Liquidation sale sweeps away bank opulence

MIAMI, June 10 (UPI) -- Advertising Stanford Financial Group as the source of furniture in a Florida liquidation sale gave the sale added appeal, business owner Micheal Grimme said.

Grimme, who runs AMC Liquidators, generally keeps quiet about the source of the company's sale items, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday. But the firm's ads for 24 truckloads of tapestries, original paintings, cherry desks, and marble-topped tables that once belonged to the collapsed international bank touted the source proudly.

"It has that panache to it," Grimme said.

Stanford Financial Group collapsed amid Securities and Exchange allegations that the firm sold CDs with "unsustainable" yields, then used the revenue to make risky investments.

Attorney Lawrence Sherlock said founder Allen Stanford "has not been accused of committing any crime," although Sherlock is helping Stanford fight a $100 million Internal Revenue Service tax lien.

While the bank's office furnishings are on sale around the country, Grimme estimated the haul from the company's Miami offices is worth about $2 million.

''I think the investment in art was ridiculous,'' said his wife, Pamela Grimme, who helps run the liquidation company. "We've got originals here -- which is scary," she said.