“Maybe he will ultimately be cleared of all charges, but for now [Alberto] Vilar appears to be perp-walking straight into that grand and storied American pantheon of Alleged Super Rich Frauds. The back story is always the same — the start-with-nothing origins, the struggle to conspicuous wealth, the strenuous social-climbing and then the spectacular run of damning headlines as creditors and feds close in… Vilar’s unique twist on this stock character is a love for classical music and opera that veered toward the obsessive, and a thirst for public recognition that only opera houses around the world could slake…. If prosecutors are correct, he was Robin Hood for the ‘La Boheme’ set, stealing from the rich to give to the Met.”