SALANDER-O’REILLY GALLERIES OWNER FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Lawrence Salander, an owner of Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, filed for personal bankruptcy protection, claiming he and his wife have debts of at least fifty million dollars as New York prosecutors are investigating his business, reports Bloomberg. The Manhattan district attorney’s office searched Salander’s Upper East Side townhouse and gallery last week, as part of a criminal investigation based on customer complaints about fraud. In an interview in late September, Salander insisted that his assets exceeded his liabilities and that he’d be able to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Three weeks later, a New York judge ordered the gallery padlocked indefinitely. On November 1, creditors with $4.6 million in claims filed an involuntary petition against Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, asking a judge to force it into bankruptcy.