Claim of $80k+ theft at the National

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by jfkheat

Interview link

https://youtu.be/nc03BTv0vDk

Yeah that was awful. Gizmo comes off as every collectors' worst nightmare of the typical card dealer. It was hard for me to focus on the "story" because I was mesmerized by his persona. Might take a bit to purge that. Gotta run now and start trying.

[Eric72]

If I was the victim of an $80,000 crime, and the case/investigation was still ongoing, I would only be discussing the situation with legal counsel and law enforcement. Period.

I certainly wouldn't be providing an interview to some random content creator whose name I couldn't remember.

[G1911]

Does anyone know Porter? According to Gizmo the clown he’s active in the hobby, spends a lot, and has a criminal record. This 30 minute version of his story still doesn’t make any sense as having plausibly actually happened.

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by G1911

Does anyone know Porter? According to Gizmo the clown he’s active in the hobby, spends a lot, and has a criminal record. This 30 minute version of his story still doesn’t make any sense as having plausibly actually happened.

Don't know him now, but he was raised chasing and enjoying autographs with his father. The whole family is extremely sports-oriented and good, good people. I know he has a record due to an unfortunate incident that had nothing to do with collectibles or theft or in any way would relate to this situation.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

Don't know him now, but he was raised chasing and enjoying autographs with his father. The whole family is extremely sports-oriented and good, good people. I know he has a record due to an unfortunate incident that had nothing to do with collectibles or theft or in any way would relate to this situation.

Gizmo’s story is so absurd that it can’t be true (it’s possible there was a theft but not like this). I hope, guilty of some sort of theft or innocent, this man knows his name is getting very publicly trashed. This whole situation just screams to hear from the other side.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by G1911

Gizmo’s story is so absurd that it can’t be true (it’s possible there was a theft but not like this). I hope, guilty of some sort of theft or innocent, this man knows his name is getting very publicly trashed. This whole situation just screams to hear from the other side.

Well....the cops asked him to come to NJ to give a statement. He refused. I am sorry, that just reeks of scum-baggery. Gizmo may be an ass but so far, his side is the one that is believable. This buyer stole from him.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Well....the cops asked him to come to NJ to give a statement. He refused. I am sorry, that just reeks of scum-baggery. Gizmo may be an ass but so far, his side is the one that is believable. This buyer stole from him.

OR a guy who doesn't have time to travel half-way across the country on his own dime for what he sees as no reason. It's too easy for people to spin their own narratives when there are many more possibilities than the one they think of.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Well....the cops asked him to come to NJ to give a statement. He refused. I am sorry, that just reeks of scum-baggery. Gizmo may be an ass but so far, his side is the one that is believable. This buyer stole from him.

Why would he travel back to New Jersey on his dime to give a formal statement he doesn’t have to give? Would you? Guilty until proven innocent is not reasonable.

Gizmo the clown’s story sounds believable to you? I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Well....the cops asked him to come to NJ to give a statement. He refused. I am sorry, that just reeks of scum-baggery. Gizmo may be an ass but so far, his side is the one that is believable. This buyer stole from him.

The story was truly unbelievable. With the accused allegedly even refusing to answer to NJ police it suggests that there was a theft.

It is easy to tell that Gizmo over valued the theft and went conveniently with the high book value. Pics I saw of his cards did not show them to be in high grade and the prices I saw on them were beyond absurd.

He came off as an atrocious salesperson in that video. Some melodrama too. Told a horrible version of the story to boot, leaving out details and telling things out of order. Not a good look.

At least 2 times he mentioned that the guy had offered him 26K or something and he played the "I paid way more than that for those 29 cards". Bet at 26K he triples up. He strikes me as the guy who would take advantage of an unsuspecting family who inherited a collection and then boast about it to his pals. I do not know him so I should not judge but that is my impression.

If you are taking cards "worth" that much to shows and you are seasoned veteran seller, why no insurance?

He did not explain why he took the guy's bag to hold onto. Nor what he understood was in the bag at the time he took it.

I suspect there was a theft. Do not condone taking something which is not yours however if Gizmo did business with him 7 times prior, if the guy made off with 26K worth of cards I would say Gizmo still owes the dude at least 26K more for jacking him in the 7 previous meetings where the guy was paying PSA 8 prices for VG-EX material.

Still maintain he makes a bad witness but a great one for entertainment value. Still flying out if there is a trial. Would not miss it for anything.

[111gecko]

I could only make it through about 10 minutes of the interview...ugh. It reminds me of my children when they have waaaaaay too many unnecessary specifics of a story they made up. Not saying some of it isn't true, but simple is better in situations like this I would think.

The most damning thing I heard is he said he would see him in the morning via text. He never showed up. That's strong for RGs story if he has that.

[Mark17]

I was just thinking, those boxes of cash could possibly (I don't know because I haven't seen them) said: $500.00 instead of $50000, if there was a very faint, almost invisible, decimal point there. So that could be a piece of the guy's defense.

Not a lawyer, but I'd think that would be important in knocking down the accusation of fraud. Unless The Giz has witnesses to him claiming it was $100,000 total in those boxes.

[Shoeless Moe]

I heard Gizmo got Jackie Chiles.

[babraham]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

I heard Gizmo got Jackie Chiles.

"Your face is my case"

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Mark17

I was just thinking, those boxes of cash could possibly (I don't know because I haven't seen them) said: $500.00 instead of $50000, if there was a very faint, almost invisible, decimal point there. So that could be a piece of the guy's defense.

Not a lawyer, but I'd think that would be important in knocking down the accusation of fraud. Unless The Giz has witnesses to him claiming it was $100,000 total in those boxes.

if a witness to the 500 cash in ones..its pretty odd to give someone 500 1 dollar bills..

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

..its pretty odd to give someone 500 1 dollar bills..

Obviously you and I go to different night clubs.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Obviously you and I go to different night clubs.

guess if using 1s at THOSE clubs now and used 1s 20 years ago...no inflation