The Bag Lady

This photograph of Krista Watson was taken in late spring 2004 in a conference room at the AyalaPort call center near Manila, in the Philippines. Barton had swung a deal to buy the call center in a stock swap. Although this was not Barton's first overseas business acquisition, it was his most ambitious. Krista took the trip with Barton to tour the facility, and as owner of CyberNet Engineering, to meet the Phillipino partners. Krista is surrounded by thousands of dollars worth of Gucci handbags that she had brought with her. The composition is odd and haunting. Obviously not posed, she is alone with nothing but her expensive Italian leather and a inscrutable look on her face.

Soon Krista will almost certainly be indicted by a federal grand jury for the Western District of Michigan. She will appear in the federal court in Grand Rapids for her arraignment and sit in front of the judge with the same look on her face. The Gucci handbags will be gone.