Much Ado About Nothing
Steve Bruno, the government relations officer at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, says Heritage is allowed to bid in its own auctions -- even if it uses a false name -- provided that it's announced. "As long as they've said that their people will be bidding, then they're allowed to do that."
The [Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation] regulates auctioneers, not auction houses. So while Heritage is required to hire licensed auctioneers to conduct its auctions, the company's practices as an auction house are not regulated. A statement from Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's Office, says "nothing in the law addresses the licensing of auction houses."
Yet Rohan says the identity of Gresham isn't hidden, and "everybody down to the beginning clerk knows that it's us." In fact, Rohan claims that Hendershott not only knew about N.P. Gresham, he was Gresham when he was buying Civil War items for Heritage. "He knew all about it from the very beginning. He knew that we placed bids on stuff because he was one of the ones that bid."
Sounds like a POS fish-slapping dance of a case.
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