Sealed report makes for interesting Hollywood reading

A federal bankruptcy court judge unsealed an "explosive" 400-page court report on the affairs of film executive David Bergstein and his associate Ronald Tutor — then resealed the report. While it was available, the media got a look. Alex Ben Block at the Hollywood Reporter says the document by court trustee Ronald Durkin talks about "a mass scheme of corruption, incompetence, perjury and a conscious effort to mislead the court."

Bergstein, the beleaguered financier who the federal court had previously found to be responsible for the failings of independent film companies Capitol and Think Film, is the central figure of the report. It documents what he says is a pattern of aggressive, misguided business deals, improper bank dealings, lies and the manipulation of company funds for personal purposes – most notably to pay off substantial gambling debts owed to Las Vegas casinos.

Tutor, who is CEO of a publicly traded corporation that is among the largest construction contractors in the world, and is part of a group that bought Miramax from Disney late last year for a reported $663 million, is revealed in the report to the court to have lost millions during his ill-fated partnership with Bergstein that began in 2002. Although he signed documents confirming he was an officer of several related corporations, Tutor is said to have tried to convince the court he was a passive investor with little knowledge of what happened. Durkin makes a strong case that Tutor wasn't telling the truth about his knowledge.

Tutor had claimed in court documents and under oath that he had sold his interests in the film business to Bergstein in January 2009 for $10, but Durkin lays out what he says is proof that the dissolution of their business arrangement actually took place months later, and that they conspired to back-date documents to make it appear he exited earlier to avoid legal liability.

Durkin delves into detail about questionable transactions, including the transfer of movies from one entity to another in an apparent attempt to hide assets. He also documents how companies controlled by Bergstein allegedly deleted thousands of computer files shortly before and after the start of the involuntary bankruptcy case in March 2010.

Add Block: His daughter is singer-actress Hayley Taylor, shown here on KTLA Morning News.