprises and Ed Arrendell, the musician's business manager.

Bailey portrayed himself as a real estate developer, and he took money from investors with the idea that he would use it to buy and renovate homes in poor neighborhoods and then sell the properties at a profit.

But prosecutors, who described Bailey as "a classic con," said he spent the cash on such things as a 2004 Porsche that cost $160,000 and luxury vacations.

Marsalis' Bethesda, Md.-based company gave Bailey nearly $500,000, and Arrendell lost $42,000 of his own money.

"He was just a con man," Arrendell said in comments reported by The Star-Ledger of Newark for Saturday's newspapers. "Just a big liar."

Bailey would give his clients money and detailed reports so they wouldn't become suspicious, but eventually the returns slowed and clients sensed something was wrong, said Arrendell.

Federal agents arrested Bailey in 2005, and he pleaded guilty this year.

The manager said Marsalis never met with Bailey nor was he personally involved in the deals.

(Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man who took money from jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and his manager as part of an investment plan, then spent the cash on himself, is going to jail.

During a hearing Friday in a federal court in Newark, Jay Bailey, 40, was sentenced to 35 months in prison for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wynton Marsalis Enterprises and Ed Arrendell, the musician's business manager.

But prosecutors, who described Bailey as "a classic con," said he spent the cash on such things as a 2004 Porsche that cost $160,000 and luxury vacations.

Marsalis' Bethesda, Md.-based company gave Bailey nearly $500,000, and Arrendell lost $42,000 of his own money.

"He was just a con man," Arrendell said in comments reported by The Star-Ledger of Newark for Saturday's newspapers. "Just a big liar."

Bailey would give his clients money and detailed reports so they wouldn't become suspicious, but eventually the returns slowed and clients sensed something was wrong, said Arrendell.

Federal agents arrested Bailey in 2005, and he pleaded guilty this year.

The manager said Marsalis never met with Bailey nor was he personally involved in the deals.

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=114&sid=599670

(Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Edited August 13, 2006 by alocispepraluger102