The former chairman and major stockholder of Sotheby's auction house was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $7.5 million. A. Alfred Taubman headed Sotheby's from 1993 to 2000 and was found guilty of participating in a price fixing scheme with rival auction house Christie's.
Diana D. Brooks, former CEO and president of Sotheby's, had testified against her former boss after pleading guilty herself to violating antitrust laws. Rival house Christie's had turned over documents to the government in exchange for conditional amnesty from prosecution. And Taubman's counterpart at Christie's, Sir Anthony Tennant, could not be extradited from Britain after refusing to come to the U.S. to stand trial.
Taubman, who continues to deny any wrongdoing, is 78 years old and in poor health. A self-made Michigan millionaire, Taubman bought majority stock in Sotheby's in 1983. Former president Gerald Ford and television personality Barbara Walters called on the sentencing judge for leniency.
Sotheby's and Christie's agreed to settle a class action lawsuit filed by customers affected by the price-fixing.
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