A Seattle real-estate developerwho vanished with his wife after a judge demanded they hand over two hugediamonds was arrested Wednesday in a lake town in the French Alps.
Police arrested Michael Mastro, 87, andhis wife, Linda, at the request of American authorities, said Kayla Celaya, asupervisory deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service. The arrests came in the townof Annecy, near the Swiss border in southeastern France.
The Mastros were charged with bankruptcyfraud in a six-count FBI complaint unsealed Wednesday in federal court inSeattle. The complaint accuses them of concealing one of their bank accountsfrom creditors and using $285,000 from the account for personal expenses —including payments on their Bentley and Rolls Royce automobiles, credit cardbills, and the purchase of $100,000 in gold.
"It's a great day for the Mastrobankruptcy estate," said Jim Rigby, the trustee overseeing the estate."It just not right he's living in the Ritz in Europe when other peoplehave been forced out of their homes. The money he was living on belonged tothose creditors."
Mastro attorney James Frush did notimmediately return a call seeking comment.
Mastro was a developer and money lenderwho oversaw commercial and residential projects worth an estimated $2 billionover a 40-year career. But the market's crash left him short, and three banksforced him into bankruptcy in 2009. He owes more than $200 million tocreditors, who are expected to receive just pennies on the dollar.
The couple disappeared 16 months agoafter a judge ordered them to turn over two of Linda Mastro's rings. Withdiamonds of 27.8 and 15.9 carats, they're worth an estimated total of $1.4million.
The criminal complaint made no mentionof the diamonds, and it remains unclear where they are. Rigby said he hopes theMastros bring them when they return from France.
The Marshals Service says that if theMastros fight extradition, it could take months or years for them to bereturned to the U.S.
Many of the couple's personal items havebeen sold at auction to repay Michael Mastro's creditors. Dozens of designerhandbags sold for up to $900 apiece, a baby grand piano sold for $17,000, and aDale Chihuly chandelier sold for $35,000. Their 2007 Bentley convertible wentfor $92,500.