Claim of $80k+ theft at the National

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by G1911

I find it difficult to believe a dealer is genuinely this stupid. What’s that smell? There’s an aroma of bullshit. I’ll pick “things that didn’t happen” for $500. If people believe this happened as described, PM me. I have this sweet bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell you real cheap.

That was actually my immediate response, too. Feels like an insurance scam.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Griffins

Maybe the light was bad over that table. Happened before.

LOL, I also remember the bad lighting fiasco.

[warrior1978]

Considering the "buyer" is now in Ohio presumably with the cards and declining to return to Atlanta City, if I was the victim and considering the amount, I would be seeking a federal investigation by the FBI under 18 USC 2314.

Whoever transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any goods, wares, merchandise, securities or money, of the value of $5,000 or more, knowing the same to have been stolen, converted or taken by fraud;

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2314

[Jim65]

What are the odds the dealer eventually ends up getting charged with insurance fraud or filing a false police report? None of this rings true.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by bnorth

LOL, I also remember the bad lighting fiasco.

That year I ended up buying 4 gray backs from the same seller. Light was just fine over there! I wasn't checking for wrinkles however

[NYYFan63]

Originally Posted by Steve D

Well, based on these pictures posted in the "Nationals is open for business…. Quick updates" thread, it appears the cards are raw:







Steve

I remember going by that guys booth and all of his Mantles were ungraded.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by NYYFan63

I remember going by that guys booth and all of his Mantles were ungraded.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Except in the 3rd picture you can see there are 1961, 1963, and 1968 graded Mantles in the case in the upper left corner.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by G1911

I find it difficult to believe a dealer is genuinely this stupid. What’s that smell? There’s an aroma of bullshit. I’ll pick “things that didn’t happen” for $500. If people believe this happened as described, PM me. I have this sweet bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell you real cheap.

Have you met the victim?
.

[bxb]

Originally Posted by G1911

I find it difficult to believe a dealer is genuinely this stupid. What’s that smell? There’s an aroma of bullshit. I’ll pick “things that didn’t happen” for $500. If people believe this happened as described, PM me. I have this sweet bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell you real cheap.

+1.

Story is hard to believe.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Jim65

What are the odds the dealer eventually ends up getting charged with insurance fraud or filing a false police report? None of this rings true.

Zero but was thinking the point above, filing a insurance claim. I seen these cards in person before the alleged incident they all had low grade issues none were better than Vg+ His prices on them were way over valued.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Theft is illegal in most states. Probably even Jersey.

Murderers get out with barely a slap on the wrist. What happens to thieves now a days?

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Zero but was thinking the point above, filing a insurance claim. I seen these cards in person before the alleged incident they all had low grade issues none were better than Vg+ His prices on them were way over valued.

If I'm correct I believe he had "$800" written in black sharpie on each of the 67 Mantles that I was looking at.

[kailes2872]

Originally Posted by Griffins

Maybe the light was bad over that table. Happened before.

Sonny Boy!

[ullmandds]

ya...that story is believable!!!!

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Seven

If I'm correct I believe he had "$800" written in black sharpie on each of the 67 Mantles that I was looking at.

You’re correct about 500$ to much on each ! Lol


What’s this dealers reputation ?

Has anyone ever done business with him ?

[Fballguy]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

So many aspects of this story are so ridiculous it’s hard to wrap your head around it.

Giddings at some point, after some guy walks off with $78,000 worth of cards or whatever it was, remember that the guy has left behind a bag of some kind, which he has never bothered to open, and all of a sudden is “scared” for some reason. What was he “scared” about. Concerned maybe. Confused maybe? But no he’s scared. Maybe he was going to open up the bag and one of those gag rubber snakes was going to pop out?

“If he’s the kind of guy who leaves a bag on the floor and runs out the door …. Now I’m fearing for my life.” What?

This whole story is so stupid.

Why were the cards given to the son to begin with? Then they were waiting for the son to come back with the cards? What was the point of that handoff?

[Fballguy]

Originally Posted by drcy

The "Would you hold my bag with $100,000 in it for me for a while?" part itself is bizarre.

I guess the kid could be trusted with 80K worth of cards but not 100K cash.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

Why were the cards given to the son to begin with? Then they were waiting for the son to come back with the cards? What was the point of that handoff?

My take was the son was supposed to review and price them, but could be reading too much into it.

[rjackson44]

Nothing new here oldest scam in the book perfectly organized.

[Snapolit1]

If this was a scene in a bad movie all the cards in the case would have been reprints to start with.

As someone mentioned above, if this is some kind of con or scam, the crossing state lines part of it certainly ratchets up the heat considerably.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

If this was a scene in a bad movie all the cards in the case would have been reprints to start with.

As someone mentioned above, if this is some kind of con or scam, the crossing state lines part of it certainly ratchets up the heat considerably.

The Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
Over the Jersey state line

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
Over the Jersey state line

Possibly even a Meeting Across the River.

[A2000]

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=175664

Has it really been 9 years? How time flies..

[japhi]

Further confirmation that man-child continues to be fully represented in the hobby.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Possibly even a Meeting Across the River.

Hey Eddie, can you get us a ride?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

...What’s this dealers reputation...

Take a stroll through some of the Net54 threads in which this dealer has participated or been mentioned. For instance:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=184690

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Take a stroll through some of the Net54 threads in which this dealer has participated or been mentioned. For instance:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=184690

Haha… archive does it again!!!

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Take a stroll through some of the Net54 threads in which this dealer has participated or been mentioned. For instance:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=184690

I wonder why Gizmo is on the National Committee?

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Leon

Have you met the victim?
.

There is no victim. Does this seem like a believable story and chain of events to you?

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Take a stroll through some of the Net54 threads in which this dealer has participated or been mentioned. For instance:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=184690

Only adds to the lack of credibility to his tale of the theft. The real crime at the National sounds like the prices he was asking.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by G1911

There is no victim. Does this seem like a believable story and chain of events to you?

The Victim is the Beat Officer who had to come up and take this report from Gizmo.

[ejstel]

Regarding a heck-ton of cards being held/going table to table....Did anyone see the guy walking around with the Johnny Bench jersey? With all the bench autos bench rookie and crazy double PAGES of key topps cards from 57-72. He had like 25 1969 rose's Aaron's, bench ..mays EACH 58 mantles mays etc. I was in awe and I didn't even speak to him.

He was trying to sell and just wasnt connecting with the speed of the dealer...i was watching in awe amd big eyes like a Tom amd Jerry cartoon...

Maybe he is on here..if so, sir I have never been so impressed with a binder of cards in my LIIFFEE.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

“I’m devastated,” Giddings said. “I’m out of mind that I let him leave the booth because I trusted him because his bag was in the booth. We had no idea how much money was in the bag; it’s not my job to do that."

Let's parse this to see if it makes any sense...

"I trusted him because his bag was in the booth."

This implies Giddings thinks the bag of money was sufficient security for the $80,000 (or whatever) of cards.

We had no idea how much money was in the bag; it’s not my job to do that.

This says Giddings had no idea whether or not the bag of money was adequate collateral for the cards.

Contradictory statements back to back, it seems to me.

Furthermore, if the bag of money had $100k in it, and the cards were priced something less than that, why not just use some of the money from the box and complete the transaction?

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

The Victim is the Beat Officer who had to come up and take this report from Gizmo.

I stand corrected, great point. That poor officer.

I think I’ve only bought from Gizmo AKA ‘Homey the butt clown’ once. He might be an idiot, but no thief would try and steal in such an absurd manner.

Boy has SCD has gone downhill, publishing this with a supportive article reporting his feelings and asking no questions at all.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

I wonder why Gizmo is on the National Committee?

Kind of speaks volumes, no?

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Let's parse this to see if it makes any sense...

"I trusted him because his bag was in the booth."

This implies Giddings thinks the bag of money was sufficient security for the $80,000 (or whatever) of cards.

We had no idea how much money was in the bag; it’s not my job to do that.

This says Giddings had no idea whether or not the bag of money was adequate collateral for the cards.

Contradictory statements back to back, it seems to me.

Furthermore, if the bag of money had $100k in it, and the cards were priced something less than that, why not just use some of the money from the box and complete the transaction?

How many buyers would offer a seller a bag of cash to safeguard while they looked at the seller's cards? That should be a red flag right there. And how many sellers would even think of accepting a bag purported to hold 100K in cash? The only truth, it seems, in the story is that Giddings was at the National.

My wish for the day is that Giddings (and 3 of his alternate ids) come on here and posts like the purple sticker guy did when he claimed he was stolen from.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

How many buyers would offer a seller a bag of cash to safeguard while they looked at the seller's cards? That should be a red flag right there. And how many sellers would even think of accepting a bag purported to hold 100K in cash? The only truth, it seems, in the story is that Giddings was at the National.

My wish for the day is that Giddings (and 3 of his alternate ids) come on here and posts like the purple sticker guy did when he claimed he was stolen from.

This is exactly how I shop for cards. I take a look at the cases at the show, if one looks promising I catch the dealers attention. I take off my designer sunglasses for dramatic effect, ask him to hold my duffel bag, tell him it has 100 racks in two carefully marked boxes with 50fat ones in each, and then make my selections. The bag gets a bit heavy after awhile, so it’s nice that the dealers will hold it for me while I go through their inventory and then just leave for several hours. I like to keep some extra rubber bands on me too, I had one of my stacks snap when I was buying a Mint+ Carney Lunsford card once and it was a little embarrassing.

[Snapolit1]

Cards were reportedly smuggled out of Atlantic City in white house subs.


QUOTE=Lorewalker;2249659]How many buyers would offer a seller a bag of cash to safeguard while they looked at the seller's cards? That should be a red flag right there. And how many sellers would even think of accepting a bag purported to hold 100K in cash? The only truth, it seems, in the story is that Giddings was at the National.

My wish for the day is that Giddings (and 3 of his alternate ids) come on here and posts like the purple sticker guy did when he claimed he was stolen from.[/QUOTE]

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Cards were reportedly smuggled out of Atlantic City in white house subs.

Now we know the story is BS. There's no room to put anything extra in a White House sub!

[rdwyer]

If someone asked me to hold on to their $100k, I would have told him no. How do I know he might come back later and say 50k was missing? Dickie is trying to scam once again.

[taul166]

I am trying to rationalize this looking at it from the dealer side. The only thing I can come up is dealer trust on steroids between the dealer and buyer.....and that is even a stretch when you are talking about cash in boxes, etc.

[chalupacollects]

Originally Posted by Oscar_Stanage

from the article...
"Giddings, who provided witnesses who saw the incident, said detectives contacted the alleged suspect, who lives in Ohio, and requested that he return to Atlantic City to be interviewed, but he declined."

Of course its illegal, but maybe there is something equivalent to no-extradition across state lines for collectibles.... why else is this guy letting the victim know who he is and then answering a phone call from the cops?

Sounds like this is going to turn into a he/he said he/he said story. Ohio guy can claim a deal was done and the other guy stole the $86k out of the bag...things that make you go hmmmmm.

[chalupacollects]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Murderers get out with barely a slap on the wrist. What happens to thieves now a days?

They get elected to Congress...

[RCFire82]

Went down some fun rabbit holes reading up on past "incidents" with the dealer involved in this "theft" case! On a side note, learned that Rich Klein wasn't the originator of Secret Santa...thank you sir for taking that over. Thinking of making it out to my first national next year. This is a good reminder to keep one's situation awareness up when it comes to who your dealing with.

[cannonballsun]

I checked out those other two threads that were mentioned in this thread.
Some pretty wild stuff, but some often amusing stuff.

[Shoeless Moe]

Not sure if this has been said already or not, but taken right from the article:

"Rick Giddings of Gizmo’s Sportscards of Davis Junction, Ill. reported the alleged theft to Atlantic City police on the final day of The National at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

According to Giddings, who is on the board of directors of The National, the incident occurred between 4 and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 30."


So it happened on Saturday, but he doesn't report it until Sunday.

I know after I'm robbed I like to get a good nights sleep before reporting it a day later.

"DOH!!!!!"

[Jay Wolt]

& the $80K loss, was that his cost or his jacked up prices?
I'm sure there's a big difference

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Not sure if this has been said already or not, but taken right from the article:

"Rick Giddings of Gizmo’s Sportscards of Davis Junction, Ill. reported the alleged theft to Atlantic City police on the final day of The National at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

According to Giddings, who is on the board of directors of The National, the incident occurred between 4 and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 30."


So it happened on Saturday, but he doesn't report it until Sunday.

I know after I'm robbed I like to get a good nights sleep before reporting it a day later.

"DOH!!!!!"

In the article, it says that the person who took the cards texted him and said he would see him in the morning, so he apparently decided to wait to see if he showed up, and when he didn't, he called the police. Probably not the best decision, but also probably not the most questionable part of the overall story.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by jayshum

In the article, it says that the person who took the cards texted him and said he would see him in the morning, so he apparently decided to wait to see if he showed up, and when he didn't, he called the police. Probably not the best decision, but also probably not the most questionable part of the overall story.

Uh, by the time you open the bag and realize you’ve been taken for a ride … isn’t that a decent time to call the police?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Uh, by the time you open the bag and realize you’ve been taken for a ride … isn’t that a decent time to call the police?

Right. Apparently, this happened before 6:00 pm Saturday, yet he waited until Sunday, when the accused thief was no longer in AC:

"Giddings said the dealer texted him at about 5:40 p.m. and said, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

At that point, Giddings said he started to get suspicious.

“Anybody who has got that type of money, or says he does, would you leave that in a booth? … So I’m scared,” he said.

At that point, Giddings said he opened the bag and found two boxes marked “$50,000.” The two boxes, however, contained only $500 each in $1 bills, he said.

“I guess he wanted me to feel warm because I trusted that he had the money there and thought, ‘He’s not going to run if he’s got that kind of money.’ But he did,” Giddings said. “It was terrible.”

When the dealer did not show up the following morning, Giddings contacted the Atlantic City Police Department, which is now investigating the alleged theft."