PSA 8 1955 Topps Clemente.... STOLEN!
 

Hello fellow collectors, A dear friend of mine had a PSA 8 1955 Topps Clemente Rookie STOLEN out of his show case at the East Coast National this weekend (The White Plains NY Show).

This is the only picture I have so far and I am sure the POS scumbag that took it will be busting it out but the flip # is 04011378.

Please keep your eyes open, any help is appreciated.

Contact: Vincent at conromaster@msn.com

Dan Mckee

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Dan, were you at the show today?

I hate hearing about this, hopefully the card makes it back to the dealer & the bum gets jail time

I was there today, I guess theft was prevalent this weekend. Talk of the town was the Clemente though

I don't understand how easily these things are getting stolen. I'd keep all cases locked at all times. I'd only open one case at a time, and not let the customer handle any of the cards until he asked for a particular one. I'd then only let him handle one at a time. Everyone else can wait.

danmckee: If you know how it was stolen, please share.. I'm sure others here would want to know.

Very sad. The thieving scum bag will likely break it out and replace with a lesser card and try to sell it as a PSA8, then get the stolen card regraded . I'd like to see this stopped, but only total vigilance will get that done. Keep cases locked at all times unless showing an individual card as stated by another poster. The more eyes you have on your inventory at a show the better.

No I did not attend Jeff

I rarely lock my cases at shows though I have so much crap that if they steal something from me, I may not know it.

Also, I wouldn't want to catch anyone stealing from me as I may beat $250,000.00 out of them as that is what My dad had stolen at the 1991 Anaheim National.

My friend is 75 years old, keeps his cases locked but got side tracked and forgot to lock this one after showing a card. He then bought 4 cards from a young man and I believe turned his back to price them and sleeve them and that is when he says he heard a case lid closing. He turned and know one was there.

Truly sad that people have to steal.

Dan Mckee

Time for dealers to start setting up camera systems all around their tables. They aren't that expensive compared to the inventory some of these dealers carry.

That is really a great idea and cameras are small and light weight and can be used with your phone.

A camera system would be great. But the thief would be long gone before reviewing any footage. You would need cameras plus a monitor. I recommend a monitor because you'll have a bigger picture. Or you could review on your iPhone, etc.

Your friend was doing everything right. It's a shame he lost that card.

I can help anyone who needs help setting up a Camera system with DVR. I recommend Swann security systems. Easy to setup, and use.

Scum bag !

I heard some person at this show was caught stealing and arrested by the local police. I also head this guy had a dealer pass. First off is this true, did he have a dealer pass?? How are these people getting dealer passes ??

to think only a few days ago there was a thread ripe with complaints about Security Guards and their Dogs at the National.

That theft never should have happened...but an opportunity was seen...and so it goes.

Yes
 

The guy caught stealing on Friday did have a dealer pass. A dealer at the front of the room chased the dude down. Not security.

I know several dealers who won’t do this show because they have been clipped for 1000s worth of stuff. It’s sad.

The dealer who had the 8 Clemente stolen is one of the nicest people you would ever meet. Very sad.

Big fish I commend the dealer who apprehended the suspect.
Well done !
How did the suspect get a dealer pass ???

Dealer pass
 

I do not know where the theif got the dealer pass. I can only assume another dealer gave who he thought was a collector a badge.

I also commend the dealer who sprinted after the dude and caught him. He deserves a good star and perhaps a sheriffs badge- not joking. Glad someone helped bring a theif to handcuffs.

you don’t exactly have to pass a background check to get a dealers pass. if you think everyone wearing a dealers pass has the same morals you do, you’re mistaking.

No Ronnie I’m just trying to figure out a way to have this practice pointed out as being a potential contributing factor to the recent thefts. I’ve potinted this out before that people who aren’t actively set up at a table should not be allowed to have a dealer pass unless they pay for a table. Maybe it just might curtail some larceny. Idk

I’m not saying this is what happened, so if you’re the guy who sold the cards don’t get pissed at me for pure speculation. But could the scam possibly include the guy selling the card in an effort to distract the dealer? A team effort?

Back to what I said before. Only one card out at a time. Never let a customer open a case. It should be locked even when showing off one card. This would make it very hard to steal something top dollar. This is how Coin Dealers & Jewelers do it.

cameras?
 

I have never been to the White Plains venue but wondering if there are cameras there? No security staff? How does the dealer not have video from the auditorium for an insurance claim perhaps
As far as the Dealer Pass topic it seems as if those credentials are shared by more than one person--multiple people using same necklace with show promoter oblivious.

I regularly attend the White Plains show, which I happen to love, and can unfortunately attest to the fact that there have been more stolen items than I care to admit. And they always seem to be taken from good people.

The "dealer" that got caught on Friday was seen and apprehended very quickly as a husband and wife team quickly ran him down.

Interestingly enough, there is a dealer in the back corner by the stage who regularly sets-up, and he happily displays a sign that reads "Smile, you're on camera".

It's sad that that has become our reality, but unfortunately, more should follow suit.

off duty police employed by dealers may be the next step. I’d gladly do it.

Thief caught at White Plains
 

Does anyone know the name of who was caught in White Plains? I don't setup there but I do setup at Valley Forge and there are alot of the same people attend each show. If the person attends Valley Forge it would be nice to know of their history.

They may be gone by the time you realize it, but if you have them recorded there's a chance they will be apprehended. Post the footage all over the internet chat boards and facebook and someone will likely know the thief.

edited to add: my brother caught two kids shoplifting today at our store because he was watching them on camera from his office.

would be nice for SGC and PSA to post a stolen card section for high dollar cards...

be on the lookout ....like a $30k card would qualify...so if someone was checking on a psa 8 clemeente rookie..they would be told there was a one stolen.....which would hamper the re-sale a ton...and maybe prevent future thefts..

I was set up at the White Plains show this weekend and there was more stealing going up than ever---I caught one person putting a less expensive card in his pant pockets and told him to empty his pocket, he said he didn't want to lose it so he put it in his pocket!!!--also had $450 worth of cards stolen that were returned to me (from the Ex-Dealer stealing all day Friday)--they came out of my half price boxes---you just cant see everything when talking to collectors or selling---I didn't even know the cards were gone until promoter talked to me--dealer behind me had maybe $1000 stolen--plus many other dealers were hit---but the Clemente was the big hit---and yes, it is a shame---This hurts all of us in the hobby---and the show does have a private security person walking around all day--but that really doesn't seem to help in such a huge place. Anyway, I hope by some small chance, the card is recovered, but who knows. Really wish we could all get a piece of this guy.

So having to deal with theft would be one more reason why sellers at shows many times have to charge more than ebay where you hear plenty of people on this board complain about the prices. I can certainly understand all of the costs and time and fees for a show, and on top of that dealing with theft as the reason for these prices..

i am seeing less and less reasons for dealers to take the time and go to shows. Shows are the backbone of the hobby as well...

Good point. Not sure how many would want to return to any show if thievery is prevalent, or becoming more so it seems at these shows.

You can also put sensors on the case that would beep when opened if you are not the person with the sensor that disarms the beeper...sort of like a swipe card for automatic gates....

The downside to all this is dealers may be charged extra to run electricity to their booths... sucks...

I never witness this at WP show and have been going since Rothstein days...:mad:

White Plains
 

I love the white plains show. It is one of the better card events in this region of the country. A lot happened this weekend but at least a portion of the negativity was thwarted by dealer-teamwork. Let's continue to be vigilant and find the missing Clemente (and my Mantle for that matter). The guy who got the Clemente robbed is truly one of the nicest people I know in the card world. Everybody keep your ears and eyes open. These high profile cards can't hide forever.

Highly unlikely anyone is going to try to move that card in that holder.

One thing the grading card industry could do would be drill a hole in the top of the slab and put one of those computer locks and attach it to the table or dealers show case or such. That would prevent the casual stolen card. If the thief cuts the wire, a very loud alarm goes off. Maybe security could close all doors right then and search everyone in the room...

I thought of the same thing, have the TPG's place a small, reinforced metal grommet in their slabs so sellers could chain/tether/cable their cards to their cases or tables.

I know most suggestions are likely too hard to implement but nothing will ever change, and maybe get worse, if we all just sit on our hands.

right but the picture is there that may have some traits..so if someone was selling me an 8 with another cert number..i may check the 'attention stolen card' section on psa and see similarities with the former cert number

High dollar
 

Something like this could be used for high dollar items. While it may block part of the card when put on, it could be removed for the right customer. If someone tries to cut the wires without disengaging the alarm, it will continually sound off. Not the best solution, but the appearance of antitheft devices would be a deterrent within itself.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alpha-Alarm...gAAOSwYUdbM-PZ

Or a 6 or 7.... No guarantee the card gets an 8 again. Grading isn't always consistent as we are all human

Keep your eyes peeled and concentrate on the centering. The card may also be sold raw.... remember the current owner of the card has absolutely nothing in it.

Also would someone be so kind as to post this story and picture on the PSA chat board and LTS chat board?

many thanks to all of you, your time and efforts are appreciated.

Dan Mckee

I will keep an eye out for your friend Dan and I have my hopes up that such a recognizable card can be found. I would keep an eye out for sgc cases too, as it can be easy to send it for crossover to avoid a grade drop. Maybe contact sgc and bvg as a heads up with the cert.

As to all the James Bond expensive solutions that keep popping up in the thread, they seem pretty far fetched for the average card dealer. Let's be realistic here, for less than 75 bucks a piece someone could put two go-pros covering the entire table from behind and have film to turn over to the authorities. Have this at just 15-20% of tables and the culprits would likely turn up on several cams at different times as they walked to and from. Cake walk fix.

They may even get away, but could be id'ed easily after the fact.

unless the card was stolen at a time of the show during which only people with dealer passes were admitted, the dealer pass has little if anything to do with the theft. i understand you don’t like non dealers having dealer passes.

Don, enjoyed meeting you at the National and wish I had more time to look at your cards. It is a shame we have to be so cautious with our inventory, it is a fine line between being careful and putting off potential buyers with too much scrutiny. Something has to be done, just not sure what.

Dan, what day was the Clemente stolen? The guy arrested on Friday up there was David Festberg..old-time hobbyist and had a store in Brooklyn back in the day, but now on to other things apparently.

Hope the card turns-up from the attention this is getting.

Regards,

Bryan Dec

Holy crap!
 

:eek::eek::eek: Dave was a long time dealer. I was speaking with another dealer who had purchased stuff from him at the show - hope it was legit! I did business with him a long time ago. I think he also ran auctions for a short time. So sad that he chose to resort to this.


Just found this old thread too:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=61226

Looks like not the first time and not just cards

https://www.facebook.com/ulsterpolic...9207142143802/

Dave F was a dick to me at a show many years ago...karma's a bitch!

Speaking of old Festberg threads, the irony of post #12 in this one:

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

Oh the irony

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/07...3129522302400/

Coming soon to a town near you:

Background checks and waiting periods required for '52 Mantle purchases.


I'm almost kidding. :rolleyes:

It would be nice to be able to come up with the same technology that department stores use in the clothing department. A small tag can be mounted to the back of the slab which would set off an alarm when the card passed thru a spot which reads the tag. Security would also be positioned at these areas where the tag is read.

The dealer would have a means to remove the tag when the card is sold.

Link posted on PSA message board.

Steve

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.