*Hi Bruce,
I have a hunch that is is a small gang criminals and not that wide
spread, just a couple of guys and a restorer and possible a staff or two.
Hi John Reid,
<<< *Just to stretch things a little. Is it possible that a collector
could send a very valuable poster or lobby card to a restorer and end
up being sent a fake in return while the restorer keeps the original.
From what I can gather the fakes are so good that it is unlikely anyone
would be able to tell the difference.>>>
*
That is a scary though, but not impossible.
These day there is so much more involved than just a talent hand. Find
yourself a good restorer, establish a loyal trustworthy long term
relationship. That is worth just as much or even more than a perfect
color match.
Best,
dario.
*
Bruce Hershenson wrote:
Dario, you bring up an interesting point I had not thought of. What if
someone involved in this as a restorer is arrested? Will all the
posters in that person's possession be seized as "evidence"? How long
before those posters are released, and what if the person who sent the
posters to the restorer does not have a printed signed receipt from
the restorer, and the restorer claims the posters as their own property?
For that matter, what if an auction house is closed down over this?
What will happen to items on consignment at that auction house?
These questions are not far-fetched. We all know of several restorers
who vanished in the past several years, taking their customers'
property with them, and few ever got their posters back or restitution
of any kind. And just a few months ago, Mastro Auctions, the number
one sports memorabilia auction in the world, was closed in the midst
of an FBI investigation into fraud allegations.
These are just two of many "aftershocks" that may be felt from this
earthquake. It is reasons like these why this matter is so important.
In just three months I *HAD* intended to hold my Winter Mini/Major
auction, with mostly linenbacked posters. Even though I have *NEVER*
sold a single fraudulent restored poster, and even though I have
*NEVER* used the restorer in question, and even though I have *NEVER*
had a single consignment from the sellers named thus far, I still must
wonder whether the ripples from this scandal won't come back on me.
My position is that we all need to find out exactly who was involved
in this (my gut feeling is that no more than a dozen dealers, auction
houses and restorers combined were involved, and possibly far fewer
than that), so that the other 99.9% completely uninvolved rest of the
hobby will not be tainted by it in any way.
And certainly everyone with any kind of collection needs to care,
because if this isn't completely exposed, then the resale value of all
posters will surely be affected.
If we can determine that this matter was perpetrated by a very few
people, and that no one else was involved, then the damage to the
hobby will be greatly contained just by those facts alone.
Bruce
On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 5:17 PM, Dario Casadei
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
*Up until late last night I had a few fellow friends and
collectors email/asking me for a name. So I am glad it is now out
in the open as I kindly refused to name that name.
Trust me it was and still are a shocker for me.
I know I know, innocent until proven guilty, but I still strongly
suggest that anyone that publicly endorse their site in some shape
or form ( link, accolade, testimonials)
Might want to consider removing such until it is all cleared. I
would hate to find out that someone road off in to the sunset with
a suitcase of posters.
End of the day, I hope this is just a silly nightmare and Jamie is
cool and we can all get back to posters. So I hope.
Best,
dario.
*
Bruce Hershenson wrote:
There has been much private speculation on the part of many
collectors as to which restorer allegedly created the fakes which
defrauded so many people, including most major Universal horror
collectors. And those who have known who it was have continued to
refuse to name that person, forcing some people to publically
announce it was *NOT* them, to keep their good names clear.
These days, lawsuits are not filed with paper, but they are also
filed electronically, and they are available for public view.
Go to
*http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-miedce/case_no-2:2009cv13405/case_id-242141/*
and
see the lawsuit that was filed two days ago, which names some
names (but it also includes a "John Doe" and a "Jane Doe", which
means that more names will be forthcoming).
I wish those involved in this would simply tell exactly what
happened, so that the air can be cleared, and all honest dealers,
restorers, and auction houses will no longer have a cloud over
their heads. Once the truth is known, even those who had a
relatively minor involvement (like dealers or auction houses
which unknowingly acted as middlemen in the sale of some of these
fakes) will surely find that having the truth out there will be
better than waiting for it to be dragged out over a period of months.
I am so happy this matter is not being mishandled as the minty
whites were (where no one did anything), which resulted in the
criminals never being brought to justice, thousands of collectors
being defrauded of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars,
and a black cloud hanging over the hobby to this day. Let us all
learn from that giant mistake and not put our heads in the sand
and hope this will just "go away", because if we do that, our
entire hobby will suffer greatly.
Bruce
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