NY Times covers the scandal

[Peter_Spaeth]

Online today, hard copy tomorrow I am told.

You would think they could have found a better source for that comment about originality.

Gary denied everything, it seems. He was only looking for bumps.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/y...ype=collection

[thenextlevel]

LOL, Moser would look for undergraded cards to bump without altering them. Has this moron seen his before and afters. That’s a flimsy defense.

[swarmee]

Pretty good piece for its brevity. Glad they contacted Ken Kendrick about the issue. Surprised they didnt show any images from the before and after. Neither Brent nor Joe Orlando wanted to talk, very unlike them, and still didnt say which law enforcement agency they're working with.
And Moser throws PSA under the bus; that's rich.

[barrysloate]

Peter- did The Times contact you directly, or is that just a quote from one of your posts?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Peter- did The Times contact you directly, or is that just a quote from one of your posts?

I spoke with the reporter at some length, and also directed him to some background materials.

[conor912]

The last paragraph says a lot. The bellwether card of the hobby, when discovered trimmed, increased in value 4 fold. I imagine it'll be hard to gain sympathy from the masses when it appears the alterations are making everyone, including the buyers, rich.

[groundskeeper]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Surprised they didnt show any images from the before and after.

Anyone wanna throw up a quick link to some examples? I saw the 52 mantle PSA 4.5, but nothing else. Thanks!!!

Also, yeah, this is so annoying. I guess you get more fraud when the values go up, but these people are such scum. Sucks.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by groundskeeper

Anyone wanna throw up a quick link to some examples? I saw the 52 mantle PSA 4.5, but nothing else. Thanks!!!

Also, yeah, this is so annoying. I guess you get more fraud when the values go up, but these people are such scum. Sucks.

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showth...90614&page=110
Just keep scrolling forward or back. Hundreds of examples.

[groundskeeper]

Originally Posted by swarmee

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showth...90614&page=110
Just keep scrolling forward or back. Hundreds of examples.

SWEET JESUS!
Hats off to the people who did the investigative work.
PWCC eneds to go.
PSA needs ...to....i don't know?
I'm done buying cards over 6!

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Notwithstanding the lame rhetoric by Orlando and Moser and the mute response by Huigens, I'm glad to see this scandal is making national news. The more publicity, the more pressure will be put on PSA to proactively address the problem. Great work Peter!

By the way, has anyone heard from Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News? He was the lone voice in the wilderness in the media many years ago on hobby news like this.

[darwinbulldog]

I do have one question. Does anybody know what are these "25 rarest baseball cards" that Ken Kendrick owns? Surely there are more than 25 unique baseball cards, so the claim can't be accurate; I'm just wondering which cards are being touted as the 25 rarest.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

Notwithstanding the lame rhetoric by Orlando and Moser and the mute response by Huigens, I'm glad to see this scandal is making national news. The more publicity, the more pressure will be put on PSA to proactively address the problem. Great work Peter!

By the way, has anyone heard from Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News? He was the lone voice in the wilderness in the media many years ago on hobby news like this.

Mr. O'Keefe, as was the case with most of the Daily News staff was laid off years ago. He's out of the sports card reporting business.

Rich

[frankbmd]

PWCC needs to start their own HE chat board with only members of exceptional quality, whose foreheads receive an indelible sticker. A threshold of net purchases from the marketplace would be a qualifying requirement for the forehead sticker (or a tattoo or branding as of cattle in the wild, Wild West).

Then PWCC should also consider starting a college of Card Restoration that would grant degrees to the students leading to full certification of Card Doctors. Why should the fraudsters have to linger in the alleys out of the sunlight. Let them be credentialed as in Medicine, Law and Engineering. The valedictorians of the college could also receive plaques, which could be displayed proudly, perhaps in The Vault.

I’m sure PSA would be complicit and create a division of the college to certify graders. In a year or two I would expect a “bumper” crop of graders to qualify with their own plaques for display in the Vault.

Why should their (PWCC and PSA) elite clientele have to be bothered by allegations of fraud thrown at them by the rinky-dinks of Net54 and Blowout. The gentlemen who want to redefine the hobby, just need to think outside the box.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Credit for getting the reporter interested in the story belongs to another member, but I'll leave it to him whether he wants to acknowledge that.

[Johnny630]

NYT is complete Bird Cage Paper but I might buy one tomorrow ...

[jsanz]

Wow, this is going beyond the message boards. It might get picked up by other media now. I was waiting for this to happen. Baseball cards are finally getting some attention out there in the real world.

[brad31]

Think the article was well done.

Interesting that Moser was not afraid to talk to the media although PSA and PWCC were. Of course his claims are BS about just cracking and regrading without doing anything to the cards.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

NYT is complete Bird Cage Paper but I might buy one tomorrow ...

No politics please.

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

NYT is complete Bird Cage Paper but I might buy one tomorrow ...

Both of my birds are Independents

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

NYT is complete Bird Cage Paper but I might buy one tomorrow ...

Gee whiz, I wonder what they will now do with their 127 Pulitzer Prizes, including two this year. And I am sure more will be awarded to them.

[Leon]

Well, at least it is getting national attention. Thanks for what you are doing, Peter et al....

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Online today, hard copy tomorrow I am told.

You would think they could have found a better source for that comment about originality.

Gary denied everything, it seems. He was only looking for bumps.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/y...ype=collection

[barrysloate]

Many who've posted on various threads believe this story was not destined to go beyond readers of Net54. It will in fact be national news. We'll see how it all plays out. And yes, a thanks to Peter. He is always posting intelligently, and he also has a day job that warrants his attention. A multi-tasker for sure.

[Paul S]

There was a time when an article about baseball cards would appear in The Times Arts and Leisure section, not the Money section.

And Brent is advising The Met now?! OMG

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by Leon

Well, at least it is getting national attention. Thanks for what you are doing, Peter et al....

Yes, Thanks Peter. Always the voice of reason around here.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Fuddjcal

Yes, Thanks Peter. Always the voice of reason around here.

Credit goes to the BO guys who have found all these cards and identified the bad certs, as well as to the person who contacted the Times reporter.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Credit goes to the BO guys who have found all these cards and identified the bad certs, as well as to the person who contacted the Times reporter.

Credit to all of you.

[AGuinness]

Kudos to Peter and the other board member. Keep up the good work!

But I can’t believe Peter didn’t make the reporter also note that the Wagner was also hand-cut and should only be an “A”!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by AGuinness

Kudos to Peter and the other board member. Keep up the good work!

But I can’t believe Peter didn’t make the reporter also note that the Wagner was also hand-cut and should only be an “A”!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am not sure he would have grasped that subtlety LOL.

[Throttlesteer]

In all honesty, my question was serious. I don't read newspapers and rarely link to their online content because it requires you subscribe when trying to read an article.

I appreciate all of the footwork Peter has been doing to keep the board informed of this issue. It's obvious the hobby has MUCH more of this kind of crap going on outside of this specific issue. But, it's a great reminder to be mindful when transacting with your hard-earned money.

[IgnatiusJReilly]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Online today, hard copy tomorrow I am told.



You would think they could have found a better source for that comment about originality.



Gary denied everything, it seems. He was only looking for bumps.



https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/y...ype=collection

This us really blowing up. Nice quotes in NYT Peter!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Online today, hard copy tomorrow I am told.

You would think they could have found a better source for that comment about originality.

Gary denied everything, it seems. He was only looking for bumps.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/y...ype=collection

Peter - Did we honestly expect him to say “here’s my address...I’m guilty....come and get me and take me away to prison”???? As an extremely competent lawyer, you of all people know in this country it’s innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We know the real deal, and we also know ANY card doctor will “go down swinging” before admitting full guilt.

Regards,
Joe T.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

Peter - Did we honestly expect him to say “here’s my address...I’m guilty....come and get me and take me away to prison”???? As an extremely competent lawyer, you of all people know in this country it’s innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We know the real deal, and we also know ANY card doctor will “go down swinging” before admitting full guilt.

Regards,
Joe T.

I would have advised him not to speak to the press, and I think most lawyers would have done the same. This is the first time in history probably that Brent has not shot his mouth off so clearly that message was delivered to him.

[Stampsfan]

Thanks from me too, Peter. Appreciate your diligence on this (and other) topics. I hope this story grows larger and larger in terms of coverage.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I would have advised him not to speak to the press, and I think most lawyers would have done the same. This is the first time in history probably that Brent has not shot his mouth off so clearly that message was delivered to him.

Gary’s denials are not really helpful to him, not sure what he was thinking. I’m guessing he doesn’t have a lawyer. Meanwhile, Peter has been consistently vocal on this trimming issue for 13 years and counting and deserves all the praise. It’s not easy to have the same inane argumente day after day, year after year on these obvious issues of fraud, with financially interested people who will swear the moon is made of green cheese im order to make an extra buck.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Online today, hard copy tomorrow I am told.

You would think they could have found a better source for that comment about originality.

Yeah, that guy did not come across well

[Bram99]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Online today, hard copy tomorrow I am told.

You would think they could have found a better source for that comment about originality.

Gary denied everything, it seems. He was only looking for bumps.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/y...ype=collection

I have read it several times. So disappointing. Great job by Peter but the author totally misses the point and portrays the situation as a legitimate debate over whether restoration and alternation is ok, rather than about the intentional misrepresentation by card doctors and the incompetence of PSA and others. If this is the best of the coverage, the "scandal" will be largely a yawn. If this scandal is to become more than a tempest in the Net54 and BO teacup, then something different will have to be written, or a follow-up on arrests will have to follow.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Bram99

I have read it several times. So disappointing. Great job by Peter but the author totally misses the point and portrays the situation as a legitimate debate over whether restoration and alternation is ok, rather than about the intentional misrepresentation by card doctors and the incompetence of PSA and others. If this is the best of the coverage, the "scandal" will be largely a yawn. If this scandal is to become more than a tempest in the Net54 and BO teacup, then something different will have to be written, or a follow-up on arrests will have to follow.

Very well said!

I wish the article included verbiage of the undeniable tampering, as documented on BO over and over again. Was there even one reference to the "before and after" photos on BO? I would think that a general audience would be interested to see examples of just how these cards were identified as altered.

Well at least it's a start.

[kateighty]

Props to Peter! Now if only we could get that quote on a net54 t-shirt. I'd totally buy it.

[Johnny630]

To me this is article is all about the Vast Differences

Alteration/Fraud Why Because Cards Are made By a Machine not a Human!!
Art is a done by human being, restoration is acceptable if disclosed ....
That’s the point I wish people would get through their heads ....

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

To me this is article is all about the Vast Differences

Alteration/Fraud Why Because Cards Are made By a Machine not a Human!!
Art is a done by human being, restoration is acceptable if disclosed ....
That’s the point I wish people would get through their heads ....

Comic books are made by a machine and alterations are acceptable.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The Times story was reprinted today in the Houston Chronicle, apparently. As well as the Sunday edition of the Times. So whatever our disagreements or disappointments with the focus, presumably more collectors will know there are issues.

https://www.pressreader.com/

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The Times story was reprinted today in the Houston Chronicle, apparently. As well as the Sunday edition of the Times. So whatever our disagreements or disappointments with the focus, presumably more collectors will know there are issues.

https://www.pressreader.com/

Well done Peter