In 2004, the De Sole family purchased an $8.3 million Rothko painting from the Knoedler Gallery that turned out to be a fake. Domenico De Sole was at the same time shown a work by Jackson Pollock, but opted for the Rothko. The position would not have changed much had he chosen the Pollock as the Pollock was also a fake.

To add insult to injury, at the time, Domenico was the chairman of Sotheby's. In 2008, Christie's New Yor...