Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain Departs Michael Smith-Designed Office

Note to the First Lady: ix-nay on the $68,179 credenza. That’s just one of the pieces with which the First Family’s newly appointed interior designer Michael S. Smith furnished the office of John Thain (pictured at right), who resigned today in the wake of Merrill Lynch’s acquisition by Bank of America. Early last year, Thain hired Smith to redo his office, and CNBC got a hold of the final bill, which came to approximately $1.22