Adams' Business Consultants

By Alexandra Clough

04/10/2005

Buying the mansion of a celebrity can be hazardous to your bank account.

That's the lesson learned by Marc' Andrea Musa, a former owner of the Lake Worth-based Eyeglass World empire with brothers Marco and Max.

In 1998, Eyeglass World and its president, Marco Musa, signed a contract with Adams Business Consultants, a business brokerage hired to sell the company. ABC tried to sell Eyeglass World to Summit Partners of Boston, but talks were unsuccessful. ABC's contract with Eyeglass World expired in December 2001.

So much for that, right? Wrong. In November 2003, ABC and the broker working the deal noticed a news report that Marc' Andrea Musa had plunked down $15.3 million — cash — for the Highland Beach estate and furnishings of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.

The report mentioned the recent sale of Eyeglass World. And that caught the eye of Michael LoConte, the broker who handled Eyeglass World for ABC.

When LoConte saw Eyeglass World had been sold, "He said, 'Something's not right with this picture. Where was I?' " said Robert Montgomery, ABC's lawyer and a prominent West Palm Beach attorney.

It seems that after ABC's brokerage agreement ended with Eyeglass World, Eyeglass World and Summit got back together again. This time they struck a deal, and in October 2003 Summit bought Eyeglass World for $137 million.

ABC went after the Musas for a commission because a clause in their contract required Eyeglass World to pay if ABC identified a purchaser.

Now an arbitrator has ordered the Musas to pay ABC $2.7 million, Montgomery said. (Neither the Musas nor their attorney could be reached for comment.)

But don't weep for Marc' Andrea Musa. The eyeglass business must be lucrative, because he's now sitting pretty in his three-level Highland Beach estate with more than 125 feet of beach. The mansion features floor-to-ceiling windows, so eyeglasses probably aren't needed to see the sweeping ocean views.

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