As former Vitelco owner Jeffrey Prosser’s bitter, scandal-filled bankruptcy winds through its seventh year – court appointed trustees have sold off most of the houses, art, jewelry and wine – creditors recently auctioned the glassware and cutlery from his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion for $32,000.
Prosser entered bankruptcy in 2006 after creditors called in more than half a billion dollars in loans in response to learning Prosser had sold part of the loan collateral by improperly selling "preferred stock" in Vitelco’s parent company.
In the years since, the court revoked many of Prosser’s bankruptcy protections, ruling that he drained and hid company assets after declaring bankruptcy, in part by spending company money lavishly on personal jewelry, wine, art, silver, homes and home improvements. He and wife Dawn Prosser are currently facing nearly $1 million in related contempt of court sanctions. (See: Prossers Risk Jail Time For Not Paying Contempt Sanctions in Related Links below)
Silverware accounted for the overwhelming majority of the proceeds from the recent sale. Nearly half – $14,500 – came from a single flatware service set for 18. The flatware was gold-plated sterling silver from French manufacturer Puiforcat.
An Asprey and Garrard sterling silver flatware service, weighing 231 Troy Ounces of silver, fetched $7,500, and an Asprey and Garrard sterling silver tea service sold for $2,900, for a total of almost $24,000 in decorative dining utensils.
The remaining $6,000 or so came from the sale of Prosser’s wine glasses. A set of 18 champagne "flute" glasses from Rosenthal sold for $810; another set of 18 Lalique crystal champagne glasses sold for $450. Sets of similarly expensive red wine, white wine, dessert wine, cordial glasses and water glasses make up the remainder.
The court appointed trustee for Prosser’s personal estate engaged Auction America to hold the auction, which occurred June 21, according to court documents. Auction America also sold off Prosser’s former wine collection on St. Croix, which, according to the court, was worth several hundred thousand dollars until the Prossers allowed hundreds of bottles to disappear and hundreds of other bottles to spoil from neglect. The wines sold for $15,739 at auction in May, roughly 3 percent of its estimated $491,000 value when first inventoried for Prosser’s bankruptcy.
