Art News

Treasures of Alleged Ponzi Schemer Stanford Auctioned

By: Deborah Quinn Hensel
HOUSTON (REUTERS).- While Texas financier Allen Stanford awaits trial on charges of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, hordes of buyers waited on Saturday at a sweltering warehouse for an auction of his possessions. People lined up around the northeast Houston warehouse for a chance to bid on items like a $55,000 Baccarat crystal eagle — a symbol prominent in Stanford’s company logo — and an arsenal of guns and rifles, including 30 Glock semi-automatic pistols still in their original packaging. “I got pretty excited over the wine,” said Eric Worstell, one of three brothers who make up the third generation of auctioneers in the 57-year-old Seth Worstell Auction Company which won a bid to liquidate Stanford’s property. More than 1,000 bottles of wine, champagne and other spirits