Section: NEWS
Of The Post-Dispatch Staff
The young man was Keith Bearden. Nine days ago, he was arrested in Japan; he faces charges by a U.S. grand jury here that he bilked 21 people of more than $2 million in loans, stolen violins and other rare instruments.
Goodman, former chairman of the symphony, died in 1992. He left an estate of valuable instruments, including a rare, Guarnerius violin that he tucked under his chin when he played chamber music with Symphony members at his home in Ladue.
To sell Goodman's estate, his family turned to Bearden.
"My dad loved him," said Goodman's daughter, Ellen Lowenstein.
At first, Bearden sold several fine pieces, duly turning over the money to the estate. Later, the family says, Bearden dropped from sight, and the money stopped coming.
Eventually, the family hired a skip tracer, who reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating Bearden.
The Goodmans heard nothing more until late last year when Bearden surfaced in Japan, where Goodman's son, John, lives. He called Bearden, who promised to meet and pay his debt in yen.
Bearden never showed up.
Today, many of his victims wonder what could have happened to such a talented man, one of a handful of top musical-instrument dealers in the world.
To a person, his victims describe Bearden, now 42, as affable and trustworthy.
"He seemed like such a nice person," Lowenstein said.
"My theory is that things got out of hand," she said, "and that he had some fatal flaw."
What everyone agrees got out of hand was Bearden's debt. He moved his shop to Big Bend Boulevard in Shrewsbury, where he sold valuable instruments worldwide. Musicians shipped him rare instruments on little more than a promise that he could find buyers willing to pay top price.
Near the end, Bearden's phone rang frequently, bringing complaints from clients eager for their money.
One victim, a widow in her 70s, lost more than $183,000 to Bearden in missing instruments and unpaid loans, according to the federal indictment.
She recalled leaving a fine instrument on consignment with Bearden and later asking how much he sold it for.
"None of your business," she quoted Bearden as replying.
Other Losses
Stanley Goodman was wealthy and one of St. Louis' most influential executives. Another of Bearden's victims, David Visentin of Canada, struggles to earn $24,000 a year in the string section of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Bearden is accused of bilking Visentin of his life's savings: $290,000.
Their paths crossed nine years ago when Visentin needed a bow repaired; he called Bearden's shop in St. Louis. Visentin eventually bought two bows from Bearden, one of a handful of artists who can make from scratch virtuoso-caliber bows. The two stayed in contact, and after Goodman died, Visentin bought pieces from the estate.
More recently, Bearden said he had an even better offer: He told Visentin of a retired member of the St. Louis Symphony who had left valuable instruments to his widow.
Bearden said he needed $500,000 to buy the estate, adding that it was worth much more. He asked Visentin for $200,000. In addition to being repaid with interest, Visentin was to get his choice of the instruments.
Visentin took out a loan in December 1995. He's still waiting for Bearden to pay him. Meanwhile, Visentin is having trouble repaying his loan.
Last week, the widow disclosed that Bearden never had an agreement to buy her husband's estate.
"Really?" she said. "That's the first I've heard of it."
Before their loan deal fell apart, Visentin sent Bearden a viola to sell. The instrument was crafted by an Italian, Alfonso dalla Corte, in the mid-19th century and was valued at $125,000.
That was in February 1996. Within weeks, Bearden's clients began to hear reports of business problems. Bearden's partner, a violin maker from Austria, decided to get out.
Bearden assured everyone he was only having cash-flow problems. He promised to make good all debts.
Visentin asked whether the viola he had placed for sale with Bearden was insured.
Bearden said it was. He advised Visentin to drop his own insurance.
Visentin did and got back a $125 premium. He's sorry now; Bearden never had insurance. Visentin is trying to persuade his own insurance company to cover what Bearden owes: $90,000.
"This is what Keith Bearden is good at - giving assurances that things are really OK; he's unusually gifted," Visentin said last week. "He sounds so very honest."
After Bearden's partnership dissolved in April 1996, an alarmed Visentin began to try in earnest to recover his loan and viola.
Bearden told Visentin he was $400,000 to $500,000 in debt. Federal investigators have since estimated he owed clients more than four times that amount.
The Missing Money
What happened to the money? That's what Bearden's victims want to know.
"There's a zillion theories out there," said Mark D. Pasewark. He's a lawyer in St. Louis County who sued Bearden on behalf of a Beverly Hills allergist and won $200,000.
He's still trying to collect.
Bearden's files contain the names of hundreds of contacts in Austria, Japan, Korea and elsewhere. It would have been easy to leave a stash of rare instruments with one of those contacts, Pasewark says.
"He could leave a violin somewhere and come back for it in 10 years," Pasewark said. "It's safer than money. It's about the same size as gold, but appreciates better."
Investigators say they may never know how many people Bearden swindled or how much money and instruments he took. That's because many victims don't want to come forward.
Some have not filed criminal charges, figuring they'll never get back their money.
Others are afraid of compounding their troubles by attracting more con artists. They don't want it known that they own instruments worth $100,000 or more.
From a con artist's point of view, orchestral musicians may be perfect targets: Many are highly introverted, growing up practicing while classmates were playing. For some, their best and only friend may have been their teacher.
Later in life, symphony musicians learn to be judged in silence by their musical director.
"No one wants your opinion," one player explained. "You make sounds, but you suffer in silence."
Two of the victims listed in the indictment are women in their 70s. One lost $622,700 in cash and instruments. Both pleaded to remain anonymous.
For his part, Visentin says he still wakes up in cold sweats, wondering whether he's financially destroyed his family.
Bearden is awaiting extradition from Tokyo and trial in St. Louis.
Visentin is hoping for a conviction and a fitting sentence, adding: "He should be put in a cell with a big pile of wood and ordered to make bows for the next 10 years to pay people back."