Brown to Name Performing Arts Center After Energy Billionaire Tied to Major RI Environmental Spill
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Late on Tuesday afternoon, Brown University announced that the nearly completed massive performing arts center will be named to honor the late George Lindemann and his wife Frayda.
“The name for the center, set to open in 2023, honors Brown Corporation member Frayda Lindemann and her late husband, George Lindemann Sr., a longtime University supporter, business executive and art collector,” said the Ivy League school in its release.
What the release makes no mention of, however, is Lindemann's career in the energy industry and his company's role in one of the most controversial environmental crimes in Rhode Island history.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHis company was fined $18 million by a Rhode Island jury for a mercury spill in Pawtucket and that penalty was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lindemann amassed a massive fortune owning, selling and merging a number of companies, including Southern Union Group — a company he ultimately sold off in 2011.
That is not the only controversy -- George and Frayda's son made global news for his contract hit on his show horse.
Lindemann’s Southern Union — RI Mercury Spill
In October of 2009, federal judge Will Smith in U.S. District Court in Providence assessed the Southern Union Company $18 million for illegally storing mercury at a company-owned site in Pawtucket. The sentence imposed in federal court included a $6 million criminal fine and $12 million in payments to community initiatives.
"Companies that handle hazardous chemicals like mercury need to follow the law designed to protect the public and the environment. This $18 million penalty is an indication that environmental crimes will not be taken lightly and violators will be held accountable," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cruden at the time.
Later, that penalty was appealed, ultimately, to the U.S. Supreme Court by Lindemann’s Southern Union.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the jury, not the judge, should have done the fact-finding that underpinned the penalty. The penalty -- but not the conviction -- was thrown out by the high court.
In 2013, it was determined that because the jury could not be reconstituted, Smith handed down a $500,000 penalty.
Between the time of the $18 million initial penalties and Smith’s final decision, Lindemann pulled off a major deal worth nearly $10 billion.
According to a Dallas News report in 2011, "Houston Pipeline company Southern Union Group agreed Tuesday to be acquired by Dallas pipeline company Energy Transfer Equity for $9.4 billion, ending a bidding war between Energy Transfer and the Williams Cos. Energy Transfer on Tuesday offered $9.4 billion for the company, consisting of debt and $5.7 billion in cash or ETE common units. That amounts to $44.25 a share for Southern Union."
Energy Transfer said in a news release that the offer has been approved by the boards of both companies.
“This revised merger agreement provides our shareholders with superior value, greater certainty to close and unrivaled strategic benefits that could not be achieved through any other industry combination,” Southern Union chief executive George Lindemann said according to the Dallas News.
Brown Graduate George Jr. Convicted of Killing His Show Horse
In 1996, the Lindemanns' son made global news for hiring a hitman to kill his show horse.
The Sun-Sentinal reported, "George Lindemann Jr., an heir to one of Palm Beach County's wealthiest families, faces a 33-month sentence in federal prison for ordering a hit on his showjumping horse in 1990."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Cox said at the time of the trial the horse killing was carried out so Lindemann could save face.
"He had the horse killed because the horse made him look bad. He found it easier to have the horse killed than to admit to those in the horsey set that he had made a mistake in buying the horse," Cox said, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The New York Times wrote, "Judge [George] Marovich called the pair's acts 'despicable and reprehensible' and said he wanted the sentences to send a message to the country club and 'horsy set.'"
Lindemann's prison term was the stiffest to date, resulting from a government inquiry of what prosecutors called the equestrian world's "dirty little secret"- the killing of horses for insurance money.
Lindemann, Jr. is a graduate of Brown University.
Brown Gift From Lindemann's Heralded by University
Brown lauded the Lindemanns' money this week. Their release stated the following:
"The Lindemanns are providing crucial support for the construction and operation of the unique, flexible space, which features a state-of-the-art main hall that can transform into five different configurations for a variety of performances and presentations; a suite of modern studios custom-designed for theater, music, dance and other artistic explorations; and a transparent “slice” of windows through the main level that invites the Brown and Providence communities to witness and engage in the artmaking process.
The center’s name was unveiled on Tuesday, May 24, during a small celebration with University leaders, faculty and staff from the Brown Arts Institute, and members of the Lindemann family. The building’s name is visible to passersby in Providence, etched into the façade of the building where construction continues on Angell Street, adjacent to the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts.
According to University President Christina H. Paxson, with the opening of The Lindemann Performing Arts Center on the horizon, Brown is positioned to become a top destination for world-class arts scholars, students committed to the arts, international artists and regional community members who will be invited to make, present and witness work in the new center. The center’s placement next to the Granoff Center creates a strong hub on campus for creativity, expression, experimentation and discovery.
'We see a future where Brown is the primary destination for students who want to fully integrate the arts into a complete education, and The Lindemann Performing Arts Center is an important part of that vision,” Paxson said. “By supporting artistic scholarship and innovation in this truly one-of-a-kind space, Frayda Lindemann is helping the University create a distinctive home for generations of talented students, faculty, community members and visiting artists.'
According to a Brown press release, Mrs. Lindemann said that before her husband died, he was looking forward to supporting the Performing Arts Center project, which will expand Brown’s ability to create and stage new and existing works, combine art forms and welcome world-renowned faculty and artists to learn from and inspire students across disparate fields of study. She said that she and Paxson share a belief that the arts play a critical role — not only in higher education settings but also in communities everywhere.
Frayda Lindemann earned a Ph.D. in musicology from Columbia University, and from 1980 to 1991 was an associate professor of musicology and music history at Hunter College, where she completed her bachelor’s degree. From 2012 to 2016, she chaired the board of directors at Opera America, an organization that serves more than 150 opera companies across the United States and Canada; she was the first board chair in the organization’s history who had never directed an opera company. The Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, which nurtures some of the nation’s most talented young opera artists through training and performance opportunities is the largest and most prestigious of its kind.
The couple’s history with Brown began when two of their children attended the University in the 1980s. Two of their grandchildren also chose to attend Brown, "inspired in part by the previous generation’s positive experiences on campus."
'All of my children and grandchildren who attended Brown have thrived there — it’s such a happy place,' Mrs. Lindemann said. 'My husband felt very strongly about investing in a place that made our children and grandchildren into such passionate people and creative thinkers. His generosity is the basis of our support for Brown, past and present.'"
Relative to the donation, Brown admitted that they were aware of the younger Lindemann's conviction of killing the horse, but were unaware of the link to the environmental crime in Rhode Island.
"Brown has detailed policies and practices in place to guide our work with donors, including gift acceptance and naming policies. Among the provisions, our policies make clear that acceptance of a gift does not imply or mean that the University endorses or approves of a donor’s views, opinions, businesses or activities. Those policies and practices guided our decision-making, and we accepted this gift with full confidence," said Brian Clark, Associate Vice President for News and Editorial Development in a statement to GoLocal.
Related Articles
- People on the Move: Botelho Joins BankRI and Kleinman Leaves RISD for Brown
- Former Brown Basketball Coach Robinson - Obama’s Brother-in-Law - Sues Kids’ School Alleging Racism
- Brown’s Jha to be Biden’s New COVID Czar
- Pellet Gun Assaults Continue to Plague Providence — More Brown University Students Shot Overnight
- Brown University to Confer 9 Honorary Degrees - Recipients to Include Speaker Pelosi and Shaggy
- Email Hack at Brown Reportedly Involved Nearly Half-Million Addresses
- RI Is Missing Its Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Goals - Mixed Results at Brown & RI Hospital
- NY Lt. Governor & Brown University Grad Benjamin Resigns Following Arrest
- Battle Lines Drawn Over Efforts to Force Brown and Other Colleges to Pay More to Host Towns
- 3 Providence Mayoral Candidates Favor Taxing Brown and Other Colleges — One Doesn’t
- Transgender Brown Student Sues University Over Sexual Assault Allegation Case
- Students From RI High Schools and Brown Hold Protest at Chase Over Bank’s Climate Policies
- Brown Men’s Lacrosse Host NCAA Game in Season Marred By Sexual Assault Allegations
- Brown’s Salloway Responds to GoLocal Article on Alzheimer’s Drug Failure
