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NYer pleads guilty in scam of noted pianist

A New York businessman has pleaded guilty to defrauding a wealthy musician and oil-family heir of $20 million. WAMC’s Dave Lucas has details.

Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore said Vickram Bedi bilked pianist and composer Roger Davidson of $20 million over six years. Bedi and his company, Datalink Computer Products of Mount Kisco, pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny on Tuesday.

The scam began in August 2004 when Davidson's computer developed a virus. Prosecutors say Bedi then persuaded Davidson that there were threats against him coming out of Central America and the CIA.

Davidson is a pianist and composer from Katonah, N.Y. He's founder and president of the Society for Universal Sacred Music. His great-grandfather and great-uncle founded the Houston-based oil services company Schlumberger Ltd.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 22.

© 2012 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.