Ultimate ‘Toy’ Auction to Take Place July 15; Classic Cars to Be Sold in
Unreserved Auction
Jody Nelson’s embezzlement-funded items to be sold unreserved to the highest
bidders on July 15
For immediate release June 5, 2006
LUBBOCK, TEXAS Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: symbol RBA), the
world’s largest industrial auctioneer, is holding a unique unreserved
auction on July 15, 2006, on behalf of Robert Wilson, the court-appointed
receiver for the assets of Jonathan D. ‘Jody’ Nelson, who plead guilty on
April 27, 2006 to embezzling more than US$77 million from his employer.
Nelson is currently awaiting sentencing and his assets are being sold
pursuant to a court order for restitution.
Some of the over 1,100 items in this auction include automobiles: 1954
Chevrolet Corvette convertible; 1956 Chevrolet Belair; 1965 Ford Mustang GT;
1976 Cadillac El Dorado; 1982 Chevrolet Corvette; 1994 Chevrolet Corvette;
2002 BMW 745L; 2003 BMW Alpina Roadster Z8 (odometer: 469 miles); 2005 Ford
Mustang GT; 2004 Lexus LS430 sedan; 2005 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series;
2006 Mercedes-Benz S5S; and a 2003 Mercedes-Benz S430. All the items can be
seen at www.rbauction.com (click on the Lubbock, TX link in the auction
calendar).
“It’s a one-of-a-kind auction sale, already receiving a lot of attention
from buyers of classic cars, autographed sports memorabilia, aircraft, SUVs
and the like,” says Nick Nicholson, Senior Vice President of Ritchie Bros.
“In over 40 years of business, we’ve never seen such a vast array of unique
items in one auction&let alone a Ritchie Bros. unreserved auction, where
everything sells on auction day to the highest bidder, regardless of price.
We think interested buyers will travel from near and far to be part of the
auction action on July 15. It truly is the ultimate ‘toy’ auction.”
There are over 1,100 items in the unreserved auction. Other items include:
. Sports memorabilia: autographed jerseys from Michael Jordon, Walter
Payton, Barry Bonds, Larry Bird, Steve Nash, Wayne Gretzky, and more; a
commemorative baseball display signed by Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Joe
DiMaggio; a 2004 World Series Red Sox jersey signed by the team; Babe Ruth
player transfer documentation (signed and framed), and Tiger Woods Collector
Series golf balls.
. Aircraft: a Cessna 310Q; Cessna 182Q Skylane II; Cessna 172L Skyhawk; and
a Hughes MD500E 369E helicopter.
. Marine: 17 pleasure craft, including a 2002 and a 2000 Fountain Lightning
42 ft boat . Motorcycles: 2003 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 100th Anniversary;
2005 Bubba Shobert custom; 1999 Titan Gecko . 11 sports utility vehicles,
including a 2006 Lexus LX470 (odometer: 8,743
miles)
. Exercise equipment; gaming tables; plasma flat screen and large screen
TVs; grills; jet skis; watercraft accessories . Antique furniture . Ranch
equipment: Crawler tractors; skid steer loaders; motor graders; hydraulic
excavators; loader backhoes; vibratory smooth drum rollers; truck tractors;
dump trucks; fuel tank trailers; van trucks; flatbed trucks; pickups;
trailers; forklifts; agricultural tractors; mowers; grain handling equipment
Auction start time: 8 am CDT.
Address: Town and Country Air Park — 12201 County Road 2500, Lubbock, TX
For more information, call the Ritchie Bros. Fort Worth office at: 817-237-
6544 or 1-800-969-0226. A full listing of items in this auction can be found
at www.rbauction.com.
Ritchie Bros. unreserved auctions are unique and interesting for bidders and
auction attendees alike, because every item at the auction is sold quickly
(often in under a minute) to the highest bidder, regardless of price.
Interested buyers travel to Ritchie Bros. auctions from around the world,
knowing the sales are truly unreserved and that both the starting bids and
the final auction prices are determined by the bidding crowd. Last year,
Ritchie Bros. held more than 150 unreserved industrial auctions worldwide,
generating gross auction sales of over US$2 billion.
Deposits or bank letters and photo identification are required for bidder
registration. Interested buyers are able to come to the auction site up to a
week prior to the auction to inspect the items, review available history and
ask questions. On auction day, bidders can bid live at the Lubbock auction
or online, at www.rbauction.com, using the Company’s internet bidding
service rbauctionBid-Live (advance online registration is required for this
service).
About Ritchie Bros.
Ritchie Bros. is the world’s largest auctioneer of industrial equipment,
operating through over 110 locations in more than 25 countries around the
world. The Company sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range
of used and unused industrial equipment including equipment utilized in the
construction, transportation, material handling, mining, forestry,
petroleum, marine, real estate, and agricultural industries. The Company
maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com