The Feds just love going to the National
 

That damn FBI agent -- he sure hates cards, that sumbitch. O'Keeffe too. Why the hell can't he ever write about all the good things in the hobby? Like the yearly lot for charity in the REA auction? Or Bill Mastro helping the orphans? And Doug Allen saving the seals? Sumbitch.

What's that saying about foxes and henhouses?:D

I was thinking more along the lines of shooting fish in a barrel. (Deepest condolences to any walleye who read the board.)

The National is not a neighborhood flea market. The Feds know where to find these people they want to "interview". They should be going to their offices and/or handing out subpoenas. For the FBI to "raid" the National again and again to get media attention is almost as demeaning to the Bureau as it is to the hobby.

Tom, from what I can see the FBI has never 'raided' a National. That's a description by a newspaper writer, not necessarily an accurate description. As to handing out subpoenas and interviewing witnesses doesn't it make more sense to find them all in one room as opposed to criss-crossing the country and seeing them individually?

And frankly the presence of an FBI agent at the National should not be perceived as a negative: he's just trying to enforce the law! How can that be a bad thing in a den of thieves like the National?

You sure are Mr. Sunshine, always trying to put a positive spin on things! :rolleyes:

Jeff,
I think "den of thieves" is a little strong but look, I have no problem with them enforcing the law. We are talking about investigations here. As you know, the FBI has offices all over the country. They don't go to the National to conserve resources. They go there to make a media splash. They are alerting consumers to problems in the hobby. Fine, no problem with that. The federal indictments will get plenty of exposure. To me, doing this at the National is unnecessary. The National is the hobby's World Series. Would they go into the Yankee dugout to question A-Rod about steroids? Its like the police sitting on an arrest warrant for days, then arresting my client at his place of business to ensure he loses his job and is humiliated, when they could have picked him up quietly at his home. I just don't like the strongarm tactics.

Defense lawyer defending FBI tactics, interesting.

Now that would be awesome! :cool:

How is it a tactic to quietly go about conducting witness interviews? Was the agent walking around with an FBI jacket on? Was he standing around Doug Allen's table taunting him with his handcuffs? Course not.

Regardless, as a defense lawyer I don't mind the FBI playing hardball within reason. I play it right back at them and I don't expect them to complain either.

But Jeff, they do complain. They have all the resources of the government behind them. Yet, when a defendant can afford to hire a top-notch defense attorney, like yourself, to try to even the playing field, "he's just getting off because he's rich and has a slick lawyer".

Media splash?

How many mainstream media outlets reported on the presence of the FBI?

ONE.

If that's what they're after, they're not very good at it.

If and when the FBI wants media attention, they'll get it.

At some point, if the FBI is just going to show up every year, people need to stop getting their feathers ruffled about it. Frankly, I'd love to see the NSCC show a little humor and set up an FBI booth next year. :)

This shout out goes out to all the concerned hobbyists in room 307-310 on Wednesday night...

Not Warren Z., but a cool version...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zj39pjfssA


and in a similar vein...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVcUMloRgu0

The Feds Are Hear To Stay
 

Our favorite piece of sheet music in our collection of 24 (rare, player and/or team endorsed) high grade sheet music, is the super-rare"

The Feds Are Here To Stay

Ironically, the song was written for the 1915 Chicago Whales.

Who would have thought that a 95 year song would take on a whole
new meaning for the hobby/

Best


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List

Bruce - can you share with us the details of the meeting?

'crashed' really?
 

'Crashed' - really. The article starts "An agent...". i.e. one person.

A single FBI guy hardly a crashing makes, surely. If there were wagon loads of agents 'crashing' through the doors maybe this would have garnered a little more interest from other media outlets, which would have been a good thing in my mind.

Hmmm yet no charges against Coach's Corner.... oh wait , doesn't Morales do forensic authentication for the FBI or so he claims!

How come someone with so many obvious fakes each and every month goes unnoticed?

In terms of law enforcement and investigations the benefit of questioning people at the national is that you can go from one to the other quickly making it difficult for the people being questioned to "get their stories straight" by communicating with one another after they are questioned. Its also a rather awkward situation for someone who is being questioned (whether they are merely a witness or a possible suspect). Awkward is good for investigators.

I don't know enough about what is being investigated to have an opinion about whether or not its a good thing but I think I understand why it is being done this way...