Auction: Get a designer handbag once owned by Linda Mastro
May 22, 2014, 4:55 PM | Updated: 9:36 pm
Real-estate developer Michael Mastro and his wife Linda owe creditors, family and friends more than $500 million, according to bankruptcy filings in King County. (AP Photos)
(AP Photos)
Chanel, Valentino, Fendi, Jimmy Choo – all the big names were there in Linda Mastro’s closet, but now you have the chance to claim them for yourself.
Linda and Michael Mastro were indicted on 43 counts of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering after the Medina real estate investor and developer went belly-up.
The handbags, sunglasses, and even fur-trimmed boots are on a long list of items once owned by Linda Mastro and will be auctioned off on June 26. The money will help pay off creditors.
“It’s really a wide and varied collection,” said Terry Moore with James G. Murphy Co. in Kenmore, which is running the auction. “The most unusual items are the small decorated handbags. I’ve never seen anything quite like them.”
Among the 175 items are 14 pairs of sunglasses, a handful of old coins, six fur coats, Louis Vuitton luggage, and over 20 jeweled Judith Leiber handbags.
The Mastros declared bankruptcy in 2009. Their case is believed to be the largest personal bankruptcy ever in the state of Washington.
Many people have been fighting to get their hands on the money they’re owed since the Mastros moved to France in 2011.
They were charged with bankruptcy fraud and arrested in October of 2012, but released from jail two months later because their health was declining.
The U.S has tried to extradite the Mastros twice. Courts in France have refused, citing the couple’s declining health.
KIRO Radio’s Kim Shepard contributed to this report.
