Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dave
For all the complaints against Mr. Morales, there really isn't anything that can be done legally. After all is said and done, he is only offering his opinion on items, right or wrong, which is the same as all authenticators do.
|
I don't believe this is accurate. It wouldn't take much of an investigation or a very clever prosecutor to link him as a key component of a criminal conspiracy.
"It's my opinion" may be a valid defense for errors that fall within an acceptable margin of error. When you are wrong almost all the time, and there is a criminal pattern to your "errors," this defense will not hold up.
Quote:
|
Take Donald Frangipani in comparison. His COAs were on so many of the items sold and confiscated in regard to Operation Bullpen, yet he is still in business and did not get into any trouble in regard to Operation Bullpen. The reason being, he was only stating his opinion, which we all have, and which is still, not against the law.
|
Actually, the only reason Frangipani wiggled off the hook is that he played dumb and claimed that someone forged his COAs. The irony!
Unlike other players in the Marino crime syndicate, Frangipani was smart enough to not say anything incriminating when he was being recorded. But he was definitely a
person of interest to the FBI.
I believe this is a reason why these "Forensic Document Examiners" do not include photographs of the item on their COAs. It preserves the defense that an item could have been swapped out or some other variation of "
That's not the item I examined!"