A former prominent neurological researcher at Yale University and New York University avoided prison time for stealing research funds but a judge says he must play piano for indigent elderly people in Connecticut to make amends.
The unusual sentence for Dr. Alexander Neumeister was handed out Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
The Manhattan jurist says Neumeister must play piano for an hour at least twice weekly at group facilities in Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford and Waterbury.
In June, Neumeister pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. He admitted stealing $87,000 from New York University and various grant programs from 2012 to 2014.
A tearful Neumeister apologized for "unbelievable short-sidedness and poor judgment" and said his November 2017 arrest led him to confront his own psychological demons.
