HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
Just got through watching the new episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and they had a story on about the sports memorabilia industry. It dealt with autographed items and the forgery ring that got busted a few years back that was getting all of their stuff authenticated by Donald Frangipani. They took a hidden camera to Frangipani's business and showed him 7 different forged items and he gave every single one of them a COA....They went back later and showed him that he got every single one of them wrong.
The best thing about the show was that our own Richard Simon and GAI were the only authenticators who were 100% spot on in their authenticating. They both rejected all 16 items sent to them. I can't remember how many different authenticating companies they sent items too, but most of them gave COA's on the forged stuff.
Another item of interest in the show was that Topps autograph card that had Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and ??? (Can't remember the fourth name) which sold for $85,000 on ebay has forged signatures of Ruth and Johnson according to Richard Simon, GAI and PSA/DNA.....One of the guys who was associated with the forgery ring is certain that the Ruth signature was done by his forger.
Well worth watching and if you get the West Coast HBO feed then you should be able to see this episode again tonight.
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
Thanks for the heads-up, I was able to catch the left coast airing... A couple of questions:
1) what was the name of the second authenticator who nailed the forgeries (GAI was one and "our own Richard Simon" - sorry I don't know who that is - was the other) and what were the names of the ones who blew it;
2) who are the "reputable" authenticators (to date, I have only bought items autheticated by PSA/DNA - who appeared to have gotten the Ruth/Johnson card right- and GAI); and
3) which "memorabilia dealers" should be/are considered to be solid (for example, I have generally limited my signed and/or game used purchases to MLB, Tri-Star, Steiner, Mounted Memories and the Clemens Foundation).
I'm pretty new to this whole game-used and signed memorabilia world, and appreciate the assistance.
-Lee
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
Sorry, I can't help you on who is reputable and who is not because I don't collect autographs. I thought I would post this here because I know a lot of collectors here do. I can tell you that Richard Simon is probably the best in the autograph authentication business and he at one time was a frequent contributor on the old Net 54 board....I'm not sure if he has posted here since the merger of the two forums.
As for the show I was a little disappointed in that they didn't point out the authentication companies who got the items wrong. I was not really surprised to see Upper Deck (I know I wrote "TOPPS" in my original post, but it was indeed Upper Deck that made the 4 signature card) was fooled, but I am surprised that they made that 1/1 card without getting the signatures authenticated first....they had to know that card was going to get some media attention when it was found.
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
This is the 1/1 card in question I believe. I don't collect autographs, but this card still did amaze me. Disappointed (but not suprised) to see it's a fake.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4...f1small8my.jpg
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3...ntsmall4za.jpg
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
What's interesting is that because it is on an Upper Deck card that is allegedly authentic, I would have not necessarily thought there was a problem. Closer examination of the two autographs in question shows that the Ruth signature is not real smooth and the J in Johnson is a hybrid between his later signature and early signature.
It's too bad that someone spent 85K for this!!
Rob L
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
Unbiased reporting? I believe it was a total of 6 different authenticators / companies besides Frangipani.
It is really a shame they only mentioned Frangipani by name in regard to the authentication of "alleged" forgeries. Why was he the only one that the hidden camera trick was used on?
Why didn't they do that with all the ones that authenticated the "alleged" forgeries, or at the very least, mention their names?
Now that Upper Deck Authenticated is mentioned in the Real Sports report as having sold "alleged" forgeries, does that make their other vintage autographed items questionable?
Makes one wonder how "unbiased" this report actually was.
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
That's a good question Sammy. I would assume that Frangipani was accessible while the others weren't. It could be that they used the hidden camera on some of the others, but the others weren't fooled by the forgeries? What's really a shame is that Frangipani wasn't put away with the rest of the scum that was involved in the forgery ring. IMO he was an accessory to the crime....he never turned any of that stuff down, even when he was getting piles of Ruth autos all at once.
With that said I would love to know the names of the other companies that gave COA's on the forged items. I have it on my DVR so I'll have to watch it again and see if I can freeze frame the screenshot of the COA's they show.
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
Quote:
Originally Posted by sammy
It is really a shame they only mentioned Frangipani by name in regard to the authentication of "alleged" forgeries. Why was he the only one that the hidden camera trick was used on?
Hello Sammy-
I believe the reason Real Sports used the hidden camera with Frangiapani was because Frangiapani's name was the one that came up in the tape recordings of the forgery ring saying he was the person who would authenticate the items if submitted to him. I might be mistaken but I don't believe any other authenticators were mentioned on the taped conversations and Frangiapani was apparently the one who authenticated the vast majority of the items in question.
However, it is interesting that they intentionally did not want to show the other authenticators that didn't "pass" their test with additional items. Apparently, they wanted to focus on the ones that did pass their test (Global Authentication and Richard Simon) to establish their credibility since they also asked them to render an opinion on the Upper Deck SP Quad card.
Does anyone else have a different take?
Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier
CEO - Game Used Universe
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
If you recall, when the FBI guy was in the warehouse that stored the forged inventory of Greg Marino, they ran across numerous forged items (i.e. Ruth cuts) that already had Frangiapani's "COA's" (all with the same date). The HBO Producers sent the stuff back to him to see if he would authenticate it a 2nd time as legit (which he did). Thats the main reason I believe that they profiled him..............Why would any collector be sympathetic to this guy?
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
When was this on tv.I want to see if i can find it online or a repeat if any one knows.Thanks Geoff
Re: HBO's Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel - Must see Episode
If you have HBO you'll be able to catch it many times over the next few weeks. Just check the schedule.
Summary of HBO Real Sports Segment
Quote:
Originally Posted by geoff
When was this on tv.I want to see if i can find it online or a repeat if any one knows.Thanks Geoff
Hello Everyone-
There seems to be a lot of interest in the HBO Real Sports segment aired recently. Therefore, for those who do not have HBO or will have a difficult time seeing it, I thought I would take a moment to offer a brief summary of some of the things discussed. This is not intended to be an exhaustive summary so if anyone would like to add anything else please feel free to do so. In addition, as you read the summary I hope it reinforces the value of sites such as ours as a place people can go to get additional information before making purchases.
Below are some of the key points in bullet point form. The intention here is to help others so if I have misrepresented anything, or missed anything significant (I wrote this after jotting down some notes during the broadcast), please feel free to add to it:
·According to the segment, the increase of signed sports memorabilia and proliferation of auction sites have made it easier than ever to sell fake goods and not get caught.
oTo show this, the segment started with a Mickey Mantle autographed cap that was offered on eBay with a “COA” (it was later suggested that the item was likely fake).
·The segment then introduced a person whose identity was kept anonymous (they called him “Eddie”) who participated in a forgery ring in the late 1990s that generated over one million pieces of fake signed memorabilia.
oAccording to Eddie, close to half of the sought-after autographs on the market are fakes. He also said the internet contains many thieves.
·The segment they went on to talk about the forgery ring and its use of an aspiring young artist named Greg Marino who generated many of the fake autographs.
oAccording to Eddie, Greg Marino could produce fantastic fakes of many celebrities and historical figures as well as hundreds of famous athletes. Eddie would order large numbers of autographs of key stars (Ruth, Cobb, etc.) and Marino would deliver them in short timing.
·The segment then played an FBI tape of conversations between Eddie and his contacts which helped the FBI to put a stop to the forgery ring.
oThe FBI confiscated a warehouse of items with fake autographs (jerseys, bats, cut signatures, etc.). However, according to Eddie, 90% of the fake items were already distributed and where being introduced to the secondary market.
oAccording to Eddie, the internet is conducive to selling fake items as it is the “Land of Disappearing”. That is, a person can sell something fake, disappear, and then do it again the next day under a different name.
·Dan Marino was then brought in to examine some of the Dan Marino autographs being sold online. According to Dan Marino, most of the autographs they looked at online that were attributed to him were fake, even if they had a COA.
·According to Eddie, “COAs are a scam like no other.” Basically, having a “forensic expert” authentic an item would allow it to sell for much higher values. In Eddie’s ring he claimed to have used Donald Frangipani.
oThe FBI then showed boxes of Frangipani COAs that were confiscated from the ring and showed a number of them that were all generated on the same day. They then borrowed some of Eddie’s fake items and went back to Frangipani to see if he would certify the items again. When they went back Frangipani issued certs on all seven items.
·The HBO people then went back to Frangipani again and asked him about the items he certified. Frangipani didn’t deny issuing the certs and said he was fooled (he also said he rejected some as well). When asked if he ever questioned the shear number of items that were being submitted to him, he said he did question it but was still offering his “opinion”.
·HBO then sent the same items to six other authenticators. Four failed their test and two passed. The ones that passed the test were Global Authentication and Richard Simon.
·HBO then interviewed the owner of a company called “Cardboard Memories” whose business is being crushed by the fake autographed memorabilia being sold on the internet at prices less than his.
oThe owner specifically talked about the impact of eBay on his business. He said eBay does not protect anyone. According to the owner, eBay takes their cut and doesn’t really care if items are fake. In his opinion, this was ruining the hobby for people who genuinely care about it. EBay declined to comment on camera but said they have secured the services of a company (PSA/DNA) to offer "Quick Opinions" to help collectors. EBay also said there are items sold on their site that were authenticated by Upper Deck which they claimed was the "Gold Standard" for autographed memorabilia.
·They then went on to mention the Upper Deck SP Quad card (the “1 of 1” card with signatures on Cobb, Ruth, Wagner and Johnson) that was sold on eBay. According to Eddie, the Ruth and Johnson were done by the artist Greg Marino. HBO then submitted the signatures to Global Authentication and Richard Simon and both of them rejected the Ruth and Johnson. In addition, they submitted the signatures to PSA for a “Quick Opinion” and got back the opinion that the Ruth and Johnson were “Likely Not Genuine”. The card sold on eBay for $85,000.
·At the end of the segment, Gumbel asked Keteyian if any effort was being made to clean up the industry and specifically to standardize COAs. Keteyian replied that there was no effort being made to standardize COAs and that one would think there would be more scrutiny an the industry where billions of dollars of transactions are taking place. Keteyian then went on to say the buyer has an obligation to find out as much as possible about the chain of custody of autographed items before buying them. He also recommended going to Game Used Universe before buying a game used item (sorry I may have imagined that last sentence).
As I have already stated, please feel free to add to or correct anything contained here. In addition, I hope more and more people will become aware of our site as a place where they can come to get more information to protect them from the dangers that exist in the secondary market.
Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier
CEO – Game Used Universe
