Missing mogul Michael Mastro's treasures go to highest bidder

PALM DESERT — Joanne Carson was ecstatic. After bidding on fur coat after fur coat, she finally got one.

“Oh, my gosh, that cost at least $5,000,” the Kansas City, Mo., resident exclaimed Wednesday after she bid $250 on a George Mamouakis fur and was declared the highest bidder.

The furs were among nearly 800 items that included a 2007 Bentley convertible, hundreds of bottles of wine, designer handbags, shoes, silk ties, Italian-made suits, crystal stemware and lamps, Versace plates, hand-painted Christmas ornaments, and more auctioned off Wednesday at Embassy Suites in Palm Desert.

The items had belonged to real estate tycoon Michael Mastro, 86, and his wife Linda, 61, who filed bankruptcy in 2009, owing their creditors an estimated $325 million.

They've been missing since last summer when they failed to comply with a court order to turn over diamond rings worth $1.4 million.

Warrants have been issued for their arrests.

The most eye-popping sale of the day was the Bentley, which sold for $92,500. It was claimed by a local couple who didn't want their names published.

“She's going to look great in that car,” auctioneer Tim Murphy said as he coaxed the winners to up their bid on the mint-condition fully loaded car with less than 28,000 miles.

The auction drew about 200 people to the Embassy Suites, while 200 others bid online.

Kenmore, Wash.-based James G. Murphy Inc. handled the auction for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

“We do a lot of bankruptcy auctions,” Murphy said of the family-owned and -operated business started by his father, James Murphy.

After filing bankruptcy and losing their mansion in Seattle in 2010, the Mastros are believed to have vacationed in Italy, Switzerland, Paris and New York.

They ultimately moved to Palm Desert, where they rented a home until they disappeared, Murphy said.

Items from the mansion and the Palm Desert home were moved into a spacious storage unit on El Viento Road in Palm Desert, where they could be viewed by potential bidders before and during Wednesday's auction.

Other big-money makers were the Chihuly chandelier that went for $35,000 and the Steinway that sold for $17,000. Twenty-six Chihuly glass sculptures were auctioned in total.

Women were walking out of the auction with Gucci, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Prada and other high-end handbags, shoes and fur coats for a fraction of what the Mastros likely paid for them.

Michael Shreter of Indian Wells was all smiles Wednesday after he successfully bid on a Judith Leiber handbag for his fiancée.

“Oh, she wanted it so bad,” he said. He also picked up some spaghetti bowls monogrammed with an “M,” spending about $700.

“I stole everything,” Shreter said, smiling. “I feel guilty.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sherry Barkas covers the city of Palm Desert for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at sherry.barkas@thedesertsun.com or (760) 778-4694.