Complaint dismissed on ‘Perry Como’ auctioneer

AUGUSTA – The state Board of Licensing of Auctioneers has dismissed a complaint against a Maryland auctioneer who presented the so-called “Perry Como” auction in Blue Hill last September.

After an informal conference with auctioneer Gulshan K. Oberoi and his attorney last week, the five-member board voted unanimously to dismiss the complaint with a letter of guidance.

According to Anne Head, the director of the state Office of Licensing and Registration, which oversees the auctioneer board, the letter, which will be drafted by the Maine Attorney General’s Office, will direct Oberoi to become familiar with state statutes and rules in order to ensure that those rules are complied with.

The letter of guidance, Head said Monday, is part of the state’s toolbox to use if the conduct complained about is not technically in violation but is questionable enough “to make the board uncomfortable.” She stressed that the letter was not considered a disciplinary action, and would not be entered as such in the board’s records.

Head said she did not think the letter had been written yet.

The board had investigated the complaint filed by Verona antique dealer Lynn Findlay who had attended the auction. Findlay complained that Oberoi had not acted professionally in dealing with those attending the auction or with the Bangor Daily News reporter who attempted to ask questions about the Como estate.

The advertisement for the auction claimed that it would include a collection of furniture and fine art from the estate of the late recording star Perry Como. Those attending the auction, however, were told that there were only two items from the Como estate, neither of which was presented during the auction.

Instead of antiques and original paintings, auction-goers found a large collection of brand-new reproduction furniture and collectibles, and paintings of much less lineage than works by Picasso, Monet and Chagall, which had been advertised. Also, the Blue Hill home pictured in the ad had nothing to do with the auction or with Perry Como, but was being offered for sale separately by a local agency.

Contacted Monday, Findlay was disappointed with the board’s decision. “I had more faith in the licensing board than it deserves,” she said. “Shoddy auctioneers should not get a slap on the wrist while the complainant gets a kick in the pants for trying to right a wrong.

“It stinks,” Findlay said. “Everybody knew it was wrong. He wasn’t selling true.”

In a written response to the complaint, Oberoi’s attorney, Severin Beliveau of Portland, indicated that the complaint was without merit and that it stemmed from Oberoi’s reactions to a reporter who, he said, had disrupted the bidding process by repeatedly taking photographs and asking questions while he was trying to conduct the auction. He added that the reporter’s actions had created discontentment among the bidders present, which led to the “untimely departure of many of them.”

In his response, Beliveau said that Oberoi’s reaction to an “aggressive and confrontational reporter” did not constitute unprofessional conduct.

Reports of the auction, however, indicated that many of the prospective bidders had left the auction tent immediately after viewing the items on display. Others became discontented after Oberoi disparaged them for the low bids he was receiving on the items, according to the BDN report.

On Monday, Beliveau repeated his client’s view that the reporter had been “too aggressive,” and that there was no basis for the complaint.

“Unfortunately, it required Mr. Oberoi to spend a lot of time and money to defend what was a baseless complaint,” he said.