Bob Marley’s accountant Marvin Zolt dead at 95
Marvin Zolt, Bob Marley’s controversial former accountant, died August 25 in the United States.
His obituary in The Berkshire Eagle newspaper gave his age as 95.
In 1995, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said that for five years after Marley’s death (in 1981), his lawyer David J Steinberg and his accountant Marvin Zolt, “developed and implemented numerous schemes that allegedly diverted foreign music assets and royalty income from Marley’s estate to themselves”.
According to a 1995 story in the New York Times, the court said “the schemes were carried out with the aid of Mr Marley’s widow, Rita”.
The United States Court of Appeals upheld a 1993 ruling by the Federal Court in Manhattan. A lawsuit brought by the administrator of Marley’s estate had submitted an accountant’s report that said US$13.4 million was diverted from the estate between 1981 and 1986.
Born in New York City, Zolt served in the United States Army during World War II. He operated his Certified Public Accountant firm for 60 years.
— Howard Campbell
