Compass urged that Mayfield be spared prison time so he can continue to care for his disabled mother and an autistic older brother. Supporters of Mayfield included former New Orleans police chief Eddie Compass.

The scandal, they said, also seriously damaged the foundation’s reputation and fund-raising ability. I accept 100% responsibility,” Mayfield told the audience.Īttorneys for the foundation, while not speaking on what kind of sentence Mayfield and Markham should get, said the damage done went beyond the $1.3 million.

At one point, Zainey told Mayfield to turn and address the courtroom, where Mayfield’s supporters and supporters of the library system sat. “The very library that got you your start … you ripped off,” Zainey said. That brought one of several interruptions from U.S District Judge Jay Zainey., who was expected to announce a sentence Wednesday afternoon. He acknowledged the library as a place where he first was able to listen to jazz records as a child. Mayfield, allowed to speak before he was sentenced, apologized to the library foundation, its donors and the New Orleans community. Prosecutors alleged they steered more than $1.3 million from the New Orleans Public Library Foundation to themselves, largely by funneling it through the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, which Mayfield founded. Mayfield’s musical and business partner, pianist Ronald Markham, also awaited sentencing Wednesday in federal court.īoth pleaded guilty last November to a single charge of conspiracy to commit fraud. NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Irvin Mayfield, the jazz trumpet player who became a symbol of New Orleans resilience after Hurricane Katrina, faced up to five years in prison Wednesday for steering charity money meant for public libraries to his personal use.

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