The New York Times has recently run another article on the John and Carlton Hobbs, the British highest-of-the-high-end antiques-dealing brothers who employed the services of a British furniture restorer named Dennis Buggins to do MUCH more than buff and polish top-end antiques pieces.

I encourage you all to read the story: The Feud and the Fakes

You will probably want to stick to decaf when you're reading this ... I know I should have. Personally, I don't believe the "financial toll" of the scandal will be punishment enough, as Rupert Hobbs says. If it turns out the Hobbs brothers were deliberately altering antiques to bilk customers out of additional money, punitive damages should be in order.

What do you think?

Oh, man. I'm so mad. You would be too: Check out this article from the NBC Action News about a couple of "enterprising" fellows in Kansas who were involved in the "theft of antiques and household goods put in storage by military personnel who were deployed or transferred from Ft. Leavenworth."

From 1999-2003, an employee of Century Van Lines in Leavenworth, Kansas, sorted out valuable goods soldiers stored with CVL and placed them up for sale on eBay and at his "garage sale."

Stolen goods including collectable lunch boxes, decorative platters and oriental rugs were sold to antique shops and individuals in Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Ohio.

You can read the entire article here.

Stealing from servicemen and women who are away serving their country ... shame on you!

Back when I was a kid – and I’d like to think it wasn’t that long ago – I can’t recall many occasions where we had to lock the doors of our house or our car. Sometimes, during the deep-freeze days of winter, we’d even leave the old station wagon running while we popped into the store to grab some milk and bread.

We weren’t concerned someone would drive off with our car. Or sneak into our house and rob us blind while we were away at church. We trusted our friends and neighbors. We trusted people in general. We didn’t give it a second thought.

Somewhere along the line, that ability to trust became an exception rather than the norm. We want to give people the benefit of the doubt. And many times we can. On rare occasions, though, we get burned and the thought of trusting someone with our friendship, with our business, with our money, leaves a bad taste in our mouth.

Last week, a North Carolina woman named Patricia Jacoby was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for a pyramid scheme. Why do we care? We care because she represented herself as an antiques dealer and investor who bilked dozens of people like you and me out of an estimated $2.5 million.

The first troubling fact about this news story is that she was representing herself as a legitimate member of our industry. She lied to investors, telling them she purchased estate lots of antiques to resell them at profit and promised a 22 percent return on their investments within 30 days. The victims trusted her at her word.

The other troubling fact is that this latest conviction was her third offense. According to news accounts, Jacoby was previously convicted in two other schemes. She spent a year and a half in prison for bilking investors in an art scheme after a 2000 conviction. In 2006, she pleaded guilty to similar charges and paid $56,000 in restitution to victims.

Investigators said she used money raised from investors in the latest scam to repay previous victims, noting the antiques investment scheme was in the works as soon as Jacoby completed her sentence in the earlier case.

Fortunately, this brand of schemer doesn’t come along every day. For the most part, we can be proud to be a part of an industry of honest, hardworking dealers and shop owners. These rare exceptions, however, do raise some red flags. Whom can we trust? How do we know if someone is running a legitimate business? Can I trust that I am not buying a fake or reproduction?

Antique Trader would like to know how you determine a seller (or buyer for that matter) is trustworthy. Up to and including a police background check, what do you do to safeguard your investment before making it? Have you ever been the victim of an antiques-related scam? Please share your advice so other readers can learn from your experience, too. We’re all in this together. Let’s continue to watch each other’s back as we have been ... and pat each other’s back for your efforts to keep this industry clear of scandal.

Please e-mail me at robyn.austin@fwpubs.com, post a reply here, or drop me a line in the trusty old mailbox!

Iffy eBay goods draw ire of Internet posse: Cyber-vigilantes track down sellers of questionable items—often with blessing of overworked authorities

I was going to comment on a similar story yesterday, but didn't quite find the time. Today I just couldn't miss the opportunity again.

I encourage you all to read it. It reminds us of that age-old saying: If it's too good to be true, it probably is. That's not saying you can't get taken to the cleaners with a phony item if the price is in the ballpark of where it should be... but you want to stick with reputable dealers to minimize your chance of being swindled.

Buyer beware.

*shudder* I just read this article about an antiques scandal that I just couldn't pass without comment.

[you can read it here: Furniture Restorer Accuses Antiques Dealer of Deception]

I doubt that I will ever be able to purchase antiques from auction houses like Christie's or Sotheby's (unless my husband's devoted efforts with the weekly lottery tickets pays off some day), but I empathize with those who have purchased items from John Hobbs, and the uncertainties they are now experiencing about their antique treasures.

The optimist in me hopes that this issue is resolved quickly and equitably. Time will tell.

Philip Capewell will have around five years to think about what he's done.



On April 25 an English judge sentenced the man for handling valuable antiques stolen from a couple, who was tied up in their country house, and threatened with various tortures like having thier fingernails pulled out if they didn't tell the thieves where the valuable antiques were.

They did as any of us would have done when faced with such a thing; they told the thieves exactly where the antiques were.

Two other men were also found guilty of conspiring to handle stolen antiques, but not of the theft itself. I'm not exactly sure if anybody has been charged with the deed itself, because this article from the Midhurst and Petworth Observor is rather poorly written. I do hope, however, that someone pays for the heinous act of committing the crime itself.

This sentencing is a clear message at least to would be antique thieves and fences in England: You will do time if busted.

Capewell is in poor health, suffers from depression - and has a penchant for selling stolen goods. He's a serial offender. I'm sorry for his health issues, but if you do the crime, you will do the time. Sorry. Them's the breaks. Capewell evidently showed no remorse for his crimes, and in so doing gave the entire antiques community a black eye. I hope he uses his time to the truly reflect on how he's wasted his life.

The sad reality of the antique coin market right now is that there are an awful lot of fakes coming out, especially being manufactured in China.

This guy in Orlando - busted faking it in the land of Mickey - is just barely one blade of grass in a large lawn.

Good for the Palm Beach police department and the antiques community there.

The cops busted a guy that had lifted several thousand dollars worth of antiques from four different shops. Sad thing is that he probably wouldn't have been caught or pursued by the police if he hadn't been involved in a hit-and-run shortly before he got picked up.

These things obviously go on all the time at antiques shops, malls and shows across the country. Is it the perception of antiques that keep enforcement from being more stringent, or simply that law enforcement has better things to do with their time than worry about antique theft?

I think, as I'm sure anyone that reads this would, that communities would be well-served to pay attention to antique theft.

Think about it: Any given weekend (not to mention weekday traffic) there are thousands of shows, shops and auctions going on, and thousands and thousands of people going to these places. Do the math on it and you get a huge amount of dollars. Extrapolate possible theft and that equals many thousands of dollars of lost revenue right there.

It starts by getting one thief at a time, and the Palm Beach police force has done its part today. Once again, I say, good for them!

I'd love to get my hands on these punks that have been hitting several antiques malls  - cleaning them out of thousands of dollars of merch - in the Upper Midwest, mainly Illinois and Wisconsin, as reported here by Maine Antiques Digest.

The story contains a link to the Roscoe Antiques Mall, a huge with good quality dealers and owners, where they've posted video of the thieves. It's pretty brazen, and definitely calculated. There's tremendous value to be had, and as far as priority, it's not exactly high on the lost of most law enforcement agencies.

The owners at Roscoe took it upon themselves to alert mall owners in the area and were alarmed to learn how many others have been hit and robbed.

It makes me sick, to tell you the truth.

Be on the lookout for a trio of folks with large amounts of antiques to sell, or people who are scoping malls in the area. They knew what they wanted and knew where they were going. I hope mall owners invest in German Sheppards, or Pit Bulls, with loud barks and mean bites to dissuade the jerks poor misguided souls about their current foibles.

Interesting, but probably not as rare as we'd like to think.

This St. Louis dealer in supposedly antique wood is going to be paying a hefty fine and maybe seeing the inside of Club Fed for a while. It just goes to show that you have to be wary of who you buy from, and alays do you research, even if your next antique is going to be your floor.

This story comes via the St. Louis Business Journal.

Good for the authorities that busted this ring, and good for fine art lovers!

Just goes to show that you should always know your source, and know their reputation! Nowhere is a dealer's rep more important than in antiques and art.

This doesn't say anything about whether the whiskey's any good, but the bottles most certainly aren't.

This comes via a Chicago Web site called The Chicago Syndicate. It's a fun Web site, but the story is real, and serious.

There are a lot of folks out there that take their antique whiskey bottles - and their whiskey - seriously. If you are buying bottles online, and it's coming from Europe, especially Scotland, caveat emptor!

How, exactly, does one decide that this is the course they are going to take in life?

Me, I became an editor and journalist because I had spend years laboring - unhappily - to be a playwright in NYC. I had some small success, but was miserable. I then became an advertising creative, which made being an unsuccessful NYC playwright look like a day at the beach. Woof.



But the guys mentioned in this story from the AP, a couple of Mummy Smugglers, must've had to dig really deep to decide on this career path, but... I know smuggling antiquities is an old profession, but I'm just assuming that selling ancient bodies, wrapped in linen, dessicated, and decorated with heiroglyphics has got to be a rough way to make a buck... Not to mention the bad karma that must come with it...

Interesting little twist out of NYC, courtesy of Here Be Old Things.

A guy bought a box of photos, with a bunch of Diana Arbus photos in there. A dealer paid him $3500 for them. They're expected to auction for multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Name of the game? Dishonest dealer? You decide.

There's always been debate in the pursuit of antiques as to whether or not the business should be federally regulated, i.e., official government oversight provided by a dedicated federal agency.

This is obviously too big a discussion to have in this small space. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of people who have plenty top say on both sides of the issue. Antiques is a huge business, all told, at all levels, and there are a lot of bucks changing hands.

In my experience, it has come down to what, exactly, someone deals or collects in. If your business or hobby is dependent upon small items, sold at relatively low prices, at large volumes, then regulation could be a problem.

If you deal, however, in rare and one-of-a-kind pieces of art, furniture and accessories, etc., then some oversight might be good thing for safety back-up and to make sure no false merchandise would get peddled.

Either way, it would probably, hopefully, stop scammers from passing off fake goods - at least that's my take. I know there is a movement to get some help - see the good work of show promoter Dordy Fontinel, et al. - but I wonder what Trader readers think.

Should the business and/or hobby of antiques be federally regulated? Let me know at noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com, or post a comment here.

APPROXIMATELY 175 PIECES OF AMERICAN ART POTTERY STOLEN

HILLARD, OH - Between 3:15 P.M. on Monday, February 25, 2008, and 8:30 A.M. on Tuesday, February 26, 2008, approximately 175 pieces of American Art Pottery were stolen from Belhorn Auction Services, LLC in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard, Ohio.  Also stolen was a cargo trailer in which the pottery was loaded, which was secured and locked at Belhorn Auctions’ office.

Pottery stolen includes various examples of Weller, Roseville, Rookwood, Owens, Van Briggle, Hampshire, Pillin, Fulper as well as others.  Also stolen was an exhibit of fake and reproduction pottery assembled by the American Art Pottery Association for educational and presentation purposes.  The trailer is an unmarked, white American Hauler cargo trailer with fold-down rear ramp and a system of shelving on the inside.

“We are working closely with law enforcement and our property management company to review security tapes covering the area during the time of the theft,” said Belhorn Auction Services, LLC President Greg Belhorn. “All consignors affected by this incident are fully covered and will be reimbursed for any financial loss.  However, I do remain hopeful that the items will be recovered.”

Nearly all of the stolen pieces were slated for the American Art Pottery Association’s 2008 Auction to be held in conjunction with the organization’s Annual Convention on April 23-27, 2008, in the Greater Philadelphia area.  Belhorn Auction Services, LLC donates its time and resources to conduct this auction, which benefits the Association and its endeavors.  The full  commission and buyer’s premium generated from the auction serve as an important revenue source from the American Art Pottery Association.

A general list and photos of the stolen pottery will be made available at Belhorn Auction Services, LLC’s website at www.belhorn.com.  Anyone with information regarding this incident or who is approached by an individual with pottery for sale matching the description of stolen items should contact the Hilliard (Ohio) Police Department at (614) 876-7321 or Belhorn Auction Services, LLC at (614) 921-9441.  A reward is being offered for any information leading to the recovery of the stolen property.

Disgraced former Antiques Roadshow appraiser Russ Pritchard entered a guilty plea in a Bucks County, PA court yesterday, and is now on the hook for $6,800 to a woman he bilked when he sold her heirlooms and never paid up.

The sad thing - besides Pritchard's agonizing fall from grace - is that the amount he owes Sandra Udinson of Plumstead, is just a drop in the bucket of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he owes in civil damages already and which will probably be leveled at him when he faces similar charges to those in Bucks County in Montgomery County next month.

The article linked to above tells the story of his sentencing, the juiciest bit being the judge telling pritchard, "The most important thing is that the victim be made whole,” Heckler told Pritchard. “You will pay her, or you will end up in jail.”

I don't know Russ Pritchard, and he brought this on himself - for sure - but I can't help but find this whole thing a bit sad as it drags on and on...

Pictured below is Pritchard from his Roadshow days. The pic is from WGBH, so I'm not sure if it's one of his fake Civil War appraisals.

That record collection - easily the best record collection in one single place - was being sold by Paul Mahwinney out of Record Rama in Pittsburgh, PA (is there ay other?), which sold for $3M to an a buyer in Ireland on eBay last week?

Fraud.

I can't imagine that eBay, who has suffered so much bad press lately, can be terribly happy about this.



The "buyer" said that he was the victim of identity theft and that he got the invoice and couldn't believe it. I reckon that's possible, and a terrible email to get from PayPal, which is already such an unpleasant system.

Furthermore, it's reported that a rare Stones album, that Mahwinney has valued at $10,000, can be bought elsewhere on eBay for $599. Ouch.

Bad things do happen, even to antiques people and even in the South.

 

This is a story from a Nashville TV station - Newschannel 5 - about a guy whose rental was broken into, in Nashville, and who had $3,000 worth of antiques stolen from his house. A few months later he finds a listing for his property - as someone else's property, of course - on Craigslist.

The address associated with the sale ended up being on the same street!

The police, however, do not think the seller knew he was selling stolen goods, let alone stolen goods from a house on the same street he lived on. I guess the thief, or thieves, took off that piece of yellowed and peeling masking tape with "In case this valuable antique is stolen please return to..." written in Sharpie on it.

"What? This stuff is stolen? And it belongs to you? And you live next door? Man, do I feel stupid..."

Chances are that stuff like this happens quit a bit, really.

The report does contain the rather ambiguous statement from the police that: "We're hopeful this incident will get us to a major player in antique business in the area."

For what, exactly?

Maybe the police are simply looking for some vintage posters to decorate the precinct...

Eric Bradley, the Show Manager of Atlantique City - which is owned by Trader's parent company, F+W Publications - was in Miami Beach over the weekend at the big show there - lucky man to be away from Midwest cold and snow. Evidently there was a scammer passing bad checks on the floor, and thanks to the actions of some dealers, the guy was picked up and a most-  if not all - of the merch found.

Here's what Eric wrote from the floor:

Miami police arrested a man on Sunday suspected of passing bogus checks proportedly worth at least $10,000 at the  Miami Beach Antiques Show. The man is suspected to have been working with an accomplice.

The cops nabbed him after our good friend Howard Roberts spotted a guy who fit the description of a man who passed a phony $4,400 check to one of his friends the day before. The man - who claimed to be from Philadelphia but spoke with a Russian accent -  was identified while he was browsing some jewelry in the booth of dealer Michael Weinstein (who also does Atlantique City). After interrogating the man, police sought search warrants for three Miami-area hotel rooms. Not sure if any were in Miami Beach proper.  

Police were able to recover items stolen with the bad checks on Sunday. It's not clear if they were unable to secure some, or all, of the merch purchased on Saturday.

The Miami police should have a report shortly. It will be in the local press soon!

Eric

Trader will keep an eye on this in the next few days, but thanks Eric!