[calvindog]

Originally Posted by whitehse

The Problem Solver called Doug Allen, a former Mastro employee who is president and chief executive at Legendary Auctions.

Allen said he no longer has any responsibilities at Mastro, which shut down because of financial problems. The first priority, he said, was to pay back money it owed to the bank. After that, Mastro intended to pay Dodaro and all other consignors, he said.

"They're not filing bankruptcy. They're not insolvent," Allen said. "They just have liquidity issues."

He said he remains in contact with the folks at Mastro, but Legendary Auctions is not responsible for Mastro's debts. Legendary, he said, is a completely separate entity.

"It's not a shell game where we said, 'Let's close this company and start a new one,' " Allen said. "It's not that."

Allen said he retained some records from Mastro, which showed Dodaro was owed $1,800 for his baseball cards. He promised to call Mastro's controller, Walter Tomala, and ask where Dodaro's money is.

The Problem Solver left repeated phone messages for Tomala but did not hear back. On Monday, the Problem Solver called Legendary Auctions' vice president and chief operating officer, Mark Theotikos, who also is a former Mastro employee. Theotikos promised to contact Tomala as well.

My favorite line: "It's not a shell game where we said, 'Let's close this company and start a new one,' " Allen said. "It's not that."

Doug is like the baseball player who holds out for a bigger contract and then turns to the camera and says "it's not about the money."