Stanley H. Polley (1922- ) is a retired American music entrepreneur and charlatan who mismanaged the business ventures of several musicians. He preyed upon mostly American artists, including Al Kooper and Lou Christie, but Polley is mostly known for his mismanagement of the British band Badfinger, committing fraudulent actions whose recklessness led to the death of the group's leader Peter Ham. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Lou Christie (born Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco on February 19, 1943 in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter best known for a string of pop hits in the 1960s. ... Badfinger were a rock/pop band formed in Swansea, Wales in 1965, and one of the earliest representatives of the power pop genre. ... William Peter Ham (April 27, 1947 – April 23, 1975) was a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known as the leader of the ill-fated group Badfinger. ...

Polley reportedly began his managerial career in New York's garment industry. He began artist management after he met Christie in the mid 1960s. Although Badfinger had a personal UK manager, they did not believe he was capable of properly conducting business in America. With Badfinger's success in 1970 with the single "Come And Get It," the group was pressured to seek professional business management. Polley represented many artists by 1970 and had experience in arranging large U.S. tours for clients. Come And Get It was the name of a song composed by Beatle Paul McCartney for the movie The Magic Christian (which starred fellow Beatle Ringo Starr) and made popular by the group Badfinger. ...

Polley set up a New York-based business on behalf of Badfinger called Badfinger Enterprises, Incorporated. The revenues from the band's recording and touring efforts were funneled into this business, presumably for reinvestment. The band members were paid a salary, rather than receiving immediate income from contract advances and tours. NY redirects here. ...

Beginning in 1971, and reported in the New York Times, a Senate Investigation Committee conducted hearings on an accusation that New York State Supreme Court Justice Mitchell D. Schweitzer had accepted a bribe in 1955. According to Judicial Court Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh's 1971 charges, convicted stock manipulator Michael Raymond (also suspected in at least five murders), paid Polley $25,000 to "exert improper influence on Justice Schweitzer." The charges did not say that the Justice ever received any of that money but that he conspired with Polley and Raymond to obtain a lenient sentence. In July 1971 Michael Raymond told a U.S. Senate subcommitee that Polley was "well connected with organized crime." The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... New York County Supreme Court building at 60 Centre Street, from across Foley Square The Supreme Court of the State of New York is one of several New York State trial courts in which cases originate. ... Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ...

Justice Schweitzer was charged with misconduct but retired before the investigation was completed. Polley was not charged with a crime. The incident had taken place 15 years earlier. (The state's statute of limitations put a 2 year limit on the prosecution of such offenses.) However, many of Polley's clients (excluding Badfinger) said they became aware of his background due to the publicity.

In 1973, Polley negotiated a new record contract with Warner Brothers for Badfinger, which called for advances to be paid into an escrow account. Approximately $100,000 in publishing escrow funds from Warner's publishing division disappeared after Polley gained access to the account. Reportedly, after several months of unsuccessful attempts to contact Polley about the funds, Warner Brothers filed suit against Badfinger Enterprises for breach of contract. Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... Warner Bros. ... Escrow is a legal arrangement in which an asset (often money, but sometimes other property such as art, a deed of title, website, or software source code) is delivered to a third party (called an escrow agent) to be held in trust pending a contingency or the fulfillment of a... Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other partys performance. ...

The legal morass crippled Badfinger financially. Band leader Pete Ham committed suicide in 1975, leaving behind a note that blamed Polley for his death. Two Badfinger songs, "Hey, Mr. Manager" and "Rock & Roll Contract," are reportedly about Polley. William Peter Ham (April 27, 1947 – April 23, 1975) was a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known as the leader of the ill-fated group Badfinger. ...

In the late 1980s, Polley pleaded no contest to charges of misappropriating funds and money laundering in Riverside County, California. Aeronautics engineer Peter Brock accused Polley of swindling him for US$250,000 after the two set up a corporation to manufacture airplane engines. In 1991, Polley was placed on five-years probation and ordered by the court to return all missing funds to Brock, although the complainant said the restitution never materialized. In criminal trials in some common law jurisdictions, a plea of nolo contendere means that the defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge, and is an alternative to pleading guilty or not guilty. ... Riverside County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California, stretching from Orange County to the Colorado River, which is the border with Arizona. ... Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering concerning aircraft, spacecraft and related topics. ... Corporate redirects here. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ...

In 2006, artifacts pertaining to Badfinger's business dealings began showing up on Ebay auctions, including contracts between the band and Polley, letters written to Polley by Badfinger's business associates, and canceled checks signed by the band members for Badfinger Enterprises, Inc. It is unknown (albeit suspected) that these possessions are being submitted by Polley.

Stan Polley currently lives in the Palm Desert area of California.

Further reading

• Dan Matovina: Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger. ISBN 0-9657122-1-4