Mastro and FBI

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Posted By: Ron

According to the Daily News the FBI is interested in another problem at Mastro Auctions
These guys are having a tough year....


There is only one Jordan

Auction jersey revealed as fraud

BY MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, August 19th 2007, 4:00 AM

It was a hell of a party, according to the press release issued by Mastro Auctions. About 300 sports collectible movers and shakers, many in town for the National Sports Collectors Convention, bid on 83 coveted pieces at Mastro's inaugural live auction, held Aug. 3 at the House of Blues in Cleveland.

A collection of rare T215 Pirate cigarette cards sold for $960,000, a record for a set of cards. Yankee manager Miller Huggins' 1927 World Series ring went for $204,000. One collector even spent $192,000 on a T206 Honus Wagner card in poor condition. But the event wasn't just about conspicuous consumption; Mastro Auctions also raised $20,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

"It's a terrific exclamation point to an already spectacular evening," Mastro Auctions president Doug Allen said in the press release.

The hangover from the event, however, just won't go away. One item, advertised as a Michael Jordan North Carolina warm-up shirt, sold for $11,000 even though questions had been raised about its authenticity well before the auction took place. Collectors cried foul on Game-Used Forum.com, a memorabilia Web site, and began investigating the shirt. Mastro Auctions voided the sale and sent the jersey back to the authentication service that raised the initial doubts for further review.

But the controversy over the "Jordan" shirt appears far from over: It has added new pressure to calls for greater regulation and standards for the dog-eat-dog world of sports memorabilia. The shirt has also attracted the interest of the FBI, which as the Daily News reported last month, has already begun an investigation into business practices at Mastro Auctions, sports memorabilia's largest auction house.

To prepare for the live auction, Mastro employees sent the shirt and other items to Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services, one of the hobby's leading authentication services. MEARS examined the shirt on July 1, and concluded that while it appeared to be a North Carolina shooting shirt from the 1980s, it did not belong to Jordan.

When the shirt was placed over a light table, it was apparent that another name had been removed from the back and replaced with "JORDAN." The letters also seemed to be made of different materials than other patches on the piece, according to the MEARS work sheet.

"The Michael Jordan shirt we evaluated did not start its life as a Michael Jordan shirt," MEARS authenticator Troy Kinunen said.

MEARS' opinion was seconded by the University of North Carolina; officials there told the Daily News that Jordan still has his warm-up shirt.

Mastro Auctions, however, submitted the shirt to another authenticator, Lou Lampson; the auction catalogue said the shirt was accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Lampson but made no mention of MEARS' evaluation or opinion. In the days before the auction, Game-Used Forum members posted numerous comments about the conflicting opinions; one member said he E-mailed Mastro's Allen about the jersey but Allen did not respond. The shirt received seven bids and sold for $11,000, according to Mastro Auctions Web site.

"If Mastro did not inform the winning bidder of MEARS' findings, then, that is damn shady," one forum member wrote.

A week after the auction, another Game-Used Forum member said he had been contacted by an ACC basketball fan who said stains on the "Jordan" shirt looked remarkably similar to stains on a shirt he owned for several years. The ACC fan, a collector named Jim Reed, told the Daily News he had purchased the shirt from Ranzino Smith, who joined the Tar Heels in 1985, the year after Jordan left school and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.

Reed said he sold the shirt to Eric Inselberg, a New Jersey dealer/collector, late last year, but he is convinced it is the same item Mastro sold this month. "This thing was in my display room for three years," Reed said. "I know my shirt."

Inselberg told the News he sold the shirt at a Westchester memorabilia show in January. Inselberg claimed he didn't know the buyer and since the buyer paid cash, he had no way to contact him.

Allen told the Daily News before the auction that he was not aware that MEARS had doubts about the jersey; he did not return calls last week. But in an e-mail to Kinunen that was posted on the Game-Used Forum, he said Inselberg was not the consigner. The shirt was one of the last items sent to MEARS and Allen blamed deadline pressures for the screw-up.

"I had gotten the message from my guys that you 'were not comfortable signing off on it' so I told them to go ahead and run it with the Lou Lampson letter since he was comfortable issuing an LOA on the shirt. Unfortunately we never received your 'letter' which explained the details of the name change and the reason you were not comfortable opining on the shirt. If I had known this I would have immediately pulled it from the auction," Allen wrote.

"The first time I had been informed about potential issues with the shirt was on August 2nd when a reporter inquired about the letter you issued. At the time I was not aware a letter detailing findings had been issued and I notified him of that fact. When I got back to the office after the National I was finally able to review your letter and review the concerns expressed on the Game-Used Forum."

But by the time Allen's E-mail had been posted on the Game-Used Forum, the FBI had already begun investigating the sale of the jersey. The bureau's Chicago office - whose "Operation Foul Ball" smashed a multistate autograph forgery ring in the '90s - has already interviewed an authentication-service executive and two collectors about the jersey, according to sources.

As the Daily News reported in July, Chicago-based investigators have already questioned Bill Brandt, the president of Development Specialists Inc., the company hired by the state of Ohio to liquidate coins and collectibles purchased with state money by Tom Noe, the Republican Party official convicted last year of stealing from a $50 million workers compensation fund and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Noe had purchased thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia from Mastro, Brandt and Ohio law-enforcement officials have said. The investigators have also questioned two hobby executives who asked not to be identified.

An FBI official said he could not confirm or deny an investigation is underway, but regardless of what happens, the incident has left a bad taste in some collectors' mouths.

"I saw this warm-up at the National and thought it was awesome," one collector wrote on the Game-Used Forum. "I was gonna have a friend bid on it for me ... thank goodness that I didn't."

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Posted By: leon

Once again they did the right thing by pulling an auction item...Kudos for them....Doug is a class act and honest person and this once again proves it....thanks again for posting the article.... I knew that NY Daily News and Michael O'keefe, would do the right thing and print good stuff too .....

edited mainly grammar

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

So this is a positive Mastro article? Um, ok.

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Posted By: Ron

Leon

Did you read something I didn't?

MEARS saw a name change on a light table. Lou Lampson obviously didn't see a name change meaning he did not closely examine the shirt. People bid on an item that had an LOA by someone who didn't do a thorough job of examining it.

I think he did the wrong thing. Mears wasn't comfortable signing off on the Jordan, so he gave it to Lampson who did. Sorry, but that doesn't make it a good shirt.

Ron

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Posted By: leon

First of all what is your last name? If you don't want to post it then you shouldn't be posting on this board about these kinds of things. The reason is, is that we need to know who posts stuff in these kind of situations. As I said in my email to you a little while ago AND YOU DIDN'T respond to it is for the protection of the whole board. If someone came on spouting stuff about you or posting articles I would do the same for you. So, your last name please?

Also, in my eyes this says it all:

"Mastro Auctions voided the sale and sent the jersey back to the authentication service that raised the initial doubts for further review."

thanks again for posting the aricle....

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Posted By: Joe D.

once again have a 'Daily News' article as the basis of a discussion.

I am still reeling from the revelation in the prior thread that Jeff gets it delivered

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Posted By: Jim Dale

Its getting kind of obvious this writer for the news does not like Mastro and wants to pin something on them. I also fund the underlying dig to a former "republican" in nearly every of his articles intriguing. I'm shocked he didn't get the Rudi Guliani connection (former lawyer) into this one...shameful.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

I think the moral to this story is that you might have to be a bit crazy to bid on game-used or autographed artifacts. Too much opportunity for fraud.

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Posted By: Ron Bristow

Sorry for not including my last name with my opinion. My name is Ron Bristow.

Leon, I just wrote you back. I never got an email from you before today. Sorry for the confusion.
Ron

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Posted By: brian

if you send a questionable item to enough authenticators, it's likely that eventually someone will deem it authentic.

my name is Brian Martin and I live in Hillsdale, Michigan

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Posted By: leon

Thanks for your understanding...and I will second what others have said in this thread concerning O'keefe's reporting concerning Mastro and the autograph and game used market/hobby....Too much of a leap of faith for myself....though I am sure there is a big audience for this form of collecting.....Whatever makes you happy and keeps you out of bars at night.....

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Posted By: Joseph Jesselli

another feather in Mastro's cap

Leon, you should apply for Tony Snow's job. But I still love ya.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Did O'Keefe remove the letters from the back of the warmup jacket and put Jordan's name there? Was O'Keefe the Mastro employee who sent the jacket to MEARS but apparently didn't tell Doug that it had come back as questionable? Damn that O'Keefe -- he really has it in for Mastro!

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Posted By: leon

and was O'keefe the one who voided the sale? Of course O'keefe doesn't have it in for Mastro...You really nailed that one..

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Posted By: barrysloate

If you read "The Card" you will find that Mastro and O'Keeffe didn't like each other one bit, and Bill stopped talking to him during the process. So I do think O'Keeffe is making sure he gets the last word.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Leon, unlike you, I'm capable of being objective. Wow -- Mastro voided the sale after the s&**& hit the fan -- but how is it that Doug had the warmup sent to MEARS, had it come back questionable, then sent it to another authenticator that blessed it and yet he failed to supply the MEARS conclusion in its listing -- and even claimed he was unaware that MEARS had even been sent the warmup by his own company? And keep in mind that I like Doug and am trying to be fair here (I'm the one that posted the Mastro court win out here, recall?). But being fair sometimes means you have to call a spade a spade - which you are just unwilling to do whenever it comes to Mastro. You even went so far to call the news reported in this article as a "feather in the cap" of Mastro! So which is it -- is O'Keefe's reporting of the latest Mastro debacle (which comes about once a week now it seems) a feather in the cap for Mastro or more shoddy reporting?

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

O'Keeffe may indeed have it in for Mastro, but there is a serious pattern going on here that is disturbing....I just don't buy the fact that Mastro didn't get MEARS opinion on the jersey in time...this is BS. Those guys all know each other and they're located in the same city. Mastro even did the press release for MEARS online!!!!

http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=9610&si=121>

When the Behrens boys and I flew to Chicago to go over the DiMaggio streak bat where do you think we met with the guys who now run MEARS??? That's right...the MastroNet office.

What's really disturbing though is that these types of "mishaps" continue with Mastro knowing full well that the Gameused universe and Net54 are watching them like hawks. If they think they can get away with it they're wrong because these two forums and Michael O'Keeffe have become the watchdog of the industry.

And anything with a Lou Lampson COA should be as questionable as an autograph with a Frangipani COA.

edited to add: that Doug Allen surely knows that Lampson's COA isn't worth sh!t anymore and there shouldn't be any kind of time pressure in his business when it comes to making sure you get it right the first time...the jersey should have been held back for the August auction if there were any doubts...you don't put something in your catalog that is questionable.

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Posted By: Tim Newcomb

I doubt I speak only for myself when I say I don't hear much objectivity from Jeff or Leon on this issue. It's pretty clear that each of you has a distinct point of view (expressed now in many different threads), and that both of these positions have at least some merit.

I suggest (obviously only a suggestion) that since we have seen these exchanges many times before, that you two guys call a moratorium on Mastro for a little while, and see where this thread goes with other posters.

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Posted By: leon

I have no issue calling Mastro out on something if they did something wrong. It just gets old when we continually see the same person reporting the same kind of crap....and there really isn't ever a smoking gun or bad ending. On this issue it seems to me that Mastro realized they made a mistake and voided the transaction...Whether that mistake should have been known earlier is debatable....According to the story it looks as though O'keefe reported that Doug said he didn't see a letter or email. I believe him.....If this forum helps keep everyone honest then that is a good thing....I just wish it wasn't always the same ole people jumping on the bandwagon....and yes, I do over compensate on purpose because it's always the same crap the other way....

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Posted By: barrysloate

Collectors are becoming very sensitive to issues where there is the appearance of large auction houses having their way with graders and authenticators. Any time one of these topics comes up it is going to ruffle some feathers.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Leon, yours was the first response on this thread. There was hardly any bandwagon jumping before you felt the need to spin away. Mastro's failings on the issue of the warmup jersey, another 'game used' helmet, altered cards, items at auction which were authenticated by the consignor, etc. have been discussed for a while on this and other forums. Blaming all of Mastro's problems on O'Keefe is just not fair. As Dan pointed out, the guy may hate Mastro but that doesn't mean he's inventing this stuff. What bothers me is that it seems like Mastro has problems pop up like this very, very often yet they still seem to be coming up with regularity, with no slowdown. As a collector who spends plenty of loot with Mastro I just want their act to be clean. How can I be biased against Mastro when I spend 5 figures routinely on their auctions?

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Posted By: James Feagin

I can't really state what side I fall on publicly (I will privately though), because it just wouldn't look good either way. However, why does O'Keefe have it in for Mastro? What is the history? I really want to know.

James

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

As far as I know it's been ongoing for years now and dates back to even before the Joe DiMaggio streak bat that sold about three years ago. I can not tell you specifically where or how it started just that it's been ongoing for quite a good while now.

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Posted By: E, Daniel

Is why Mastro bothers with even a couple of dodgy items.....With catalogs brimming and bulging every few months, SO MUCH money being made, why would you even risk possibly damaging your image by including pieces not 1000% kosher?
Seems to me they would still own/co-own much of the memorabillia market regardless if they knocked back the odd card or helmet, and likely maximize their high bids (and total profits) if they had total and complete confidence of ALL the high rollers. Talk about risking screwing the golden goose.

Crazy.



Daniel

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Posted By: Bill

I always have to wonder, with the amount of sports memorabilia that gets spotted as being fake, altered, or not as described, how many of these items actually make it through?

Change your socks, drink water, and drive on.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Wait!
Its not just O'Keefe.
The FBI has it in for Mastro too.
All one big conspiracy to cast doubt on an innocent Auctioneer.

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Posted By: Bill

That's the key that has me wondering. The FBI isn't going to just come knocking for one or two mixups that get fixed. Something else has to be there for the Feds to come around.

Change your socks, drink water, and drive on.

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Posted By: Rob Dewolf

Dan B., correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you post something on this board weeks ago about the controversy involving the Jordan shirt and Mastro? I find it odd that only after O'Keefe writes about it does it prompt so much response on this board, particularly in the form of diehard defenses of Mastro.

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Posted By: quan

say someone buys a card, alters it then try to get it slabbed. sgc rejects but psa gives it a grade. then he/she tries to sell the card until the original owner speaks up. will they still get kudos and commended for doing the right thing? i'd hope not but i'm sure this kind of things goes on more than it should and mastro seems to be in the middle of it more than most.

as a show of protest i will lower my max bid by 1 on the 4 items i'm seriously going after.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Rob, it was discussed here, but I didn't start the thread....It does seem that nobody pays too much attention to these Mastro threads until O'Keeffe writes his story.

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Posted By: Joann

OK, I just finished my last final for the term so all of my good thinking and good words may be gone, but I'll try to articulate this anyways.

It seems like if O'Keeffe wanted to do a series of articles as an expose on Mastro, then fine. Let him do it, let it be out there for what it is, and let people make up their minds about it.

But he doesn't present it that way. He couches his articles as being about the collectibles hobby/industry. As an example, in the article posted today he says "But the controversy over the "Jordan" shirt appears far from over: It has added new pressure to calls for greater regulation and standards for the dog-eat-dog world of sports memorabilia." So it looks like he is writing about the world of sports memorabilia, not about Mastro specifically.

If this is the case, why no or few references in his articles to any other auction house? To any other major dealer? To any of the grading companies (other than incidental references)?

So to me it comes down to one of two things:

He is writing about the hobbies in general, and if so it is inevitiable that other major players will be in the spotlight of future articles - or at least mentioned prominently.

Or, he really is writing about Mastro specifically and for whatever reason doesn't want to (or feel like he can) just be up front about that. He has to bury the Mastro material within the larger so-called point about the collectibles hobby as a whole.

I'll withhold opinion about which it is for now. But if he truly thinks he has an ongoing story about Mastro he should put it in exactly that context. If it continues to be about "the world of collectibles" but only seems to pick on Mastro, then I might decide that he really does have an ax to grind with Mastro and is using a generic topic as the vehicle for grinding it.

Joann

Now if he ever did want to do an investigative piece on the relationships between auction houses, consignors and grading companies - THAT would be a series to read. It may even get more exposure than his current articles that are more narrowly targeted.

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Posted By: Aaron M.

Leon, you have to be kidding me. The questions raised about that shirt on the Game used forum and on this forum (which linked to the game used forum thread) were done so well before the auction occurred (and so were the Game used forum's attempts to contact Doug Allen).

Had he done the right thing, the shirt would never have been listed because of MEARS letter. Had he done the next right thing the auction listing would have made mention of MEARS letter to at least warn potential bidders of the conflicting opinions. Had he done the next right thing he would have pulled the shirt from the auction once the issue was raised on these forums.

What Doug instead did was run the shirt in his auction, not disclose the MEARS letter, and then not pull the item from his auction.

Only after the fact (after missing three opportunities to "do the right thing" and then being confronted by the media after the auction ended) did Doug void the sale -- which at this point is simply akin to covering his ass.

I have read alot of the threads in this forum re: Mastro alleged unethical and/or fraudulent business practices and not commented (I figure if there's really something to these allegations, the FBI won't leave much doubt), but your post crossed the line from defending your friend to full-blown drinking of the Kool aid.

There is no way to reasonably spin or interpret what happened as some sort of positive for Doug and Mastro. Rather your response indicates that no matter what Mastro does or is alleged to have done and no matter what sort of evidence and charges are leveled against them, you are prepared to blindly defend them. I would expect more from you -- if not objectivity, then at least common sense.

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Posted By: Mark Lutz

I'm not sure that I expect Mastronet (or any other auction) to declare in their description that they tried to get something authenticated by PSA or Mears but couldn't. If they get conflicting opinions, I expect them to decide which opinion is most plausible and, if they do run the item in the auction, to accept a return on the item if the buyer finds further evidence against the authenticity of the item. Not knowing exactly what went on inside Mastronet but focusing on what they say happened, it seems to me that Mastronet acted in an acceptable manner--even though I wish as a buyer that auction houses were so candid that they did mention problems with authentication. More practically, I expect buyers to be very cautious in any auction for high priced items. I sometimes bid on baseball bats. If a description doesn't refer to a loa from PSA/DNA or from Mears, I wonder why not. And I usually ask to see a copy of the letters of authenticity that the ads do mention: they can point to questions that are omitted from descriptions.

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Posted By: Aaron M.

I also want to add this re: the issue about whether O'Keefe is "biased" or has some sort of "vendetta" against Mastro.

Who cares?

Mastro is not our "friend". Mastro is a business enterprise that seeks to make as much money off of us as they possibly can (both as bidder and consigner). Which they have every right to, if they are doing so honestly.

That's not say that Mastro is our "enemy" or that people shouldn't do business with them. I have many Mastro items in my collection and intend to add many more.

But if they are "up to something", I for one am happy that there is someone out there riding them and reporting on them. If nothing else it makes them more transparent, more accountable, and perhaps even less likely to do "shady" things (although they obviously failed miserably on that count with the Jordan short debacle). That can do nothing but benefit those of us who do business with Mastro.

And if there is something going on significant enough that it leads to formal criminal charges from the FBI, good heavens, don't we want to know that??

So whether O'Keefe is biased or not, he is doing us all a favor, and nothing whatsoever that is not in our best (or at least honest for those of us who rue Mastro being taken down because they fear it will diminish the value of their collection) interests.

I appreciate O'Keefe's work and hope he continues it despite the astonishing lack of gratitude (or at least detached tolerance) displayed by the very collecting community whose his efforts stand to benefit.

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Posted By: Dave

I expect Mastro to tell the truth...period. unfortunately I have doubts that they ever will. Aaron M. is right. it seems like Mastro auctions had a few chances to "do the right thing" and didn't....plain and simple. Regardless of who reproted these facts....that's how it happened mastro fans. Seems like they have had the chance to do the right thing in the past also, but conveniently didn't then either.
I believe this simply comes down to the almighty dollar being more important to them than our opinions on the validity or not of the merchandise they auction off. I bet the principles at Mastro live pretty darn comfortable lives right now, and could care less about any controversy caused by items that might be fake.
I'm all for defending the defensless on this board , but I think some board members view Mastro in such awe that they can never do wrong in their eyes.

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Posted By: Joann

Aaron,

I completely agree that Mastro stands to take what is due based on its actions. Personally, I really couldn't care less if they do or don't end up in some kind of hot water. I simply don't have an opinion yet.

But I think the issue of bias is extremely important, especially when it comes to a reporter for a major daily newspaper. If there is bias then it's possible that the facts are being presented in a way that, while correct, is misleading.

This is important to the hobby b/c Mastro is such a big player. For exactly that reason I think it's also important for people to know or decide whether there is any reporter bias influencing the stories. If O'Keeffe is biased, it in no way means Mastro isn't doing some shady things. But it is an important piece of information for readers to include in the mix as they decide what to make of the stories and of Mastro.

As I said upthread, jury's out for me. But I am curious to see how O'K's future articles are framed. If there is a bias, then to me it puts any decision on my part to judge Mastro on hold until the other side is fairly presented. If no bias, then I'll take it more at face value.

And I'll wait and see if I think there's a bias - with nothing else to go by, I'll probably base it on the context and focus of future articles as described above.

Joann

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Joann -- let's assume that O'Keefe hates Bill Mastro's guts. Did that bias cause the shirt to be a fake? Did that bias cause Mastro to fail to provide the MEARS opinion to the selling public? Did that bias cause them to sell game used items that have been authenticated by the consignor of the item?

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Joann, you should skip the lawyer part and go straight to being a judge.

Other than noting the FBI was looking into the Jordan jersey, nothing O'Keeffe wrote in that article was not already discussed and known at the gameused forum...I do think that O'Keeffe is biased...heck it seemed to me he took the obvious wrong side in the fake T206 Wagner owned by the two guys from Cincy. Even embellishing how this forum felt about the issues regarding race. But he just seems to be reporting to the world what is already being discussed at GU in his latest articles. Bias or not Mastro is really screwing up a lot lately...is it intentional? I don't know....Lelands and REA don't seem to have these types of problems.

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Posted By: leon

I am not "blindly" defending Mastro. Unless I missed something (and I might have) Doug Allen said he didn't see a letter or email from MEARS before the auction. If he did see one then I do think something needs to be said about it and should have been said. Also for the record I disagree on a Mastro policy of showing ownership of an item that is being consigned and authenticated by the person. I think it used to be, and still is, a policy to only tell if it were an issue or after the auction. I think if a bat, for example, is authenticated by MEARS, is owned by a principal of MEARS, then it should be disclosed up front. I also would like to see articles from someone less biased on Mastro's mishaps.....Okeefe has a vendetta plain and simple....and just because he has a vendetta does not make it right if Mastro did something wrong...to say I am implying that is also very wrong.... regards

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Posted By: Joann

Jeff,

I completely agree with you that a reporters bias (or lack of bias) is completely irrelevant when it comes to the underlying issue of Mastro's actions wrt the Jordan jersey. It stinks to high heaven no matter what.

But I also think that there may be another way to present the facts such that they don't look so overwhelmingly negative to Mastro. I just don't know what that presentation is. I'm not even sure there is another way to present it. But I think that if O'K is biased, it will leave me thinking that there is an alternative presentation of the facts. If he's not biased, then I would take the facts as presented as being more directly aligned with reality.

Could another presentation change some of what went on? No. It may not even be sufficient to make Mastro seem clear of all of this. But it might make it look different - at least to me.

All I know is that I have had my share of people that would like to present things I've done in the worst possible light, and would hate for people to take those representations as gospel without allowing room for another point of view.

So I guess all I'm saying is that I'd really like to know if O'K has some reason to pick at Mastro. If so, I look at the facts as presented more skeptically. It doesn't mean I discount them completely, it only means I leave room for doubt as to the reality or context behind them.

As I said above, if O'K really wants to do an expose on Mastro I say have at it. It just seems odd to me that he doesn't really present this as a "Mastro problem". He presents it as a hobby problem but Mastro is always the chief villian. I guess I'm just a cynic, and wonder what's going on that hasn't been mentioned.

Joann

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Posted By: boxingcardman

Mastro gets praise for canceling an item after the sale but Verkman gets crap for it? Seems to me that both auctioneers showed equivalent negligence in vetting the items before sale.

I do not accept that a leader in its field putting together a premiere auction at a once-a-year major trade show didn't get the letter on time from MEARS. Mastro obviously had the letter and had the time to send the jersey to the second authenticator. It was just whore-shopping for a favorable opinion. Nothing wrong with that; lawyers do it all the time in retaining experts. But let's not canonize Mastro over this incident because it sure as heck isn't a good one for them.

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Posted By: Sean C

You can have a vendetta against someone or a company, yet still present factual information about their misdeeds. In this case Mastro is just providing O'Keefe with plenty of ammunition for his feud.

Sorry, but the idea that it was rejected by their primary authenticator without disclosure is pretty odd, especially since they went through such a song and dance about the MEARS rejected Ted Williams jersey in the same auction.

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Posted By: Joann

It took me awhile, but I thought of an analogy.

Our regular hours at work are 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. with an hour for lunch. I don't remember the last time I got to work earlier than 8:15. It's usually somewhere between 8:15 and 8:30, but it's not that uncommon for me to get there a little after 8:30 even.

So suppose someone at work had a negative bias towards me (believe me, they exist!). They could easily start a buzz about Joann never gets to work at 8. Joann is late every single day. Joann didn't get here until 8:40 yesterday. And it would all be true. Suppose they start saying it to people that work 500 miles away at corporate in St Louis, who aren't here to see my comings and goings? Now that would look bad. Really bad.

Does the bias of the person change the fact that I don't get there at 8? No, not at all. That underlying fact would still be true, and clearly true. And it's on me - I simply don't get there at 8 and that has nothing to do with the bias of anyone reporting that.

But here's the rest of it - the part the the biased person would probably omit. I rarely leave before 6 pm. Being at the office until 6:30 or a bit later is not that uncommon, especially if I don't keep an eye on it. If I leave by 6 it is usually because I've made up my mind to do so. There is kind of a running joke with my boss that if I am leaving at 5:00 I let her know that I am "cutting out early - you know - at 5". I don't remember the last time I went out for an hour at lunch. I usually go for carryout, and am gone maybe 20-30 minutes.

I am on my email by 6:30 every morning to see if there is anything I need to do to get my dept going, and catch up on emails. I keep an eye on it at night in case anyone from our office in China needs anything - if I can answer that night it saves them an entire day. I also catch up on other emails occasionally in the evenings. I do my weekly Close of Business report on the weekend, and also read the COB's from other Senior Managers.

I probably average somewhere between 50 and 55 hours per week, as a best guess. That doesn't even count the days (such as next Thursday) that I get up at 3:00 a.m. to catch the 5:00 flight to St Louis, and don't get to check into my hotel there until maybe 9:00 at night.

Not crying about it - not at all. But someone with a bias could easily complain widely and publicly that I don't get in on time at 8. Ever. And that person would be perfectly correct, with that fact unaffected by the bias.

But it doesn't tell the whole story - far from it. So I guess that's why I wonder if there is a bias in the Mastro reporting, and think I will reserve opinion until I can tell if there is or not.

Sorry for the long post - it was the best (read, only) analogy I could think of.

Joann

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Posted By: jay behrens

Leon, seriously, you need to quit posting in Mastro threads or quit taking their money for banner ads. Your initial post was laughable, at best.

More people than me are seeing you for what you are, a shill for Mastro, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if you weren't taking money from them.

On the subject of the shirt, I don't buy Doug's explanation. If it was a last minute submission, then that should have been an item that was being closely monitored to make sure everything was OK before going to auction. If the MEARS report was late and handed in after the Lampson report, the item should have been yanked immediately, not after it was sold.

How's that old saying, Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. How many times does Mastro have to fool us before we say enough is enough?

Jay

The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

[Archive]

Posted By: leon

All I will say is you will always believe what you want to...facts or not...take care.......

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Posted By: James Feagin

Leon,

I'm not at all saying you're blindly accepting of Mastro, but can see why others would think that way. In past threads you have stated how wonderful of a person and friend Doug Allen is, that you will consign your collection to them, that the writer has a vendetta and hence his opinions should be devalued, that Mastro should be given credit fo refunding a tainted jersey, the FBI, etc. etc. My question is, and I mean this honestly, what would it take? Would it take someone else other than O'Keefe? Would it take more FBI action? In no way am I disparaging or trying to insinuate anything. I've dealt with you and can vouch for your character. However, can't you see how someone could conceivably feel that way about your statements? Would it take videotapes or audiottapes? If Mastro didn't offer the stellar material they did, I think there would be a whole lot more outcry from the hobby at large.

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Posted By: Chris

When did the auction for the Jordan shirt end?

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Posted By: identify7

Joann: I agree that if you use a newspaper as your sole source of information, you are not likely to be very well informed. But in this case, either the FBI is involved, or they are not. If they are, then getting in at 8AM is no longer a potentially valid analogy, imo.

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Posted By: jay behrens

James, exactly my point. What will it take for Mastro to actually be held accountable and possibly removed as an advertiser. As we've seen before, when it's a lesser auction house/dealer, they are roundly taken to task by everyone and even removed as an advertiser for less than what Mastro has done.

Jay

The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

[Archive]

Posted By: Sean C

It was part of their live auction at the National. Refresh your screen a few times, and you'll see that Leon still has one of the banner ads for the auction up and in rotation (it's on my screen now as I type this). Click through it, and you'll find the shirt.