Jazz musicians and longtime business partners Irvin Mayfield and Ronald Markham were sentenced to 18 months in prison along with $1.1 million in restitution by a federal judge after the two men previously pleaded guilty to stealing funds from a nonprofit that supported public libraries in a scheme that spanned more than six years. Judge Jay Zainey called their crimes a “fraud based on greed and arrogance.”

As ex-convicts, both men will be required to conduct 500 hours of free music lessons for New Orleans youth under supervised release in coordination with such organizations as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and the New Orleans Recreation Department. Zainey had the option of imposing a maximum five-year sentence for the confessed crimes and noted that the sentences will be viewed in the court of public opinion as “too harsh for some people and too lenient for others” while adding that “there’s no benefit to society for going to jail any longer.”

In August 2006, Mayfield became a board member of  the New Orleans Public Library Foundation (NOPLF). He later became chairman of the board in November 2010. During his time on the NOPLF board, Mayfield also maintained his position as artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), a big band he founded in 2002 that relied upon donations for funding. In December 2009, Markham became a board member of NOPLF. He later became chairman of the board in September 2013 upon Mayfield’s resignation as chairman of NOPLF. During his time on the NOPLF board, Markham also maintained his position with NOJO.

Between December 2008 and May 2010, NOJO relied heavily on grants from the Edward Wisner Donation, a charitable trust administered by the City of New Orleans, to pay its operating costs and expenses.  In February 2011, support for NOJO through the Edward Wisner Donation was terminated, causing great financial distress to NOJO and its ability to pay expenses. Mayfield and Markham then began a search for new sources of funding.

From August 2011 through November 2013, Mayfield and Markham surreptitiously funneled more than $1.3 million from the NOPLF to fund NOJO, much of which was used to pay Mayfield and Markham’s six-figure salaries and lavish lifestyles. Mayfield commissioned a 24-karat gold-plated trumpet, spent $39,000 for a prepaid concert at Carnegie Hall and $18,000 for lodging and meals at the Ritz-Carlton in New York. A single breakfast at the luxury hotel totaled $1,435.

The defendants sent materially false and misleading correspondence to NOPLF board members, investment account managers and auditors regarding the purpose of money transfers. They also prepared materially false and misleading records to make money transfers from NOPLF to NOJO appear legitimate when they were not.

Mayfield and Markham’s malfeasance was first exposed by investigative reporter David Hammer of WWL-TV in 2016. On December 14, 2017, a federal grand jury issued a 19-count indictment for conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. In 2018 extra charges of making false statements to the US Attorney’s office increased the number of indictments to 24. In a plea bargain, both men confessed guilt in November 2020 to one count of conspiracy to defraud NOPLF.

At the sentencing hearing Mayfield’s public defender Claude Kelly said Hammer was “perversely obsessed” with Mayfield and Markham’s crimes and that more than 60 stories about the ongoing scandal had “stirred up the wackos” and created a “bloodlust” for vengeance within the community. The men have been lampooned on Mardi Gras floats and Mayfield lost a contract for a jazz club at the Royal Sonesta Hotel as his reputation withered following news of  alleged criminal behavior.

“The punishment began with the first Hammer article,” said Zainey, who had argued that his client did not deserve a jail sentence. “[Mayfield] can recover some today, but the scars are permanent.”

Zainey quickly refuted Kelly’s statements, claiming the attorney was trying to deflect blame and that press coverage had no bearing on the crimes committed by Mayfield. “Everybody else is to blame for what Mr. Mayfield did. The man stole $1.3 million from the libraries. What did Mr. Hammer do wrong then? Mr. Hammer did not cause the conduct that occurred in this sworn document.”

Mayfield expressed remorse when he stood before Zainey. “To my city, community, friends, I hope you can accept my apology. I take full responsibility,” adding, “My dream was wrapped in ego, supported by awards and accolades … I allowed my ego to focus on winning by any means necessary.” At one point Zainey asked Mayfield to turn and face the audience gathered in the courtroom and issue an apology.

Markham spoke with a similar tone of contrition. “I damaged and hurt very good people, businesses and communities and I’m willing to invest my energy to the immediate work of restoring what I have damaged.”

Zainey admonished both men. “I feel you deserve more than five years for what you did.” He further added, “You both lived the good life, and now you must suffer the consequences.”

Mayfield was represented by a public defender throughout the prolonged legal process. Markham had originally hired a private attorney, Sara Johnson, but ultimately the court allowed her to take on a taxpayer-funded role when Markham claimed he was destitute. Markham is married to Miranda Restovic, director of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. She earns a salary of $168,806 according to a 2019 IRS filing. During Markham’s tenure as board president NOPLF also rented office space within the Louisiana Humanities Center operated by the LEH.

Mayfield and Markham are ordered to pay restitution of $1.1 million to NOPLF in the amount of $500 per month starting in the next 60 days. A $200,000 payment has already been made by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. NOJO has long distanced itself from Mayfield and Markham after the two resigned in 2016. The band, now led by drummer and artistic director Adonis Rose, continues to perform at the New Orleans Jazz Market in Central City.

Thirty-four letters of support were submitted to Zainey on Mayfield’s behalf, including ones written by musicians Wynton Marsalis, Cyril Neville and Kermit Ruffins, among others. Former Police Department Superintendent Eddie Compass served as a character witness for Mayfield, admitting that Mayfield “hurt a lot of people, he hurt this city, but I can’t let one act define him.”

“He has been punished, trust me,” Compass added, citing public embarrassment and a ruined reputation. Mayfield serves as a care caregiver for his mother, an amputee, and an autistic older brother, according to Compass. “Who will care for them if he’s in prison?” Mayfield’s father drowned in floodwaters following the collapse of federal levees in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Zainey stressed that Mayfield and Markham’s scheme was not one act but a drawn-out series of “egregious” criminal actions and that as a judge he struggled with the sentencing decision, gradually stepping back from imposing the maximum five years of incarceration for both men.

Mayfield and Markham must surrender to a federal penitentiary by January 5, 2022.