Toilet offered Stanford chance for quick exit

If Texas billionaire Allen Stanford ever wanted to make a low-profile departure from the inner sanctum within his lavish Houston headquarters, there was a private exit through his personal bathroom.

Lawyers for the court-appointed receiver overseeing Stanford's corporate empire gave Reuters a tour of the Houston headquarters of Stanford Financial Group, a mass of marble and mahogany that once boasted a 5-star dining room, movie theater, professional kitchen and wine bar.

Every part of the building is grandiose, which speaks to the larger-than-life image Stanford created as a jet-setting financier, sports promoter and philanthropist.