Bill Mastro's upcoming sentencing
 

Mastro is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Guzman in federal court in Chicago in August. He will be receiving a sentence of most likely less than 30 months pursuant to his cooperation agreement with the government. The deal he has with the government requires him to pay back *zero* dollars in restitution to his victims. In addition, just today, Bill Boehm, Mastro's codefendant, received a sentence of three months house arrest for his actions in defrauding collectors who bid on Mastro auctions.

If anyone would like to write a letter directly to the judge expressing your feelings about Bill's conduct and his impact on our hobby, the sentence he is about to receive and the fact that you will not be receiving a penny in restitution despite the massive fraud he committed, now is nearing your last chance.

Address your letter to:

Judge Ronald A. Guzman
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

The case name is U.S. v. Mastro, 1:12-cr-00567.

Finally, it is also my understanding that Bill is presently reaching out to some high profile collectors and sending them happy little packages with some cards for their collections along with a happy note. As Bill never had a reputation for generosity, it is curious timing so close to his sentencing but that's just my opinion. Please don't let such a package deter you from telling the truth about Bill's negative impact on our hobby.

Such Shenanigans!!!

What does this bode for Doug and Mark?

unbelievable...the legal system is shit!!!!

Orange is the new black and "happy little packages" are the new steak dinner at the National. Hardly a surprise.

Rob Dewolf

Ha, you should see it up here...only thing worse is the postal service and our dental coverage plans.

sounds similar to down here!!!

I think most americans would agree the healthcare delivery system is "broken"...and in need of a major overhaul.

Can we say the same thing of the legal system?

Now that the National has been brought up, what is the over under on the first dealer to be arrested?

It's all about money. Agreed. Legal system my fay ##*king ass. Total home on all accounts. That goes for any legality.

Very cogent analysis.

Sir,
 

Please.... I'd like to have my nephew continue perusing this website.

Barry Arnold

What kind of an uncle are you?

Oh he's really a very classy guy Barry.

Rob D
 

since he is my great nephew, I would think that makes me a great uncle. :)

best,
barry

Peter S
 

many thanks, my good friend.
your generous compliment is very, very classy, as are you.

best,
Barry

How do we get from the sentencing recommendation of a single prosecutor to the entire system?

While we're off-topic, can we get Pete's take on the state of dental care?

Yes, that recent wisdom tooth case was right in Pete's area, a terrible tragedy and certainly hope it was not the result of any fault.

http://www.startribune.com/eden-prai...ion/307483751/

No more F bombs Josh... I have no idea what "total home" means but I guess either you are "safe or not" at home plate?...thanks

Bahhahaha. Sorry Leon won't happen again. I was out at home.

I am just curious what language you speak too? If you are out then how can you be at home? Were you in your backyard?

"Dudes on ludes should not drive"
-Spicoli

This incident was an unfortunate one...could have happened to any doctor from the sounds of it...

Jeff - So it sounds to me he might get a short sentence? At this point with all that has happened and now a sentencing, what do think he will get? When do you think Judge Guzman will actually make the decision (more of the mental process here, not the actual sentencing date) on the sentence?

The prosecutor is recommending less than 30 months (assuming Bill's cooperation was substantial) and he will pay back no money to his victims. As for the judge's decision, he will rely on a whole host of factors which include letters to the court from Bill's victims about their experiences with him and his general character.

What about Doug and Mark?

As I often do I had one too many pints last eve. This is how that comment came about. :D

It's pretty damn funny reading it today.

Just watch the F bombs and dirty language and you won't hear much from me. We try to keep it fairly clean so your 12 yrs old son or daughter (as an example not that you have a 12 yr old) could read the board. thanks

+1

We collectors are paying a high price for Mastro's cooperation.

Any idea what the specifics are regarding said cooperation?

Tom - it's "people" not Dudes. If you're going to quote Mr. Spicoli ... at least quote him accurately! :D

If I were a wronged party, I would care much more about restitution than length of sentence. It is like putting the cart before the horse. Why does this happen so frequently?

Gary, I think if you bid in their auctions you were a wronged party. I told Mastro's lawyer I expected restitution and an apology and I would think about a letter. Nothing has changed (except a small gift in the mail which was appreciated).

So he tried, in effect, to buy a favorable letter to the judge? Or was he just sending you a gift in a generous spirit?

He's not paying you restitution.

He sent you the gift in the mail to try to stop you from writing a letter to the court about his stealing from his friends -- solely because he doesn't want the judge to sentence him to a longer sentence.

Once he's sentenced and he doesn't need to manipulate you anymore the gifts in the mail will stop.

If someone tried to bribe or influence me with a gift, I would like to think I would return it.

I know Jeff. My views haven't changed concerning writing a letter. I have said AFTER restitution (it would have to be for all affected not just me) AND a public apology I would think about it. Since the first isn't going to happen I think it's analogous to arguing moot points with my wife. I am very practiced at it though.

Here's what Bill said about the letters to the judge written by his victims and the anger some of them have displayed:

"I have no idea where such resentment comes from but to date my judge has received 2 letters….2! I had over 30,000 people on our mailing list and 2 people wrote letters."

So Bill believes that his victims apparently approve of his criminal actions because they are not writing to the judge.

Why isn't restitution the first part of any judgement. If wronged, I would want to be compensated for that wrong. I couldn't care less if the party goes to jail or not.

Since letters are sometimes made public, and a certain HUGE fraudster with his own website might get them and twist them as he often does, maybe people don't want to speak out? I don't think anyone can guarantee a letter won't be made public, can they? (except the judge I guess)

Address your letter to:

Judge Ronald A. Guzman
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

The case name is U.S. v. Mastro, 1:12-cr-00567.

Pretty hard to calculate and administer in a case like this with so many bidders oand so many lots over so many years, I would imagine.

5 million dollar lifetime fine split over everyone that bid, just like a class action that has been awarded *(in layperson terms).....that is a start.

In a class action, to collect you typically have to submit a proof of claim. There is a whole administrative process. And there's no way every lot was shilled such that every bidder would have a claim.

Plus, he never would have plea bargained if it included a mutli million dollar award, is my guess.

I disagree completely. What was he going to do, go to trial?

But before we go back into pontificating about the ills of the legal system, can we again focus on the following:

if you wish to tell the judge your thoughts on Bill Mastro, good or bad, you should write to the judge because you will have no other opportunity to be heard on this matter. Complaining on Net 54 does not move the ball forward.

You are closer to it than I am fair enough, but why then didn't the prosecution insist on restitution?

Maybe the prosecutor got a gift in the mail.

You said no way, I gave a way. He is proven (I believe) to have shilled. My restitution may not be perfect but it seems better than what is being done.

Well yes he shilled but that does not mean every lot was shilled. So many bidders may not have been damaged at all.

And we will never know as so many records were destroyed by them. I believe that makes my solution more equitable. It's something ..

It certainly would be interesting to know why the prosecution, with all the leverage it must have had, agreed to a deal with no money.

Man all I got from Mastro recently was junk wax boxes from the 1990s..where do I send the sentencing recommendation too again?

I'm lost. Are you two discussing a fantasy restitution plan which will never be implemented?

Pretty much ...

To some extent, but I am also pointing out that without seeing bidding records it's difficult to know if one was shill bid or not, and thus entitled to restitution (or for that matter to tell a judge how much one was hurt).

agreed...I bid on and won...1...high dollar card that may/may not have been shilled...but how can I know?

Right, that's my point. Obviously if you bid on dozens of items over the years and paid record prices it's a fair inference, but for most people they would seem to have no way of knowing.

What about the lots in which the fraud is easily determined? Countless numbers of lots in which Bill/Mastro were the first underbidders? Are those also impossible to determine loss amount? Why no restitution for even those victims?

Again, this thread is not to rub our temples and discuss fantasy restitution scenarios which will not only have zero chance of coming to fruition but will not even be presented to the judge --- unless you actually write a letter to the judge.

Thanks for continuing to support my case :).

And how does a member of the public not privy to the bidding records know which lots these were?

I asked you before, you tell us why no restitution if the prosecution had all that leverage such that Mastro would not have gone to trial?

Return the gift/bribe and I'll support it even more.:D

Dear Judge Guzman, I have no access to bidding records and no way to know if I personally was harmed or not, or to what extent if I was, but shill bidding is a really really bad thing and I've heard it was pretty extensive here, so throw the book at that bastard Mastro please.:)

There is a Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (18 USC sec. 3663A (c)(3) which holds that:

"This section shall not apply in the case of an offense described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) if the court finds, from facts on the record, that—
(A) the number of identifiable victims is so large as to make restitution impracticable; or
(B) determining complex issues of fact related to the cause or amount of the victim’s losses would complicate or prolong the sentencing process to a degree that the need to provide restitution to any victim is outweighed by the burden on the sentencing process."

This is the reason why restitution was not ordered (and it is noted in the cooperation agreement); however, it doesn't explain why the government did not even attempt to get any forfeiture money from Mastro.

Thankfully, I have had no dealings with our criminal justice system. Common sense dictates that compensating the wronged parties financially in some fashion should come first. I have no idea whether I was shilled in a Mastro Auction or not. However, it seems that, in this case, requiring Mastro to pay monetarily in some way would be required. To take Leon's point, it makes more sense to give all bidders something than everyone nothing. Saying that determining exactly who was shilled and how much they were shilled is too difficult a task shouldn't be the final answer. Justice is not being served.

Hey Pete, in the time it takes to pontificate on Net 54 about imaginary restitution plans you could go to PACER, print out Mastro's cooperation agreement and count the 59 times or so in which he admitted committing fraud during his auctions. Whether you know for certain if you're a victim or not (you were) it doesn't change what Mastro did to the hobby, does not change how inflated prices on cards from his auctions affect future prices on cards the rest of us will be buying.

Well it's unfortunate they didn't but I assume they had reasons for the judgment call.

Date? Looking at the docket but don't see it.

Oh wait I found it. I've read it before, this is the one where the government puts the loss at between 400k and 1M right?

Oct 10, 2013

Right, I've read it before, no doubt some very bad stuff in there. My point is simply that except for a few specific items that are named there, there isn't enough to know whether one was shilled. He admits to shilling "more than 50" lots I think but in the context of all those auctions that doesn't really give an indication of scope.

There's language which describes shill bidding by Mastro on a frequent, auction-wide level. Just because parts of the agreement reference specific lots or victims does not mean his fraud was limited to them.

As for not knowing specifically whether one was shilled, so what? If you bid in his auctions you were most likely shilled. If you buy a card in the future which has an artificially high price due to the fraud in Mastro's auctions, you are a victim. And you can write to the judge without knowing specifically if you were defrauded by Mastro especially since the Mastro defendants destroyed bidding records.

I don't think I could top the letter from the psychologist diagnosing him with Narcissistic Personality Disorder with Antisocial Features.

I think you and Jeff are talking about two completely different types of letters.

Are you referring to a letter which speaks positively about Mastro, which you would write after restitution and an apology?

Jeff is referring to writing a letter now, to the judge, explaining how you and/or the hobby were damaged by Mastro's fraudulent activities. These letters may be critical to send now, before sentencing, since it appears Bill will get off without having to pay any restitution as it now stands.

Yes, Bill isn't sending any gifts to collectors for a letter to the judge which tell the truth about him. He's hoping for either a positive letter or no letter at all. Certainly not the truth.

I AM going to write a letter tonight...and I urge anyone who has bid in one of his auctions to do so as well.

The paragraph in the Doug Allen plea agreement about the altered PSA 6 T206 Plank -- which he sent to a card doctor in California for a new back and then on to be graded -- should make people nervous on a number of levels. But most likely it won't, because we don't want to deal with reality.

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...entoryid=35826

Despicable: "This scarcer-backed version of the sought-after card (with a "Sweet Caporal - 350 subjects" advertisement adorning the reverse instead of the more routine "150" variety) boasts wonderful clarity in its back's discreet red inking and perfectly toned surround."

Screenshot part 1.

And 2.

And there you have it.

That is one of the most damning things I have seen so far. And it is my understanding, according to the plea agreement, that Doug admitted guilt. I am just shaking my head.....