Ontario securities watchdog bans former mogul Drabinsky

Ontario's securities watchdog says former Broadway theater mogul Garth Drabinsky has been permanently banned from becoming a director or officer of a publicly traded company in Canada's largest province.

He and business partner Myron Gottlieb served several years in prison for fraud that resulted in the demise of now-defunct Livent Inc. The company was behind the hits "Phantom of the Opera" and "Ragtime."

The Ontario Securities Commission made the announcement Friday. The Tony award-winning producers were both convicted in 2009 of two counts of fraud each for a book-cooking scheme.

Livent was once the largest live theater company in North America. It owned or controlled theaters in New York, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver and its Broadway productions won 14 Tony Awards and were nominated for dozens more.