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McEnroe Helps Nab Art Dealer

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 26, 2009 7:04 PM CDT

(Newser) – A prominent art dealer arrested today and accused of running a sort of art-world Ponzi scheme made one crucial mistake—he got John McEnroe mad again. The tennis great with the legendary temper triggered the investigation after being duped out of $2 million by Lawrence Salander, the New York Daily News reports. After McEnroe filed a civil suit against Salander in 2007, prosecutors contacted him and began their inquiry.

Salander, accused of swindling $88 million from investors, had a complicated system in which he would sell interests of paintings to buyers. He often double-sold the interests, said DA Robert Morgenthau. "Why sell it once when you can sell it three times?" McEnroe sued when he tried to collect a painting from an auction house, only to discover that someone else had a lien on it. Another celeb to sue: Robert DeNiro.

John McEnroe gestures following his win against Swedish Bjorn Borg during the Showdown of Champions exhibition matches in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.
John McEnroe gestures following his win against Swedish Bjorn Borg during the Showdown of Champions exhibition matches in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.   (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)
John McEnroe reacts after winning the first set against Bjorn Borg during an exhibition tennis match in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008.
John McEnroe reacts after winning the first set against Bjorn Borg during an exhibition tennis match in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008.   (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)
John McEnroe hits a shot during his Blackrock Tennis Masters match against Pete Sampras at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008.
John McEnroe hits a shot during his Blackrock Tennis Masters match against Pete Sampras at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Simon Dawson)
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