Bids on Elian's Raft Canceled

By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Wednesday September 23, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

Complaints have forced the removal from the eBay auction site of a weather-beaten raft that purportedly brought Elian Gonzalez to America. Also available was a jar of air from Miami's Little Havana, but bidding on the items was halted after questions arose as to the raft's authenticity. "We reserve the right to pull down questionable auctions," eBay spokesman Henry Gomez told the Associated Press. "The bids were extremely high. At one point there was a $10 million bid on the raft, and that bid was retracted." Another yanked item: a toothbrush "like the one Elian would have used."