Leonard Cohen's Troubles May Be a Theme Come True

By MARC WEINGARTEN, The New York Times, October 6, 2005

New York, USA -- Betrayal and bitterness have been running themes in Leonard Cohen's work ever since ''Songs of Leonard Cohen,'' the Canadian singer-songwriter's debut album, appeared in 1968. Now they figure prominently in a sordid legal melodrama engulfing his life.

<< Leonard Cohen

In August, Mr. Cohen, 71, filed suit against his longtime personal manager, Kelley Lynch, accusing her of stealing more than  million over the past dozen years, including five years he spent at a Zen Buddhist retreat. Mr. Cohen is also suing his former tax lawyer, Richard A. Westin, accusing him of mismanaging money Mr. Cohen had set aside as a retirement fund. Mr. Cohen is also seeking damages from Neal Greenberg, his investment adviser from 1997 to 2004, who the singer said allowed Ms. Lynch to steal millions by not telling him what was going on.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, describes a classic case of a creative artist turning over his business affairs to venal backstabbers, who exploit his trust, as the complaint puts it, ''through greed, self-dealing, concealment, knowing misrepresentation and reckless disregard for professional fiduciary duties.''

Ms. Lynch declined to comment on the charges, saying by e-mail message that Mr. Cohen and his lawyer, Robert Kory, have used aggressive tactics and that they tried to freeze her bank accounts. Mr. Greenberg and Mr. Westin denied wrongdoing.

Mr. Cohen hired Ms. Lynch, an assistant to his lawyer and manager, to oversee his personal affairs after the manager, Martin Machat, died in 1988. She eventually assumed more responsibility for Mr. Cohen's career and became his manager.

Mr. Cohen said he had regarded Ms. Lynch as a trusted confident, even a member of his family. ''She was a friend of many years, and she was accomplished at presenting herself as a trusted friend,'' Mr. Cohen said in an e-mail message. ''Her mother worked in the office, and her father did my bookkeeping. Our families were close.''

The money at issue in the lawsuit came from two transactions orchestrated by Ms. Lynch. The first was the 1997 sale of Mr. Cohen's publishing company, Stranger Music, to Sony; the other deal, also with Sony, involved the 2001 sale of Mr. Cohen's future royalties from Mr. Cohen's 127-song catalog, which includes often-covered classics like ''Bird on a Wire'' and ''Suzanne.''

All told, the two deals brought in more than  million -- money meant for Mr. Cohen's eventual retirement. ''Since my own work requires a fair degree of solitary attention, I was grateful to Ms. Lynch for looking after the business details,'' Mr. Cohen wrote in the e-mail message. ''In this spirit she acquired considerable command over my finances.''

In 1993, Mr. Cohen took a break from recording and touring and decamped to the Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles, where he remained for five years. According to Mr. Cohen's complaint, Ms. Lynch, upset over a loss of income because the singer's career was on hiatus, began to drain money from three charitable trusts established with the Sony profits.

The  million windfall from the second Sony deal was also looted, Mr. Cohen says, from a company set up to minimize taxes on the transaction. Mr. Greenberg said Mr. Cohen signed off on giving Ms. Lynch 99 percent of the company and Mr. Cohen 1 percent. Mr. Greenberg says that Ms. Lynch, in addition to taking a .1 million commission on the deal, used the company to withdraw huge amounts, often tens of thousands of dollars at a time.

Mr. Cohen said he had not suspected that his money was depleted until October 2004, when an informant tipped off his daughter, Lorca Cohen. ''Every month my investment manager, an old friend of Ms. Lynch's, and a successful trader, sent me a report that my savings were safe, intact, even flourishing,'' Mr. Cohen said, referring to Mr. Greenberg. He says that Mr. Greenberg and Mr. Westin, whom Mr. Lynch had hired to help minimize taxes on the two Sony deals, charged Mr. Cohen  million in unnecessary transaction costs.

Mr. Greenberg denies that he overcharged Mr. Cohen for his services. ''Those were fees paid to lawyers for the sale of the rights associated with the songs,'' Mr. Greenberg said. Mr. Westin declined to be interviewed at length for this story, saying, ''None of Leonard Cohen's problems have their genesis with me.''

Mr. Greenberg disputes Mr. Cohen's claim that he failed to warn the songwriter about his dangerous financial situation, and has filed suit against Mr. Cohen, Ms. Lynch, and and Mr. Cohen's attorney, Mr. Kory. Mr. Greenberg says that Mr. Cohen and Mr. Kory engaged in ''fraudulent means and statements, and other torturous conduct'' in order to ''extort millions of dollars'' from Mr. Greenberg when they realized that Ms. Lynch would not be able to pay back the money.

As for Ms. Lynch, parties involved in the suit have expressed concern about her behavior, and Mr. Cohen noted that he had received ''dozens of bizarre'' e-mail messages from her.

''I wish her family would help her,'' he said. ''I tried and failed.''

While Mr. Cohen awaits the outcome of the various lawsuits, he said, he has started to sell his assets and has taken out a mortgage on his house. ''There is a great sense of family solidarity, and we are all working hard to keep the ship afloat,'' he said. ''My son said: 'Dad, do whatever you have to do, but don't do it for us. We've had a great life, and we can take care of ourselves.'''

We Need Your Help to Train the
Buddhist AI Chat Bot
NORBU!
(Neural Operator for Responsible Buddhist Understanding)



For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your name in the payment slip. Thank you.


Dear Friends in the Dharma,

We seek your generous support to help us train NORBU, the word's first Buddhist AI Chat Bot.

Here are some ways you can contribute to this noble cause:

One-time Donation or Loan: A single contribution, regardless of its size, will go a long way in helping us reach our goal and make the Buddhist LLM a beacon of wisdom for all.

How will your donation / loan be used? Download the NORBU White Paper for details.



For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your purpose of payment (loan or donation) in the payment slip. Thank you.

Once payment is banked in, please send the payment slip via email to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv. Your donation/loan will be published and publicly acknowledged on the Buddhist Channel.

Spread the Word: Share this initiative with your friends, family and fellow Dharma enthusiasts. Join "Friends of Norbu" at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norbuchatbot. Together, we can build a stronger community and create a positive impact on a global scale.

Volunteer: If you possess expertise in AI, natural language processing, Dharma knowledge in terms of Buddhist sutras in various languages or related fields, and wish to lend your skills, please contact us. Your knowledge and passion could be invaluable to our project's success.

Your support is part of a collective effort to preserve and disseminate the profound teachings of Buddhism. By contributing to the NORBU, you become a "virtual Bodhisattva" to make Buddhist wisdom more accessible to seekers worldwide.

Thank you for helping to make NORBU a wise and compassionate Buddhist Chatbot!

May you be blessed with inner peace and wisdom,

With deepest gratitude,

Kooi F. Lim
On behalf of The Buddhist Channel Team


Note: To date, we have received the following contributions for NORBU:
US$ 75 from Gary Gach (Loan)
US$ 50 from Chong Sim Keong
MYR 300 from Wilson Tee
MYR 500 from Lim Yan Pok
MYR 50 from Oon Yeoh
MYR 200 from Ooi Poh Tin
MYR 300 from Lai Swee Pin
MYR 100 from Ong Hooi Sian
MYR 1,000 from Fam Sin Nin
MYR 500 from Oh teik Bin
MYR 300 from Yeoh Ai Guat
MYR 300 from Yong Lily
MYR 50 from Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
MYR 1,000 from Chiam Swee Ann
MYR 1,000 from Lye Veei Chiew
MYR 1,000 from Por Yong Tong
MYR 80 from Lee Wai Yee
MYR 500 from Pek Chee Hen
MYR 300 from Hor Tuck Loon
MYR 1,000 from Wise Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd
MYR 200 from Teo Yen Hua
MYR 500 from Ng Wee Keat
MYR 10,000 from Chang Quai Hung, Jackie (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from K. C. Lim & Agnes (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from Juin & Jooky Tan (Loan)
MYR 100 from Poh Boon Fong (on behalf of SXI Buddhist Students Society)
MYR 10,000 from Fam Shan-Shan (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from John Fam (Loan)
MYR 500 from Phang Cheng Kar
MYR 100 from Lee Suat Yee
MYR 500 from Teo Chwee Hoon (on behalf of Lai Siow Kee)
MYR 200 from Mak Yuen Chau

We express our deep gratitude for the support and generosity.

If you have any enquiries, please write to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv


TOP