Bill Myers & Scott McCabe, The Examiner
2007-11-17 16:01:00.0
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Washington, D.C. -

The alleged mastermind of the biggest public theft in the history of the District of Columbia was a high roller at several casinos from Las Vegas to Atlantic City, and owned more than 70 pairs of designer shoes, 122 luxury handbags, and a couple of Faberge eggs, according to court records.

The court warrants unsealed Friday give the most detailed look to date at the loot that federal prosecutors said was bought with funds pillaged from the District tax offices.

Harriette Walters and her former co-worker, Diane Gustus, are charged with stealing tens of millions of dollars from the D.C. tax office through dummy companies. According to court documents, Walters stocked her office with luxury goods, including a Faberge vase and a Louis Vuitton bag.

When she got the urge to travel, she visited some of the nine casinos where she held member cards. Those included the Aladdin, Palms, MGM Mirage, Las Vegas Hilton and Trump Taj Mahal.

She had an extensive wardrobe to choose from for those outings -- federal agents seized more than 400 articles of clothing they charged were purchased with stolen cash, including a mink coat.

To accessorize those outfits she had 13 watches including a Rolex and more than 100 other items of jewelry that were seized. She drank from Steuben crystal stemware and signed documents with a Cartier pen.

Authorities had previously mentioned other extravagances including a $160,000 Bentley, a large oceanfront home in the Caribbean and a $1.4 million shopping spree at Neiman Marcus.

Many in the District are asking questions about how Walters' and Gustus' superiors didn't notice that a pair of middling bureaucrats were living like Hollywood starlets.

Authorities also recovered from Walters' government office bank documents, receipts and letterheads of the legitimate businesses and people that the pair allegedly used to cover their tracks after bank officials began to ask questions about the millions they were allegedly moving out of the tax office. The personal effects -- from Tiffany lamps to silver-plated iguanas -- have fired the public's imagination and outrage.

--Examiner staff writer Kashmir Hill contributed to this report.

Got a tip on the finance scandal? Call Bill Myers at 202-459-4956 or send an e-mail, bmyers@dcexaminer.com.