Fugitive Mike

​A bottle of wine (Chateau Lafite Rothschild) sold for $700, eight pairs of shoes (Christian Louboutin) went for $2,100, and a car (2007 Bentley Continental GTC) was driven away for $92,500. That might not mean a lot for the unsecured creditors of elderly fugitive Michael Mastro who'll be getting back just one percent of their investments with the bankrupt millionaire. But yesterday's auction of Mastro's personal belongings, down to his Italian suits and silk ties, was a windfall for bidders.

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Mastro's 2007 Bentley

​When the Bentley convertible, Steinway baby grand piano, fur coats and 25 Chihuly glass pieces are auctioned off along with most of his other last-known worldly goods this week in Palm Desert, California, Michael Mastro is the man most likely not to be there. The 86-year-old bankrupt Media real estate tycoon is of course on the lam with his 61-year-old wife.

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​This week's cover story brings us the tale of former star Husky quarterback Mark Brunell, who's declared bankruptcy after pissing away $75 million in pro earnings on rancid real estate investments. This happens to a lot of retired players. Yet while the 41-year-old Brunell is thinking about retiring, he should think instead about moving back to Seattle next year.

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​On any given day, travelers passing the Port of Seattle can see hundreds of stacked steel cargo boxes. These boxes have traveled thousands of miles around the world, carrying just about anything you can imagine. Now, a few of them are carrying just about any kind of coffee you can imagine.

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A 93 percenter

​There are 9,684 charities registered in Washington State, 685 of which use commercial fundraising services. Ranked at the top of the Secretary of State's fundraisers list is Lewis Direct, which passed along a phenomenal 99 percent of its collected contributions to its charity clients. At the rock bottom is Public Outreach Fundraising, which passed along none. Actually, less than none. Minus 1,730 percent less than none.

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​If you haven't watched 60 Minutes' big feature "Honest Graft" about insider trading among lawmakers, you should. If nothing else, it's worth hearing about former Washington state Congressman Brian Baird and his doomed piece of legislation that might have stopped all this nonsense.

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​Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has often voiced his support for increased taxes on the wealthiest Americans, arguing that under the current system his cleaning lady forks over a higher percentage of her income to Uncle Sam than he does. The stance has made the world's third-richest man an unlikely ally of the Occupy Wall Street movement, especially since President Obama proposed "The Buffett Rule," which would set a new minimum tax rate for individuals making more than $1 million a year to ensure that they pay at least the same percentage of their earnings as middle-class Americans. Obviously, not all of Buffett's Monopoly men peers are so eager to break open their piggy-banks for the greater good. But does that group include Bill Gates?

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​Dixie Mitchell tried for years to modify the loan on her Central District home. She pleaded with the bank repeatedly. She approached politicians. In 2008, she appeared with Gov. Chris Gregoire at a press conference on predatory lending. But none of that helped Mitchell any. This month, the 71-year-old was $100,000 behind and facing foreclosure. An activist group called Washington CAN! took up her cause, holding a press conference in her front yard last week.

Then, in the nick of time, one man fixed her problem almost instantly.

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​The state Auditor's Office yesterday put the kabosh on long-simmering rumors that Fred Stephens, a former Seattle Schools manager who now works for the U.S. Department of Commerce, used his influence to get the district to sell a surplussed school to his own church. The auditor's 16-page report found "no evidence" that Stephens was involved.

Nope, it was others doing the meddling.

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​Rob McKenna announced yesterday that he has raised more than $1 million in the two months since he declared his intention to run for governor. The Republican attorney general is a viable candidate, no doubt about it. And, as Democrats like to note, he's fond of press releases. One thing this one neglected to mention is that McKenna's Democratic rival, Rep. Jay Inslee, has also raised more than $1 million. The Congressman's war chest, however, is a more complicated affair.

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