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Times Staff WriterMichael Pinera, who played with Blues Image and Iron Butterfly, denies he stole from a foundation.
CLEARWATER - One of the most successful rock musicians to emerge from Tampa was arrested this weekend on charges he ripped off $50,000 from the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation in Clearwater.
Michael Pinera, who played in the bands Blues Image and Iron Butterfly, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail Saturday afternoon on a grand theft charge. Pinera, 55, spent about three hours in jail before he posted $10,000 bail and was released.
In late 2001, officials with the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation gave Pinera $50,000 to sign artists for a concert to benefit the organization. But for months, officials heard of no progress in the plans.
In June 2002, the foundation sent a letter to Pinera demanding the money back. Pinera sent an e-mail to the foundation president promising to return the money, but never did, an affidavit states.
A year later, the State Attorney's Office launched an investigation into Pinera. Looking at bank records, investigators learned Pinera had deposited the $50,000 into two accounts, then withdrew some of the money to buy items at Circuit City, Sharper Image, Radio Shack, Burdines and Walgreens. He also wrote checks to his wife and landlord, the affidavit states.
Foundation attorney Joseph Magri said the foundation routinely enters into agreements with artists and promoters for benefit events, usually with no problem.
"They often deal with these people on trust and that trust has been almost uniformly rewarded," Magri said. "And this is a sad counter-example.
"The foundation feels betrayed and there is a deep sense of regret on behalf of the kids because it's money that would go directly to the people it serves."
Reached Monday afternoon, Pinera said he did nothing wrong. He said foundation officials pulled the plug on the concert in the middle of planning. The concert would also have included a television special and DVD of concert footage.
"I'm ready to do it if they would just return my calls," he said. "I call them constantly."
Magri chuckled when told of Pinera's comments, then said: "What year is this? How long ago was that money given to him?"
The Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation Inc. helps at-risk, inner-city youths improve their self-esteem, character, work ethic and academic performance, according to its Web site.
Magri said the foundation has a budget of more than $2.5 million, but the loss of $50,000 hurts.
"You are talking about money that is coming right off the top. It's money that goes directly to programs," he said.
The Tampa-born Pinera has known foundation founder William Hayes for about 18 years and they had been talking about a benefit concert before the foundation gave him money.
Pinera is perhaps best known for his stint with Blues Image, which he founded in Tampa in 1966. The band scored a No. 1 hit in 1968 with Ride, Captain, Ride.
Pinera later left the band and signed on with Iron Butterfly, best known for its 1968 opus In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida. He later played with Alice Cooper.
While playing in front of thousands, Pinera also battled cocaine addiction, which he said he quit through a 12-step program.
He later helped form the Classic Rock All-Stars, consisting of rockers from bands like Sugarloaf, Rare Earth and Cannibal and the Head-Hunters. Pinera often brought in singers from other bands, such as Kansas and Three Dog Night, to perform with his crew.
In 2001, Pinera also was starting a classic rock television network and Web site that featured vintage video of classic rock acts. It was that same year that the Chi Chi Rodriguez Foundation gave him the money to plan the benefit concert.
During an interview with the State Attorney's Office investigators in November 2003, Pinera said he had done a lot of work planning the concert. He claimed to have given advance deposits to Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals and actor Dan Aykroyd of the Blues Brothers to appear at the concert.
He also claimed to have made preliminary arrangements to hold the concert at Gulfstream Park in Miami and had hired an attorney to help him.
But investigators found those all to be lies, the arrest affidavit indicates. They found no evidence he had done a thing.
Agents for both Cavaliere and Aykroyd knew nothing of the benefit, nor did Gulfstream Park officials. The attorney Pinera mentioned having hired said he never was retained in regard to the concert.
Pinera told investigators he had documents which proved he had worked on the concert. He promised to send them to investigators, but has not, arrest affidavits state.
"I did a hundred things (to plan the concert) so there's no way this could be a criminal case," Pinera said Monday while en route to his California home. "It is a tender subject that is very near and dear to my heart."
- Chris Tisch can be reached at 727 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com