Contractor Who Swindled Famed Fort Greene Jazz Musician Out Of Prize Money Sentenced

The Long Island man who ripped off Fort Greene resident and jazz legend Cecil Taylor was sentenced today.

Noel Muir, 55, who stole almost $500,000 in prize money from the Inamori Foundation of Japan that was destined for the musician, was sentenced to one to three years in prison for grand larceny in a Brooklyn Supreme Court, announced Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson in a press release.

Muir befriended Taylor while he was doing a contracting job at a Brownstone right beside the musician’s, according to the DA. In June 2013, Taylor was announced as one of three recipients of the international Kyoto Award for his contributions to Jazz, which had a cash prize of 50 million yen, which equals $500,000.

Muir helped with the preparations for the trip, including accompanying Taylor to Japan on November 6, 2013, and arranging for the receipt of the award money, but instructed the Inamori Foundation to send the prize money to his own Citibank account.

“This defendant shamefully bilked an elderly, vulnerable man out of a half of million dollars in prize money that he received in recognition of his great talent and enormous contributions to jazz. In doing so, the defendant pretended to be Cecil Taylor’s friend, but this guilty plea and sentence show that he was just a thief,” said Thompson.

Along with his guilty plea, Muir returned $200,000 to Taylor and signed a confession of judgment for $292,722.

The District Attorney’s office filed a civil asset forfeiture action against the defendant in Brooklyn Supreme Court in an effort to recover the money he stole from Taylor. That case is still pending.