Maestro pleads guilty, faces 2 1/2 years in prison

[whitehse]

There is a short article in todays Chicago Tribune that states Mastro "scammed hundreds of customers of Mastro Auctions by fraudulently jacking up prices on memorabilia through shill bids and hiding information that might have lowered the value of the merchandise."

It seems to me that with this admission there should be a hell of a lot more outrage in the collecting community.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7686120.story

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by whitehse

There is a short article in todays Chicago Tribune that states Mastro "scammed hundreds of customers of Mastro Auctions by fraudulently jacking up prices on memorabilia through shill bids and hiding information that might have lowered the value of the merchandise."

It seems to me that with this admission there should be a hell of a lot more outrage in the collecting community.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7686120.story

Agreed and it's always amazed me how collectors seem to causally accept this kind of behavior as just one of the inherent prices one pays for being in the hobby.

But in fairness, I'm sure a big part of the problem is identifying exactly who was victimized and for how much and on what items. Another problem besides discovery of the fraud and statute of limitations revolves around what does Mastro have in assets for restitution. My guess is not enough to redress what has been done.

I wonder what the latest is on Doug Allen and the other defendant(s)?

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by whitehse

There is a short article in todays Chicago Tribune that states Mastro "scammed hundreds of customers of Mastro Auctions by fraudulently jacking up prices on memorabilia through shill bids and hiding information that might have lowered the value of the merchandise."

It seems to me that with this admission there should be a hell of a lot more outrage in the collecting community.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7686120.story

Probably too many people are embarrassed by how strongly and for how long they publicly defended this criminal.

[Rich Klein]

the "trimmed" Wagner card is now worth more than it was before. After all, it is a subject of a book and is now even more infamous. Me, personally, if I had the money, I'd actually pay the owner a profit for this card just as a converation piece. And the owner is no dummy so if he is fine with the card as it is, so am I

[ullmandds]

well, Rich...not sure if I agree with you...but one thing I do know...the Cobb Wagner is still available...for only 300K...and has been the subject of numerous articles and tv shows?!

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

well, Rich...not sure if I agree with you...but one thing I do know...the Cobb Wagner is still available...for only 300K...and has been the subject of numerous articles and tv shows?!

Pete,

If a Cobb Wagner is available for 300K, what do you think a Wagner Cobb would fetch?

[ullmandds]

Billions Frank!

[brob28]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

the "trimmed" Wagner card is now worth more than it was before. After all, it is a subject of a book and is now even more infamous. Me, personally, if I had the money, I'd actually pay the owner a profit for this card just as a converation piece. And the owner is no dummy so if he is fine with the card as it is, so am I

I agree with one thing Rich, the owner of the card is no dummy and as such will not publicly state that the card is in anyway compromised by the admission. If he did, he could ruin his chance of getting his $ back when he sells. Does anyone know when the statute of limitations ends on his purchase?

[baez578]

http://youtu.be/B_3BtIUSmbk

Thought I'd share this. After the 12 minute mark, some good points are made that I agree with.
This particular card now has a deep history behind it that collectors will find interesting so no one will lose money on this card IMO