Local school still waiting for funds to be paid back
By Daily Press staff
Tonken, who faces a separate civil lawsuit with similar charges, faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Feb. 23.
“It’s really hard to say (exactly how long his sentence will be), because it’s a function of the loss to the victims, his acceptance of responsibility and a whole host of other factors,” said Joseph Zwicker, the assistant U.S. attorney who worked out the plea with Tonken’s attorney last month. Zwicker added that, ultimately, the sentence is in the judge’s hands.
The fact that Tonken pleaded guilty to the criminal charges should help expedite the civil lawsuit, Zwicker said. That’s exactly what officials at the Westside Waldorf School on Fourth Street hope. Waldorf is one of the victims named in the March civil suit, which was levied by the State of California Attorney General’s Office.
The local, 170-student private school was forced into an economic crisis nearly three years ago after Tonken arranged for a major donation from the Cynthia Gershman Foundation that never fully came through, officials said.
“I think it’s more than a way to make good money. I think, in some of these cases, there is some visceral excitement in appearing in court.” — — JEAN ROSENBLUTH Former federal prosecutor and assistant law professor at USC
Tonken, who has offices in Beverly Hills, allegedly brought two donors to the school in January 2001 — Cynthia Gershman, a trustee of the Cynthia Gershman Foundation, who signed a pledge to Waldorf for $650,000, and Loren Arbus, who agreed to put on four annual fundraisers.
After paying Tonken for arranging the donation and putting forward a good-faith deposit, the school says it was left hanging. Waldorf alleges that it ended up footing the bill for vendors at one of the fundraisers with money that officials say should have been donated by Arbus but wasn’t, officials said.
And shortly after the first event fell apart, Gershman allegedly withdrew her “irrevocable pledge,” which sent the school further into an economic tailspin. Gershman didn’t provide any reason for the change of heart, school officials said.
And in the state’s civil suit, prosecutors allege Tonken took more than $1.7 million from Waldorf, charities supported by former President Bill Clinton, comedian Whoopi Goldberg, and actors Michael J. Fox and Michelle Pfeiffer, among others.
The civil lawsuit, which seeks a permanent injunction barring Tonken and the other defendants from fundraising or disbursing donations, is for $1.7 million in general damages, civil penalties of at least $350,000 and unspecified punitive damages.
Trial is scheduled for September 2004.
In the meantime, Alan Rubin, one of Tonken’s lawyers, said his client has been consumed entirely by his legal affairs and has not been doing any fundraisers.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 10, 2003. Read the original PDF.