Subpoenas issued to dealers with ties to Grey Flannel Auctions
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From the New York Daily News: Story
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Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
They call me "Pack the Ripper"
A Chicago grand jury investigating fraud in sports memorabilia sent subpoenas earlier this year to dealers who have done business with Long Island's Grey Flannel Auctions, according to several industry sources.
The prosecutors leading the investigation want to determine if the Westhampton auction house had sold fraudulent sports jerseys to unsuspecting collectors, the sources told the Daily News. The subpoenaed records may show that Grey Flannel officials inflated the historical significance and monetary value of jerseys they obtained from the dealers.
"I think it is safe to say that they are looking at Grey Flannel," said an attorney for one dealer who requested anonymity to protect his client's identity.
A spokesman for the United States Attorney in Chicago declined to comment. Grey Flannel president Richard Russek did not return calls for comment.
The subpoenas stem from the seven-year investigation into fraud in sports memorabilia conducted by the Chicago FBI and other federal agencies. Several hobby executives, including one-time memorabilia king Bill Mastro, have been indicted as a result of the investigation.
Mastro Auctions was once the largest in sports memorabilia, but it was shut down in 2009 after Mastro and other company executives were indicted on fraud charges. Mastro, who was accused of shill bidding and altering the world's most expensive baseball card — the $2.8 million T206 Honus Wagner — pleaded guilty to one count of fraud last year. Mastro has agreed to cooperate with the feds as they prosecute his former colleagues, Doug Allen and Mark Theotikos, and he will be sentenced after those cases are resolved.
Six memorabilia dealers were indicted on fraud charges in 2011 as a result of the FBI investigation, and five of them pleaded guilty. Prosecutors dropped charges against a sixth dealer, Eric Inselberg of New Jersey, in 2013 after his lawyers claimed New York Giants employees and other witnesses had lied to federal agents and the Illinois grand jury that indicted Inselberg. Inselberg sued the Giants and Eli Manning in January, claiming the team and the quarterback sold bogus "game-worn" jerseys, helmets and other fake collectible to unsuspecting customers.
In January, Chicago-based agents were among the federal law enforcement officers who raided and searched the Arkansas home and office of memorabilia dealer John Rogers, who owns one of the world's largest photo archives.