Alberto Vilar, the investment adviser and opera benefactor convicted of fraud and conspiracy a week ago, must wait to learn if he’ll be imprisoned while he awaits sentencing, a judge said. And he’ll have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet in the meantime. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan, who presided over an eight-week trial in the case, declined today to rule on a government request to revoke Vilar’s $10 million bond, telling lawyers that he needs more information about money and ties Vilar may have outside the U.S.

Vilar, 68, was convicted Nov. 19 on all 12 criminal counts against him, including charges he stole money from client Lily Cates, the mother of actress Phoebe Cates, and other longtime friends. Prosecutors argued that Vilar’s bond, which is secured by the property of his friends, doesn’t ensure he won’t flee.

“Mr. Vilar has shown a willingness to take money from friends when it’s in his interest,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt argued in an hour-long hearing today in a Manhattan courtroom. Gary Tanaka, 65, Vilar’s codefendant and former partner in Amerindo, was convicted on three criminal counts. Sullivan declined to revoke his $10 million bond. He ordered electronic monitoring for both Vilar and Tanaka to guarantee they comply with an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew that is part of their bail conditions. U.S. pretrial services officer Leo Barrios told Sullivan that both men had failed, two or three times a week, to answer phone calls made to them during curfew. Sullivan noted that both Vilar and Tanaka had attended every court appearance and trial day since they were arrested and charged in 2005.
He asked prosecutors for examples of people convicted of white-collar crimes who were imprisoned while awaiting their sentences. Sullivan listed several who were allowed to remain on bail, including Martha Stewart, former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers, Phillip Bennett, the former Refco Inc. CEO, and former Adelphia Communications Corp. executives John and Timothy Rigas. The most serious counts Vilar and Tanaka were convicted of carry maximum sentences of as long as 20 years. Sullivan asked Vilar’s lawyer, Herald Price Fahringer, about documents showing Vilar had falsely claimed he was a resident of the United Kingdom to escape jury duty. He made the same claim in sworn deposition testimony. Sullivan said it is “highly ironic” that 12 jurors and four alternates dedicated eight weeks to considering Vilar’s case after he lied to duck jury duty.