Auction House of Cards

Hart Galleries owners sentenced to 14 years
By BRIAN ROGERS HOUSTON CHRONICLE
April 28, 2009, 7:43PM

The owners of Hart Galleries, a Galleria-area auction house specializing in antiques, were sentenced to 14 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to financial crimes in connection with their business.

Jerry Hart, 65, and Wynonne Hart, 61, pleaded guilty to misapplication of fiduciary property of more than $200,000, a first-degree felony, in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges of theft and laundering.

“Mr. Hart, you are a thief in a suit. Mrs. Hart, you are a thief in a dress,” state District Judge Randy Roll told the husband and wife.

Roll noted that Jerry Hart admitted he was “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

The judge said putting senior citizens in prison was difficult, but said they did not take any responsibility for stealing money from their customers. They had faced punishments ranging from probation to life in prison.

“It was a classic Ponzi scheme,” Roll said. “They were using the newest customers’ money to pay off the oldest customers.”

The sentencing came three years after the Harts’ once-glamorous auction house, which sometimes served as the setting for opulent parties, went into bankruptcy.

Restaurateur Tony Vallone called the prison sentence a huge fall for the well-known couple, whose names frequently were frequently noted in society columns.

“They were players in the community, they did a lot of charitable auctions,” Vallone said. “They were very nice people, and I liked them.”

Some of the Harts’ customers were less impressed.

Deborah Butler, who lost about $100,000 worth of furniture, said justice had been served by the sentences.

“Mr. Hart had already visited a bankruptcy attorney when he took my consignment … ,” Butler said. “It was egregiously dishonest.”

Ann Weiss, a Hart customer who lost more than $5,000, also called the sentence just.

“It will certainly be a change in lifestyle,” Weiss said of the time behind bars. “You should think about that before breaking the law.”

Harris County Assistant District Attorney Markay Stroud said the couple stole more than $4 million.

Wynonne Hart’s attorney, Stacey Bond, said earlier this week that the couple had agreed to take responsibility for paying business expenses out of the same account where they deposited consignees’ money. She said the couple owed about $1 million.

Friends and business associates wrote letters to Roll asking for him to consider giving the couple probation.

“I know in my heart and soul they never intended to cheat, not pay or do anything criminal. They were intent on saving their business and reputation. It did not work,” wrote James Julius Killough. “I hope that deferred adjudication with a restitution plan will be your conclusion, or even probation.”