Quoted: A $1.4M Neiman Marcus Spending Spree

"COULD YOU SPEND $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus in seven years? Absolutely. Neiman Marcus has fabulous, fabulous luxury merchandise. I don't think there's any question you could spend it in a short period of time, while giving everybody you know gifts and dressing yourself amazingly. First of all, it's a place you like to spend it. And I think that's important — that's where you want to spend that kind of money."

— Susan Rolontz, executive vice president of the New York retail consulting group Tobe, on allegations that D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue employee Harriette Walters, pictured at left in a courtroom rendering, spent $1.4 million of D.C. taxpayers' money at the high-end retailer over the past seven years. Walters and co-worker Diane Gustus, at right, have been charged with allegedly giving themselves $20 million in bogus refund checks.

On Friday, The Post's Hank Steuver detailed what a $1.4 million Neiman Marcus spending spree could entail, noting that on Thursday in court, "Gustus appeared ... in a heavy denim jacket, with white socks. Walters wore black slacks under a jacket of cardinal red wool, which set off her blond braids."

Courtroom renderings by Art Lien