Mastro sentenced
 

If anyone is looking to partner up with him to shill bid their own lots in the next Mastro auction you'll have to wait for 85% of 20 months. Sorry, fellas.

Restitution?

Let the mock outrage, hand-wringing and pontificating from the best and the brightest begin.

No restitution. Bill and his painful urination will start serving his sentence in late November.

After Thanksgiving with his loving family?

And his priest -- not the one whose name he used to set up a shill bidding account.

He'll go in Mint condition and come out authentic. :)

http://i.imgur.com/3ZVzMTb.jpg

Lol...painful urination

If he's not careful he might get altered in his cell

LOL...good one Chris; just noticed Wagner's new outfit

hopefully he has his soap on a rope....

If they have powdered soap he's screwed...literally

more puns
 

Not sure his "grade" will be the same at the beginning and end of his sentence
He may possibly get "altered" by a shank
Possible to get "slabbed" in solitary confinement for bad behavior
Not sure he wants to be sold to the highest bidder while incarcerated
Good behavior hopefully won't "trim" his sentence
Surely someone could "alter" his appearance in prison to make him grade out higher
And many more tacky puns

I still think they should lock him up and make him sort 5000 count boxes of 1988-1990 topps baseball into teams, 10 boxes a day, 7 days a week while listening to hour after hour of Harry Caray singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. (Nothing against Harry Caray, but can you imagine listening to that hour after hour after hour)

Pretty sure he gives a you know what about what he did at this point.

Jeff, where will he be doing his time? & is it a minimum security place?

My guess is that Jeff will answer yes,,, after all, Mastro has to have a place to improve on his tennis game.

I'm sure he'll be going to a camp walk-away style facility. He needs to go to a place where he cries and prays nightly. It shouldn't matter to me either way, but seeing the posts about people writing letters on his behalf makes me lose all respect for those people. Mastro and his minions have done more damage to this hobby then all the thieves at every show, house, or car you've ever had something stolen from. I would like to thank the people on the board that bring attention to the subject. I hope others in the future will possibly think twice before running a scam on collectors, but that is quite a bit to ask for.

Wow 20 months ehhh. Hopefully he doesn't drop the soap.

I heard the judge said he was only allowed a cutting board and exacto knife in his cell...just sayin

His victims almost certainly experienced painful defecation at some point.

He'll probably be in a prison camp but it's still prison. And Marshall Fogel was there to support him as was Steve Grad. Jimmy Spence wrote his love letter to Mastro of course.

And Mastro still got off easy in my mind despite the fact that he immediately flipped and cooperated against his friends and co-conspirators.

Slightly less than two months until Allen (and Theotikos). October 14 unless I missed a subsequent docket entry.

Tossed salad for everyone!

Well, I can't say I'm surprised, but I can say that I'm disappointed. Obviously, crime does pay, at least in certain circumstances.

I suppose he could be mounted and stuffed by the prison taxidermist.

What's the over/under on Doug now, given the Bill news?

"What are you in for?"
"Trimming baseball cards"
And they all moved away from him there on the Group W bench.
"And fraud"
and they all moved back.

Shrink, I want to shill.

I think Dougie is looking at about 8 years. Hopefully for Doug, his lawyers will have learned from the mistakes Mastro's lawyers made with his sentencing submission. I mean hopefully for him, not the rest of the law-abiding world.

Since oj is away for stealing collectables maybe by chance they are cell mates??

The Code of Conduct
 

When it comes to business ethics and integrity, Mastro Auctions has operated ever since its inception under the premise that actions speak louder than words. We thought, perhaps naively, that that was enough. I have talked to a lot of customers over the last few months, both at the National Convention and through my travels, and have come to the conclusion that our customers, in fact, expect more.

As the hobby continues to evolve and new concerns plague our industry, the time to assume a proactive stance has arrived. To that end, Mastro Auctions is taking our unwritten code of professional conduct to the next level by enhancing the code and memorializing it in writing (see below). This act of leadership is not required by law or by the industry, but it represents the high standards of commitment and responsibility that Mastro Auctions has always embodied.

Since we just missed our deadline for the October Classic sale to make this announcement, this code will appear in and be in full effect for our December Premium Catalog sale. As always, we greatly value your support and assistance. By working proactively as a team, we can make a difference in the hobby we all enjoy today — and ensure that it is headed in the right direction for future enthusiasts.

Sincerely yours, Doug Allen
President & COO
Mastro Auctions

Mastro Auctions Code of Professional Conduct

1. Disclosure of Ownership

Mastro Auctions allows employees, authenticators, the Mastro Auctions corporate entity and other third party affiliates to own and consign items in Mastro Auctions’ sales. Mastro Auctions will disclose in its catalogs which items are owned by any of the aforementioned parties. PLEASE NOTE: The definition of ownership extends to spouses and immediate family members associated with the aforementioned groups.

2. Mastro Auctions Employee Bidding Rules

Certain Mastro Auctions employees are also collectors, and, similar to the practices followed by other major auction houses (e.g. Sotheby’s, Christies, etc.) are permitted to bid in Mastro Auctions sales. The following restrictions have been placed on the bidding practices of employee(s) to ensure fairness for all auction participants: · Mastro Auctions employees do not have access to ceiling or “top-all” bids. One designated administrative employee will have access to this information for the sole purpose of responding to bidding questions or for correcting bid errors. That designated individual will not be allowed to bid in the auction. · Mastro Auctions employees, the Mastro Auctions corporate entity, and all third party affiliates (authenticators, service providers, etc.) are considered related parties. These related parties are prohibited from bidding on each other’s consigned items. PLEASE NOTE: The definition of the Mastro Auctions “related parties” extends to family members.

3. Disclosure of Restoration

If Mastro Auctions believes or has knowledge that an item has been altered in any way, this information will be fully disclosed in the auction catalog. Occasionally, we will have items restored in order to improve their presentation quality. In these cases, the extent and nature of any restoration will be fully disclosed. Under no circumstances will we have restoration work done on trading cards.

4. Trading Card Guidelines

Mastro Auctions prohibits its employees from altering trading cards. Our policy on altering trading cards is in strict compliance with standards set by all major grading companies.

5. Use of Third Party Authenticators

Mastro Auctions is a company of experts. In almost all of the collecting genres handled by the company, there is an employee on staff who specializes in that area. As a result, before an item ever reaches a third party authenticator, it must first pass our scrutiny. Once an item that requires third party authentication has been accepted by Mastro Auctions, the following process will be employed: for each auction, the catalog will identify approved third party authenticating sources by category. We will not sell an item unless it has been authenticated by one of the listed third party authenticators.

6. Bidding Records

Effective for auctions held in 2007, all Mastro Auctions bidding records are maintained into perpetuity. These records are considered private and confidential. In order to maintain the privacy of our customers’ information, these records will not be voluntarily shared with any third parties.

20 months? Seems pretty light considering the crimes he's committed, I guess turning on his cohorts did the trick.

Re: the Masto Code of Conduct

LOL. Q: so which of those statements are false? A: all of them? Q: Are those statements fraudulent, intended to deceive, full of half-truths at best, and wholly dishonest? A: Yes. That is my take.

Anyone who disagrees, please feel free to point out the part of that BS that you feel the principals of the company actually believed to be the truth when written. I don't see any.

I guess another letter will be in order here in a bit. Hopefully, there will be more who contribute letters this time. Step up or don't bitch.

Kenny

It doesn't get much better than the first lines introducing the Code, does it?

When it comes to business ethics and integrity, Mastro Auctions has operated ever since its inception under the premise that actions speak louder than words. We thought, perhaps naively, that that was enough. I have talked to a lot of customers over the last few months, both at the National Convention and through my travels, and have come to the conclusion that our customers, in fact, expect more.

Crime doesn't pay . Crime costs ! I would love to read the judges ruling .

Here's the sad thing about the whole matter:

What will Mastro do after getting out? His career in any other field is toast and from what I have read, I do not exactly get the feeling he will learn from this experience. That said, my opinion is that when he gets out, he will revert to some similar line of behavior.

Really? Mastro has millions in the bank that he "earned" by cheating his customers. He will be sent to Club Fed for under two years. He pays no restitution to any of the victims he stole from because there were too many to identify. His crime cost us, but it certainly didn't cost him too much.

Agreed.

I was thinking the same thing. I'd happily do 17 months in a cushy min. security prison for a couple mil.

Andy Dufresne: "Get busy living, or get busy trimming."

He and Subway Jared can share a cell

If crime pays so well why doesn't everyone jump in that boat .

Are we talking about bankers now? :D

Who would be the top and who would be the bottom?:eek:

Because most people are not smart enough to do it well, or to make enough money to make it worthwhile. Pretty simple.

Jeff,
Im curious how much weight do you think the judge gave on the letters that were written against Mastro? Seems to me not so much. And for this crime what was the maximum sentence the judge could have given him? Like most I fell that this was very light, 17 months and yes millions in the bank most people work their whole lives and never see that kind of money seems like an easy stretch and walk away still rich. And people wonder why the justice system is the way it is. Last question why was there no restitution as it seems ever ordered? Was this his reward for throwing the others under the bus?

I think the sentence is way too light also . That is why I said I would like to read the judges ruling . Is there a Civil case to follow up the Criminal ? He can be found guilty there also and forced to pay restitution . He has ruined his reputation and name in front of the whole world . How much money will it take to buy that back ? The penalty doesn't fit the crime for sure . What I am saying is should we all be like that for money ?

Maybe a fraud case. That is problematic though. Where I practice, and I think (but don't know) in most other states, fraud has a discovery rule. Here, it is 2 years from the date you knew or should have known that you were being cheated. That can get pretty complicated and ugly when the defendant says that you should have known you were getting screwed years before if you had just read the fine print. I'm gonna try two cases in the next couple of months where that is one of the big issues

So what's the status of Doug Allen?

Is it possible that Mastro, Allen and Theotikos all end up in the same minimum security prison?

VINTAGE LICENSE PLATE AUCTION :eek::eek::eek:

From the O'Keefe/New York Daily News article:

"Mastro’s attorney, Michael Monico, had asked U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman in court papers filed earlier this month to give Mastro probation, describing the founder of Mastro Auctions as a deeply religious Catholic who has devoted his life to work with alcoholics, the homeless and the needy.

But Guzman, citing a memorandum filed by prosecutors last week, said he was troubled by the fact that Mastro had destroyed bidding records after learning that the FBI had launched an investigation into fraud in the sports memorabilia hobby in 2006.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven J. Dollear and Derek Owens said good works by Mastro, charged with mail fraud in a 2012 indictment, did not give him a “get-out-of-jail card.”

My opinion of Mastro, Allen and Theotikos?

Thumbs up.

I can't say with certainty what weight the judge gave to the letters he received, I can only say from my own experience in federal sentencings -- including those in the courthouse Mastro was sentenced -- that letters regarding the defendant's character are hugely important and can make the difference between a probationary sentence and prison time.

Mastro's statutory max was 5 years, his sentencing guidelines were 57-71 months (in reality 57-60 because of the 5 year statutory cap). But the government promised a 20 month recommendation if he fully cooperated and eventually he did.

There was no restitution ordered because the law provides that if it is too difficult to ascertain the victims and/or the loss amount then restitution need not be ordered. That being said the government surely could have asked for restitution but didn't. They also didn't need to cooperate Mastro and could have gotten convictions from all the defendants regardless. Finally, the government could have asked for more than 20 months instead of making that ridiculous promise to Mastro of 20 months. The judge said that without that 20 month request he would have given Mastro possibly 5 years.

The prosecution in my eyes was lazy (except for the FBI agent who made the case -- his work was extraordinary). They could have had more but never really cared much for the case. Not enough was done for Mastro's victims. But part of that falls on the victims of Mastro who were largely quiet. Pontificating endlessly on Net 54 but doing nothing where it matters doesn't move the ball forward. Sometimes you have to open your mouth in the right venue. The prosecutors never really felt that Mastro's victims deserved any kind of special effort from them, in my opinion. As a criminal lawyer rarely do I see a defendant's victims publicly state that the defendant was a great guy, a friend, or that they don't believe they were victimized -- even though legally they were.

Jeff,
Thanks I guess the part that bothers me most is like you said he cut a deal to only get 20 months max. But to pay no restitution? Problem I see is that the records were all destroyed but even with that can the other big 3 be held accountable and or legendary or mastro auctions as they are sentenced? I guess my question would be just because Bill wasnt ordered to pay can the others still be held responsible as in restitution?

Mastro will do what he can to ensure he can delightfully yell "I'm somebody's $#!%$" this way he does his 2 weeks hassle free and move on to other things.

As I posted, he is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14.

There are a myriad of open issues relating to loss amount between Allen and the government so it's unlikely he's being sentenced in October.

Sorry for overlooking that and thanks for the update.

So Doug is contesting even the relatively low figure the government claimed as to Bill?

He trimmed cards and he trimmed his sentence .............

A question for board's legal community...

He has been properly tried and sentenced to prison. Why wasn't he (or any other convict in the same situation) immediately taken to the hoosegow? Doesn't allowing a millionaire felon three months to plan an escape present a significant flight risk?

No, for a non-violent convicted defendant it would have been shocking for him to be taken away to immediately start serving a 20 month sentence. Plus Mastro needs to remain close by until Allen is sentenced as his cooperation may still be needed.

This might have been the best "deal" that he ever made. Despite the judge announcing that the fraud was committed on a "massive scale" to which the defendant admitted to...a lighter sentence was given for his cooperation in ongoing investigation against others...

Ricky Y

The government's press release.

http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/...l-bidding-scam

So now that its official...PSA can change the Wagner grade to "Altered" right? :rolleyes:

Ricky Y

I think David Hall is probably still in denial.

I have a question: In 2007 the Wagner sold for 2.8 million as a PSA 8. Since it was admitted now that the card was trimmed if the seller were to put the card in an auction and it only got 2 million would the seller lose out on the other .8 million? Just seems the buyer bought the card thinking it was an untrimmed original card and shouldn't take a hit on the price since there's a good chance the card would not again bring that price.

It has been common knowledge for many many many years that the card was trimmed. I doubt any of the last several owners bought it thinking it was original.

It's the most famous card in the world now, doubt anyone is losing money on it.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

If it sold tomorrow at auction, what would it bring?

I have no idea, just curious to hear other's thoughts

My guess - $4.25 million

Tony

As Peter said, the last several owners more than likely knows the history of the card (how could someone not?) and still bought it anyways. It will be interesting to see what it will bring next time it goes to sale...the notoriety of it will probably keep the $ value up... If I won it I would send it to PSA to get it re graded and see it I can get bumped up.... :p

Ricky Y

Just tell them that you are a "friend of Bill", friends of Bill get preferential treatment.

I believe what would hurt a guy like Mastro more than a short prison sentence as a non-violent offender is the forfeiture of all of his assets. Strip his finances like a hyena on a gazelle carcass. It was money he cared about, so make him a pauper. Seems better than having him come out of prison in a year and a half a rich man.

I wonder what PSAs action would be of the current Wagner owner brought the card in simply to have it reholdered in the newest tamper resistant holder? Not for review, but to simply reholdered it. Are they obligated to reholder it at its assigned grade?

More likely that than write him a check for 2 million dollars, I suspect.

You're Missing the Bright Side
 

Retention of his assets will no doubt allow for the continuation of his good works once he is released.

The last several owners of the card may have believed the card was trimmed but it was largely speculation and not known for sure. Now the trimmer of the card admitted to altering it. I doubt someone would pay the same 2.8 million for the card knowing what we all know now.

+1...he'd miss that more than his bible!!!!