FOR SHAME...

From The Washington Post, Nov. 5, 2007
By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts

One woman's booty is another's bargain: The ill-gotten treasure chest of former Washington Teachers' Union president Barbara Bullock went on display Saturday in advance of this weekend's live auction of the luxury goods.

Bullock, now serving a nine-year prison term, spent approximately $800,000 on these designer purses, furs and pricey knickknacks with money embezzled from the union. The seized items sat in an FBI warehouse until this past summer, when Stephanie Kenyon of Sloans & Kenyon in Chevy Chase sent a truck to collect them for auction, with the proceeds going back to the union. "This stuff is new, high-end, glitzy, luxury, status-symbol-type of material," she told us. "Some of the Fendi purses are really wild."

The purse-obsessed Bullock spent tens of thousands on Chanel, Hermès and Judith Leiber handbags, which are estimated to sell for $500 to $800 at auction. (That's about a quarter of their original price; ditto for the minks and jewelry.) The top lot: a 288-piece Tiffany sterling silver flatware service (Chrysanthemum pattern) purchased for $100,000-plus and estimated to sell for $25,000 to $35,000. Too much? Well, the Buccellati sterling wine cooler is expected to bring just $3,000 to $5,000. The feds also seized electronics that will sell at another auction -- except for the TV that union officials kept for headquarters.

Absentee bidding already started on eBay; the live auction begins Saturday.

OH, I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO THIS!!!!

Now, she is a horrible person and should be ashamed of herself for embezzling funds from the DC school system. But I must admit... she spent it on things that I would have spent it on... so I have to give props for what she bought. And maybe her jail sentence will lead to a special bargain for ME!!!!! Woo hoooo!!!