PRODUCER'S 'FOUL PLAY'
Broadway big busted for ‘child porn’ stash
The Broadway producer behind the failed musical “Rebecca” was busted Tuesday for allegedly downloading child porn — as disgusted neighbors recalled that he once collected signatures to get faster Internet on their block.
“For nine years, he was not even able to say hello and suddenly he was quite friendly . . . He needed to have his Internet,” a female neighbor said of Ben Sprecher, 65, of Morningside Heights, whose play “Rebecca: The Musical’’ was infamously torpedoed by a con man.
Sprecher — who has produced everything from Broadway’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs’’ to “American Buffalo,’’ as well as a national tour of “Little House on the Prairie’’ — is accused of downloading more than 100 videos and photos containing child pornography, according to court documents.
The stash included a nearly 46minute video of a girl, described as between 10 and 12 years old, “engaging in various sex acts with an adult male,” the papers allege.
Sprecher shared at least four of the twisted files with an undercover agent over three days in June, the documents claim.
He has admitted to his crimes, according to the court papers.
Sprecher was picked up by Homeland Security and the NYPD at around 6 a.m. at his tony townhouse on West 122nd Street, authorities said. His family was home at the time, according to law-enforcement sources.
“The police officers went inside the building, and they then brought him out. [Sprecher] had a smile on his face — probably nervous and embarrassed about what was going on,’’ said D.B. Shark, a Web-based radio host.
“He is a pleasant guy’’ Shark said. “But you never know who’s next-door.’’
Neighbors recalled how important Sprecher’s Internet connection was to him a few years ago, with one resident, Jenny Raymond, saying he “made an effort to send out notifications [to get a faster speed] to all the neighbors” in 2014.
At his arraignment Tuesday afternoon, a judge banned him from using the Internet.
Sprecher, who has been married for 25 years and has two adult children, was also barred from perusing any kind of porn and ordered “to avoid all unsupervised contact with minors.’’
He was released on $100,000 bond. His lawyer declined to comment after court.
In 2012, Sprecher and “Rebecca’’ co-producer Louise Forlenza were scammed by former Long Island stockbroker Mark Hotton, who netted $60,000 in fees from them with promises of lining up $4.5 million in investments for their play.
Hotton then claimed one of his big investors had died suddenly. He pleaded guilty to moneylaundering conspiracy and was sentenced to 34 months behind bars.
In 2017, Sprecher cried on the stand while testifying against his former press agent, whom he sued for $10 million.