Kevin Keating responds to shill bidding allegations

[Hankphenom]

Kevin Keating's story speaks for itself, and he doesn't need, nor has he requested, any support from me. The reputation he has established during his 30 years as a major player in the hobby/industry is the greatest testimony possible as to his honesty and integrity. But having set up at shows with Kevin since 2004, and having conducted numerous deals of all kinds with him over the past 25 years, I'm happy to say that I have never seen or heard of a single instance in which he could be said to have done something dishonest or unethical. There's no doubt in my mind that everyone on this forum who has done any business with Kevin would say exactly the same thing about their experience with him and his business, Quality Autographs. If anyone has a disagreement with that statement, let's hear about it. It's always bothered me when someone posts to the effect that the entire business is dirty, corrupt, and dishonest. There is plenty of that, to be sure, just as in any arena where lots of money is at stake, and we need to do everything we can to clean up that part of it. But there are also lots of honest, hard-working people in this hobby, more than just a few, and Kevin is one of those.

And that brings me to the specific topic of the court exhibit E and it's list of supposed shill bidders. Based on Kevin's experience, clearly the methodology used by the U.S. Attorney's office to compile these names was not foolproof, and pulled in at least one individual who was doing nothing of the sort. So that begs the question: what can we say about the others on the list? In trying to make sense of what I see there, I would put the transactions listed in five categories:

1) Mastro consignments (including by "straw" companies and individuals) that were bid up by Mastro employees and direct associates. These are the most obviously fraudulent transactions.
2) Non-Mastro consignments bid up Mastro employees or direct associates. These can also be easily understood as an attempt to drive up the bidding and therefore the premiums collected by Mastro as a percentage of the hammer price.
3) Mastro consignments bid up by individuals NOT directly employed by or associated with Mastro. This is the group in which Kevin was included erroneously, so it needs to be determined which of these individuals were actually working on Mastro's behalf to shill bid, and which were not. It would also be instructive to know why these individuals were conspiring with Mastro for his benefit. What was the deal for them?
4) Non-Mastro consignments shill bid by individuals not associated with Mastro. There are instances on the list in which the same individual places bids on many or all of another individuals consignments. On it's face, this would seem to be a matter of consignors, not being able to bid on their own lots, having friends or associates shill bid for them. This brings up several questions, including a) was Mastro complicit in this consignor strategy, with higher premiums for them, or did these consignors act on their own? And b) what are the legal and ethical implications for the consignors, in both instances of conspiracy with Mastro or acting on their own?
5) There are numerous instances on the list that don't fit the patterns above for one reason or another, and which need to be explained so the individuals named don't get unjustifiably tarred with the same brush as the ones whose actions were illegal or unethical. It doesn't make sense to me that many individuals listed as shill bidders on a lot or two or several were involved in any kind of conspiracy with Mastro or with the consignors to drive up the prices on those lots, so what's the explanation for their inclusion on the list?

In general, it seems that, for the good of the hobby and of the individuals named, a complete accounting and explanation for every transaction listed is the only way, now that this list has seen the light of day, to distinguish between the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that we can all derive the benefit of that knowledge and move on from this tawdry affair. I must say I am surprised that many individuals named on the list have not taken the opportunity afforded by Net54 to explain their inclusion on it. Surely, Kevin Keating can't be the only one whose reputation has been tarnished unjustifiably by the publication of this information. It also seems incumbent on the U.S. Attorney, whose office is responsible for the unintended release of this document, to now come forward with an explanation for all of the information it contains.