Festberg was the person doing all the stealing Friday (also then reselling a lot of stuff too) He was finally caught and arrested---but it was another person who stole the Clemente Saturday.

how BOLD!

That Clemente is worth as much as a nice used car. I can't imagine letting it out of my sight for even a minute.

A good idea for dealers will be to put these ultra high end cards inside a second plastic case, like they do at retail stores, either chained to the counter or with a tracking device/buzzer inside. A case that would be difficult to break without a large bolt cutter or saw. Hard to bring a tool like that to a card show.

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/45/46/d7/4...za-plastic.jpg

I use clamps on my showcases, since the locks usually fail===Went to Lowes today and bought more clamps---I will have them on all my cases===although I can imagine where somebody still will try to open the showcases

WOW! If two were caught how many got away? I googled Festberg and a story came up from a long time ago where $75k worth of cards was stolen from him.

I happened to be set up to the left on Saturday when the Clemente theft occurred. Unfortunately it happened on the opposite side of me where the thief walked out the door parallel to where the show case was located. It makes me sick when things like this happen to any dealer. I have a problem here with camera security. All places that hold big shows need to have not only security cameras, but to be sure they are operating properly. I had another person working with me in Cleveland that had cards stolen & he was told that not all the cameras at the National were not covering all the tables, including mine. Also if signs are posted at all card shows that there are security cameras, it may give people a notion not to steal.

A picture of the thief on camera doesn't guarantee an arrest. Only if someone recognizes the thief or the thief's picture is put on the news will the picture be any good. I highly urge dealers to:

1) Lock all cases
2) Only open one case at a time to get a card out, and then immediately lock it
again while the person looks at the card.
3) Return the card when done.
4) EVERYONE else can wait! Especially when a top dollar card is out.

I had a similar experience some 25 years ago at the Ft. Washington show. Mike Williams was helping in the booth, and it was a very busy Saturday morning. One fellow, who I recall looked a bit shady from the get-go, asked for a look at the pride and joy of my inventory, a '33 Goudey PSA 7 #92 Gehrig. I reluctantly handed it over and made a classic mistake by being diverted by someone else who wanted to look at a card. Yes, when I turned back, this jerk and Lou were gone.
Eventually, Bob Schmerir organized the local cops, reports were filed, my show ruined and perhaps my faith in humanity frayed. It was not a complete loss after some insurance recovery, but not soon after I stopped setting up at shows. If the card is not recovered, I hope you have some kind of insurance protection.
Sorry to hear about Festberg. His auctions were always fun, no graded cards, of course, inflated claims, but always some jewels if you looked carefully. I remember picking up a E90-1 Jackson in about gd condition for less than a grand.

stolen cards
 

I am amazed that it was David Festberg that was caught doing this stealing, I knew David when he was younger and his mom would set up, she was a great lady, he was around since the 70's....I heard he had gone through some tougher times, but wow, what a shame...:mad:

Isn't he the guy who started collecting when he was a postman, had a Wagner, and chucked it all at least for a time to go live in India?

Wow! Rather odd life path, from Ravi Shankar to light fingered Lester.

David had a weekly auction in SCD in the early to mid-1990s. He had some great stuff in there. He did go to India at one point. I saw him when he got back and was set up at White Plains. He had lost a lot of weight but seemed happy and healthy. I am shocked to hear this. What a pity!

Bought quite a bit of stuff from Festberg in the day. He also bid on and won 3-4 items from the Barry Halper auction for me. A shame where he's wound up now. Remember getting a lot of T330 Piedmont BB Stamps from him in one of his auctions. Wish I still had them......probably 35-40 total.

Just added a back picture guys....

Festberg smoked me once, I left a ceiling bid on a Washington times card of $2400. The auction ended late Saturday night so I looked Monday and it showed I won the card for $800.

Days later a bill comes for $2400.

I call Dave and he tells me his employee forgot to enter the bids.

I am like "come on Dave" Really?

Well I had to have the card so I just ate it.

Dan Mckee

I would have passed on that one out of principle. Or maybe offered to split the difference.

I remember his store in Brooklyn was real cool and also the shows at the JFK Sheraton or Marriott were always jammed. Shame the karma changed...

Sorry to learn this about Festberg. I, too, participated in his SCD auctions back in the 1990's - my most memorable wins were two T214s that weren't listed in the Standard Catalog.

With so many good guys out there, there is no reason to bid with bad apples. That is why I quit bidding with Lew Lipsett. Just because you been in the game a long time doesn't give you an excuse to screw over people.

whoever he sold the stolen cards too at the convention now know why they got such a good deal....time to send them back and eat the loss

Does any have a recent picture of Festburg so I have an idea of who not to deal with instead of just a name?

DJ
x2drich2000

Looks like he was talked about quite a bit on here about 9+ years ago.

Found this doing a Google search using his name.
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=92635

I know a dealer friend who sets up at the Expo here in Toronto (held twice a year), and he always has members of his entourage chilling at his table. He sometimes brings his neighbor, his GF, brother, etc. and a few of his close friends here drop by - it would be IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to steal his cards.

And as for anyone who is thinking "well, can't members of his entourage steal from him?" The answer is "no." He has been doing this for 20+ years, and if any one close to him wanted to steal, then it would have happened by now. He surrounds himself with the right people and he doesn't have to worry about a damn thing going missing.

A lesson I learned a long time ago
 

It is not a question of "if" you're employees are going to steal from you, it is a question of how much you are going to let them get away with. In the first place I think it is quite naive to think that you or a dealer that you know is "theft proof" - that thought alone makes you more susceptible. That your friend has family and friends that he trusts "chilling at his table" is certainly a great help for him. To depend on that alone and think he is impenetrable.....well, I hope he doesn't find out the hard way. I trust a couple of people with everything, I trust most people as much as they earn, I trust my video camera 100% all the time. I have unfortunately been stolen from by people who I never thought would steal from me. Theft is usually a function of motive and opportunity - we don't know enough about most people to consider if they have motive. We do have a large degree of control over the opportunity we provide to people looking to make a bad choice - some great opportunity controls have been suggested previously in this thread.

Dan, do you know Dave Festberg and what he looks like?

Lew, like so many dealers in his day, was “optimistic” in his grading. However, he did not screw over people. He did more for the hobby than most people will do in ten lifetimes.

Jay Miller

I found Lew to be a very decent guy -- compared to today's auction house owners and dealers he'd be a saint.

thats high praise.

They've set the bar so low, you can practically trip over it

First of all, I'm very sorry that you've had people steal from you. I hope the items weren't too expensive. Now let me explain what I was trying to say earlier: if you have your brother, your neighbor, a couple of buddies at your table, then it's impossible for someone to take a card out of the display case without it being noticed.

Now I want you to compare the above to what other dealers do. You'll have one guy, for example, who is alone, has very expensive cards in his display cases and sometimes has his back facing the people - which one is better?

All the stuff I ever got from Lipset was accurately graded and priced.

Maybe there was a time it was.....near the end, he got sloppy.

I like the previously mentioned idea of using a clear plastic holder with the cardholder inside it, secured with a steel cable bolted to the table. This wouldn't cost very much and it seems to work for stores. At the very minimum, you could also have a sign saying you are on camera right next to the high-value cards.

Use a baseball bat on the thief.

The statement you made sounds good but in reality, I wouldn't want the assault charge unless I was physically threatened.

That only works if you catch him first.

I said that because I feel the same things are being said over and over in this thread.

Totally OT, I love post #4 in this old thread- in 2009, Sandy (I don’t know Sandy) is claiming how expensive Festberg’s prices were in the late 80’s, but that he wishes he could buy those cards today (In 2009) for those “exhorbitant” prices.

security cameras
 

Living nearby, I am familiar with the venue of the White Plains show. The dealer display area is not that large, and being part of a sports arena, there are ample areas in the upstairs seating areas to position security cameras that could cover the entire floor. Being in the real estate business, we use such cameras to blanket the common areas of our properties. They have proven quite effective in not only catching crooks, but as important in dissuading people from engaging in such conduct. Had such a system existed at White Plains, by zeroing in on the table where the theft occurred, almost certainly there would have been a tape of the theft taking place. Cameras these days are of such quality that once the act is spotted, the image can be blown up and the thief identified.

Yes there is a cost to do this. But for a venue such as the Westchester County Center where the show takes place and that is in the business of attracting shows such as this, it would likely pay for itself though lower insurance costs and higher dealer participation. Think of it -- if you are a crook how likely would you be to steal a card when you know that your actions will be captured on a video for all to see? Better still, if the stolen card is resold at the same show, the camera system will enable one to follow the perpetrator after the theft and show him selling the card. So not only will the perpetrator be caught, but there will be a good image of the person who bought the card.

Good advice Corey, and from what they charge for a table, they should provide this at least

What about get insurance? Why are none of these dealers covered?

Festberg is back
 

hello folks, returned from india to attend my youngest daughters wedding. when to my house in the catskills eveything was stolen all the cooper, boiler, etc, most of all 90% of my collection incl. t206 cobb/cobb back. then police told me to get out i lost my art deco house the state said i was away to long. it sold in auction while teaching yogi and english for many years in incrediable india. took may cards with me to white plains . a young man offered me some football cards i bought them then arrest for stolen mech. saw the judge next day told my story it was thown out of court. ive had some bad karma since returning to the states. i have a good friend a hindu billioner i cured his daughter of illness. so with his backing i will return to the oldest sports acution since 1973, i will pay the highest prices for your collection my backer owns 3 t.v. stations , etc, .. we several billions to spend festberg is back to all my friends GODBLESS peace, love, and pray YOGI RAJ DAVID

What???


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

WTF?

What The Festberg (is going on)

hey boo boo!

I believe "Yogi Raj David" above is longtime dealer and hobby character David Festberg, who moved to India some years ago to practice yoga, but maintained a home in upstate New York. See this Net54 thread from 10 years ago:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=92635

He used to have weekly phone auctions in SCD in the early-to-mid 90s, from which I got many great type cards for my then-burgeoning collection. He was very nice about breaking up lots to let me buy one card, since I was a poor grad student at the time. I met him in person at the 1993 National in Chicago.

That is one heck of a first post. Namaste. :)

Must've forgot English while he was away...

You can't make this crap up. His name is David Festberg. He and I spoke a few times this evening on the phone. I told him to put his name by his post but oh well....I will help him out and put it under his id....
Yawl can take it from here.

So sad about the 55 Clemente, but I have a feeling this thread is about to change topics.

Welcome , Dave.
 

Hello old friend. Glad you're back in with us. I still have all the cards and memorabilia from our many interesting deals all those years ago. MG.

..