NYC art gallery owner indicted again

NEW YORK (AP) – The owner of a closed Manhattan art gallery that once boasted a star-studded clientele was arrested again Tuesday on charges of carrying out an art fraud that now totals $93 million.

Lawrence B. Salander of Millbrook, New York, is accused of stealing from artists, art owners and investors. The victims include the estate of abstract expressionist Robert De Niro Sr., father of the famed actor, and tennis great John McEnroe.

The indictment unsealed Tuesday, the second against Salander in four months, charges him with grand larceny and falsifying business records.
It also names his Salander-O’Reilly Galleries LLC, which closed in 2007, and his 12-year gallery director, Leigh Morse, as defendants. The gallery was charged the same as Salander, and Morse was charged with grand larceny and fraud.

Salander, 60, and Morse, 53, pleaded not guilty Tuesday at their arraignments in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court.

Justice Michael Obus set $75,000 bail for Morse, which she posted, and he let Salander remain free on the $1 million bail he posted in March after the first indictment. The judge set their next court date for Sept. 9.

Salander’s lawyer Charles Ross said there is “more to this case than meets the eye.” Ross added that his client will fight the charges vigorously and “will be completely vindicated.”

Morse’s attorney, Andrew Lankler, said he had no comment on the case.
The 100-count March indictment accused Salander of defrauding 26 victims of $88 million. That indictment charged him with grand larceny, securities fraud, forgery, falsifying business records and perjury.

People who had consigned art for him to sell sued him. A Manhattan judge padlocked his gallery and impounded the art inside. Manhattan prosecutors have said 4,000 works from the gallery are in the custody of federal bankruptcy authorities in Poughkeepsie, New York.

District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said in March that Salander used the stolen money in his failed effort to corner the Renaissance art market and to support an ostentatious lifestyle. He said that lifestyle had included private jet travel, a gaudy Frick Museum party for his wife and the purchase of a 66-acre (26-hectare) country estate.

Morgenthau also said at the time that Salander defrauded victims named in the first indictment in two primary ways:

In one, he sold art not owned by him and kept the money. The district attorney said this was how Salander stole from the De Niro estate.

And in a variation on this method, Morgenthau said, Salander sometimes sold a piece of art – owned by someone else – several times.

“Why sell it just once when you can sell it three times?” he said.

In the other scheme, Morgenthau said, Salander lured art investors into bogus or nonexistent investment opportunities. He said this was the scheme Salander used to bilk McEnroe out of more than $2 million.

The second indictment accuses Salander of defrauding three victims out of $5 million. The victims include:

. The Lachaise Foundation, which lost $2.8 million after consigning the works of Gaston Lachaise, a French-born American sculptor known for his nudes.

. The De Niro estate, which lost more than $1 million after consigning the works of the abstract expressionist painter.

. The Elie Nadelman estate, which lost more than $1 million and also was named a victim in the first indictment; Nadelman was a Polish-born American sculptor.

The Nadelman count in the first indictment was superseded because of additional evidence presented to the grand jury.

Morgenthau’s lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant District Attorney Micki Shulman, said there is little chance that the victims will regain their art or any significant part of their monetary losses.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Plentiful selection in Ro Gallery Summer Art Sale, July 23

The Chinese philosophy of opposing but interdependent forces is apparent in this bronze sculpture by Kenny Scharf (American, 1961-). Titled ‘Yinyang Noselock,' the bronze is estimated at $40,000-$50,000. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
The Chinese philosophy of opposing but interdependent forces is apparent in this bronze sculpture by Kenny Scharf (American, 1961-). Titled ‘Yinyang Noselock,' the bronze is estimated at $40,000-$50,000. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
The Chinese philosophy of opposing but interdependent forces is apparent in this bronze sculpture by Kenny Scharf (American, 1961-). Titled ‘Yinyang Noselock,’ the bronze is estimated at $40,000-$50,000. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.

NEW YORK – The dog days of summer aren’t considered the peak season for selling art, but they have not kept Ro Gallery from assembling a noteworthy list of works for their Summer Sale of Modern and Contemporary Art on July 23. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the 330-lot auction.

A 1999 bronze sculpture by Kenny Scharf titled Yinyang Noselock is the signature piece in the sale. The American artist’s take on the classic Taoist Taijitu symbol measures 23 1/4 inches by 24 inches by 12 3/4 inches. It is estimated at $40,000-$50,000.

“It’s the best (in the auction) by far,” said Jaime Villamarin, assistant director of Ro Gallery.

Villamarin expects a serigraph titled American Boy by Chaz Guest to do well.

“He’s an up and coming African-American artist. He lives and works in L.A. We’ve had several of his pieces and sold them all,” said Villamarin.

The image is of a stoic, black boy holding a stalk of cotton bolls at harvest time. The signed and numbered (5/10) print is 33 by 22 inches and has a $2,500-$3,000 estimate.

In the same price range is a 1986 lithograph titled The Entertainer by Robert Longo (American 1953- ).

“He’s one of our hottest artists – very contemporary, very hip,” said Villamarin.

The auction will also feature two Picasso lithographs and a Savador Dali lithograph with collage titled Anti-Umbrella With Atomized Liquid.

The auction will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern on July 23. For details call Ro Gallery at 800-888-1063.

View the fully illustrated catalogs and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

This lithograph of Pablo Picasso's ‘Tete De Femme' was published between 1979 and 1982. It measures 29 by 22 inches and has a $3,000-$3,500 estimate. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
This lithograph of Pablo Picasso’s ‘Tete De Femme’ was published between 1979 and 1982. It measures 29 by 22 inches and has a $3,000-$3,500 estimate. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
‘Anti-Umbrella With Atomized Liquid' is from Salvador Dali's portfolio ‘Imaginations and Objects of the Future.' The 30- by 22-inch print carries a $4,000-$4,500. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
‘Anti-Umbrella With Atomized Liquid’ is from Salvador Dali’s portfolio ‘Imaginations and Objects of the Future.’ The 30- by 22-inch print carries a $4,000-$4,500. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
Chaz Guest (American, 1961- ) created this poignant picture titled ‘American Boy' in 2000. The 33- by 22-inch serigraph has a $2,500-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
Chaz Guest (American, 1961- ) created this poignant picture titled ‘American Boy’ in 2000. The 33- by 22-inch serigraph has a $2,500-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
Robert Longo created 85 prints of the lithograph titled ‘The Entertainer' in 1986. The 30- by 22-inch litho has a $3,000-$3,500 estimate. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.
Robert Longo created 85 prints of the lithograph titled ‘The Entertainer’ in 1986. The 30- by 22-inch litho has a $3,000-$3,500 estimate. Image courtesy Ro Gallery.

Check signed by reclusive astronaut Neil Armstrong in July 15 online auction

Neil Armstrong Signature Close-up (includes the rarely seen middle initial shown here). Courtesy RR Auction.
Neil Armstrong Signature Close-up (includes the rarely seen middle initial shown here). Courtesy RR Auction.
Neil Armstrong Signature Close-up (includes the rarely seen middle initial shown here). Courtesy RR Auction.

AMHERST, N.H. (AP) – A check that astronaut Neil Armstrong wrote the morning he blasted off for the moon 40 years ago is being auctioned by a New Hampshire company.

The $10.50 check was for money Armstrong had borrowed from Harold Collins, a NASA manager. According to RR Auction in Amherst, Armstrong wrote it in case anything happened to him on the moon mission, but told Collins not to cash it because he would return.

Armstrong did return – after becoming the first person to walk on the moon.

The check’s consignor, Noah Bradley, says he bought the memento from Collins’ son George about five years ago. Bradley, of Charlottesville, Va., says he was interested partly because Armstrong is one of the most private former astronauts.

The online auction will close tonight, July 15, 2009. As this story was being published on AuctionCentralNews.com, the the Armstrong check had received 28 bids and was up to $17,122.

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On the Net:

www.RRAuction.com

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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ADDITIONAL NEIL ARMSTRONG IMAGES OF NOTE

One-of-a-kind item from the first man on the moon, a personal check, 6 inches by 2.75 inches, filled out and signed in-full (including the rarely-seen middle initial), by "Neil A. Armstrong," payable for $10.50 to NASA official Harold Collins on the day of the Apollo 11 launch, July 16, 1969. Courtesy RR Auction.
One-of-a-kind item from the first man on the moon, a personal check, 6 inches by 2.75 inches, filled out and signed in-full (including the rarely-seen middle initial), by "Neil A. Armstrong," payable for $10.50 to NASA official Harold Collins on the day of the Apollo 11 launch, July 16, 1969. Courtesy RR Auction.

Thrifty tourist tips in Brussels include Magritte Museum, historic architecture

Grand-Place is a must-see in Brussels, but eating there could be challenging to the budget traveler. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Grand-Place is a must-see in Brussels, but eating there could be challenging to the budget traveler. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Grand-Place is a must-see in Brussels, but eating there could be challenging to the budget traveler. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

BRUSSELS (AP) – As the host city for many European Union institutions and their well-heeled Eurocrats, Brussels may not sound like the best destination for travelers on the cheap. A plate of mussels, a local specialty, can set you back nearly $30 (20 euros).

But with a little creativity, you can enjoy Brussels’ pleasures on a budget – from free chocolate samples and cheap waffles to the spectacular Grand-Place.

GETTING THERE: Skip Europe’s biggest transport scam: the $77 (55 euro) airport-to-downtown cab ride lasting barely 30 minutes. Take the 20-minute train ride for $4.20 (3 euros) – $2.70 (1.90 euro for under age 12) – to the central station. From there, subways, buses and streetcars go everywhere.

GETTING AROUND: From downtown, you can get to most sights and an infinite number of cafes, restaurants and bars on foot. Public transport is cheap. A one or three-day pass costs $6.30 (4.50 euros) and $13.20 (9.50 euros) respectively. A 10-trip pass costs $17.10 (12.30 euros).

You can also not pay, like many Bruxellois, but you risk a $70 (50 euro) fine.

WHERE TO STAY: There are budget hotels and hostels near the city center. Youth Hostel Jacques Brel – http://tinyurl.com/lh5wca – starting at $23 (16.40 euros) a night, and 2GO4 Quality Hostel – http://www.2go4.be/quality/ – starting at around $28 (20 euros) a night, are worth looking into.

PARKS, LANDMARKS AND MARKETS: Brussels’ top tourist attraction is free: The Grand-Place, a spectacular square in the historic center of the city. It is known for the ornate architecture of its centuries-old buildings, including City Hall and former guild houses for skilled professions like brewers, bakers and butchers. The square is beautifully lit at night, and every other year its center is lined with a carpet of flowers mid-August for three days. The next flower carpet will be laid in 2010.

Manneken Pis, Brussels’ famed small statue of a naked little boy, pees into his fountain just off the Grand-Place. He is sometimes dressed up in one of the hundreds of outfits he has been given over the years. There is a female and a canine version – Jeanneke Pis and Zinneke Pis – nearby.

Beware the expensive, touristy shops around the Grand-Place. For a more authentic, less expensive way to sample Belgian goods, there are daily and weekend markets. Rummage around the daily flea market in the Marolles neighborhood. Sundays, there is a big market around the Midi railway station and on Place Flagey.

With more than 2,900 acres of parks, Brussels is a very green city. Don’t miss the park on the Place du Petit Sablon, with its numerous statues, or the Parc de Laeken, with the royal castle.

For a beautiful bird’s-eye view of the Belgian capital, go to the top of the Museum of Musical Instruments, at rue Montagne de la Cour 2. Admission is $7 or $5.60 for students (5 or 4 euros).

For concerts and other entertainment, check the free magazine Agenda, available in subway stations and pubs, or visit http://www.agenda.be/v2/fr.html.

MUSEUMS AND CHURCHES: It can rain in Brussels. And rain! But more than three dozen museums and historic churches provide for ample indoor activities.

Use the Brussels Card that covers public transport and entrance to museums only if you plan to visit more than four or five museums, or are older than 25. Most museums cost only a few dollars (euros) for visitors under 25, making the $28 to $46 (20 to 30 euro) card pricey.

One of Belgium’s newest attractions, the Rene Magritte Museum, located in the house at Rue Esseghem 135 where the famed surrealist painter worked for 24 years. Entry is $7 (5 euros) for visitors age 23 and under. Access to the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History is free year-round. Many other museums are free after 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.

Entrance to churches is free, but hours are more limited than in museums. Eglise Notre Dame de la Chapelle, the city’s oldest, located on the Place de la Chapelle, was built in the 13th century. Art in the 225-year-old Eglise St-Jacques sur Coudenberg, on the Place Royale, is also worth a visit.

CHEAP EATS: Brussels is rightly famous for french fries, waffles and mussels _ frites, gauffres and moules in French. If on a budget, stick to the first two. Moules can cost $28 (20 euros) a plate.

Frites are sold at grease emporiums known as friteries. Check out Chez Martin on Place St. Josse, near the Madou subway stop, or Maison Antoine on Place Jourdan, near the EU headquarters, which is open into the wee hours.

Waffles are on sale everywhere for $2.10 (1.50 euros) and up. They come smothered with whipped cream, sugar, fruit or – what else? – chocolate sauce.

For a cheap, filling meal try shawarmas (also called gyros or pita sandwiches), priced at $4.20 to $5.60 (3 or 4 euros). The place to go: Rue du Lombard, off of Grand-Place, has numerous pita restaurants.

BARS: There are pubs and cafes all over town vending scores of different kinds of beers – blond or dark and always foamy. The St. Catherine and St. Gery neighborhoods have un-touristy bars, such as Zebra, Walvis, Greenwich and Monk. The bars on the Grand-Place are touristy and pricey. But just around the corner, Delirium holds the Guinness World Record for the most types of beer in one bar (2,004), and the former brothel, Goupil le Fol, offers unique fruit wines. Beers and wines are usually $2.80 to $5.60 (2 to 4 euros) per glass; cocktails are double that price.

DAY TRIPS: In less than an hour by train, visitors can travel from Brussels to Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent or Liege.

DOS AND DON’TS:

Do ask for free samples in the chocolate shops. When you’ve gone to each one, you won’t need to buy any. Do go to chocolate factories for discounted prices. Neuhaus and Leonidas both have factories just outside of Brussels.

Don’t rent a bike. The rental system was recently overhauled, but it still does not work well. You can actually be arrested for riding a bike out of one district into another.

Don’t eat in the Grand-Place. It is a spectacular place to see, but for eating and drinking, move to more authentic, cheaper eateries nearby.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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ADDITIONAL BRUSSELS IMAGES OF NOTE

Brussels' Cinquantenaire. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Brussels’ Cinquantenaire. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The Manneke Pis is viewed as a symbol of French and Dutch cohabitation in Brussels. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The Manneke Pis is viewed as a symbol of French and Dutch cohabitation in Brussels. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Donated decoys will help fund boy’s treatment

LAROSE, La. (AP) – Duck decoys donated from people all over the nation were sold at an auction in Larose that raised $80,000 for a 14-year-old boy in need of a lung transplant.

Dylan Danos, an incoming freshman at South Lafourche High, has cystic fibrosis. The disorder has weakened his lungs to the point that a transplant is necessary for survival.

About 200 duck decoys were sold at Sunday’s auction to raise money for the as-yet unscheduled transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The decoys were donated by carvers from across the country. Some also came from Nova Scotia, Canada. Other auction items included collectible posters, stays at luxury hotels and restaurants and ice chests filled with bottled water.
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Information from: Daily Comet, http://www.dailycomet.com

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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