I will always treasure the phrase "deep-pocketed phantoms".

There have been further developments regarding the troubles besetting a potential musical version of Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca (which we wrote about late last month). According to Playbill, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have arrested Long Island businessman Mark Hotton, accusing him of "fabricating the prospect of $4.5 million in financing commitments".

Hotton is being charged with two counts of wire fraud. He was going to be paid more than $60,000 in fees and commissions to serve as the middleman between the musical's producers and supposed investors. He has also been accused of a second, far larger fraudulent scheme (this one involving a Connecticut-based real estate company), that was apparently structured in a similar way.

Note: Be sure to scroll all the way down the Playbill article and take a gander at the Rebecca marquee. It is hilarious, like Rebecca as performed by the Cirque du Soleil.