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Aaron M.Jeff, I don't think leon is saying he'd be a happy victim of fraud so much as he is saying he would still be freidns with the Mastro guys even if they were criminals and had defrauded people throughout the hobby so long as he was not specifically vitimized (i.e., they just sort of anonymously ripped him off along with a bunch of other people, as opposed to specifically saying, "let's jack up the prices of lots that leon is bidding on").
I think that's a very strange opinion, but he's certainly entitled to it.
As to Barry's observation, let's not kid ourselves. If charges are brought against Mastro, I think shortly thereafter we probably wouldn't have the option of continuing to do business with them. Either their quality consignments would dry up (who would risk their investment by consigning to a firm that is on trial?) or they'd have to at the least suspend operations until the matter was resolved in their favor. That's the practical answer, but I don't know the legal one: could the government shut them down before they were found guilty?
It's crazy to think about where we are in the hobby, but in all seriousness, we could be a few criminal charges away from major auction houses going under and the hobby going through a major transformation (both in terms of value of collections and the way in which we continue to pursue our hobby).