BUSTED!!!
Chris Harris
Feds seeking arrest of Illinois dealer
10/27/99 2:59:26 PM
The FBI, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, has submitted an
affidavit to obtain an arrest warrant for memorabilia dealer Steve Ryan,
proprietor of North Shore Sports in Northbrook, Ill.
The FBI's latest move is part of the ongoing saga of Operation Foul Ball - a
federal investigation targeting individuals and businesses involved in the
manufacture and distribution of forged sports memorabilia. Operation
Bullpen, a much broader investigation targeting similar fraudulent
activities, was the sting operation involved in more than 50 raids across
four states two weeks ago.
The criminal complaint indicates Ryan, whose actual name is Steve Levine,
has violated mail and wire fraud laws related to the distribution of
fraudulent memorabilia. According to the document, Ryan previously was
arrested five times on violations ranging from larceny to obstruction of
justice. His criminal record is under the name Levine.
North Shore Sports conducted its Final Millennium Major Phone Auction on
Tuesday. This auction was carried out despite assurances from Ryan's
attorney to the FBI that the auction would not take place. According to a
federal agent who spoke with Beckett Hobby Insider on Tuesday, all the
items in the auction were under subpoena and therefore could not be sold.
Furthermore, the document states Falk Associates Management Enterprises
(FAME), the company that represents Michael Jordan, warned Ryan against
hosting the auction. Tuesday's auction featured several Jordan items.
This was not the first time North Shore Sports conducted business involving
Jordan items and against the wishes of FAME. The complaint states that on
Dec. 13, 1996, Ryan received a cease and desist letter from Jordan's
representatives. Despite that action, Ryan continued to "falsely imply that
North Shore Sports has an exclusive relationship with Michael Jordan," the
complaint states.
The document also states that throughout the investigation, the FBI
identified "hundreds of items sold through Ryan's auction that have been
misrepresented as something other than what they actually were." Also, the
document states the FBI did inform Ryan "that the majority of Michael Jordan
related items which he sold and continues to sell through his auction were
(are) fraudulent."
In North Shore's auction tabloid - a supplement to the Oct. 29 issue of
Sports Collectors Digest (SCD) - auction lots featuring Jordan memorabilia
are accompanied by product descriptions using the names of SCD columnist
Dave Miedema and New York-based Grey Flannel Auctions to lend credibility to
the items' legitimacy.
The tabloid uses the names of these parties despite the fact Ryan was
previously informed by federal agents that Miedema and Grey Flannel "have
routinely authenticated forged items of sports memorabilia originating from
Anthony Alyinovich, John Schwartz and others who have acknowledged marketing
items which have the forged autographs of Michael Jordan and other
athletes," according to the document.
Also, the document states that Ryan actually agreed with the FBI's findings
that Miedema and Grey Flannel Auctions were not reputable authenticators.
Alyinovich pled guilty to mail fraud related to trafficking counterfeit
sports memorabilia in July 1996. He received five years' probation.
Schwartz, who was recently released from jail after serving more than a
year, was convicted of mail fraud and tax evasion in February 1997.
The document also detailed the business relationship between Alyinovich and
Miedema. Alyinovich indicated Miedema authenticated any item he gave
Miedema. Alyinovich went on to explain that "he provided Miedema with large
boxes that contained numerous items of sports memorabilia and that
Miedema could generate certificates for each item of sports memorabilia
within ten minutes." Also, Alyinovich said Miedema "on most occasions" did
not even look at the memorabilia he was authenticating.
The document also states that during a search of the residence of former
dealer Steve Berg, 200 blank certificates of authenticity with Miedema's
signature were discovered. Berg, who formerly operated SDB Enterprises from
his home in Chicago, pled guilty to selling forged memorabilia in April of
this year. His sentencing is scheduled for next week. At a date following
the search of his residence, Berg told the FBI that "Miedema would routinely
provide certificates of authenticity for items which he never attempted to
authenticate, and more importantly never saw."
--
Chris Harris
Back in November
WALTER ANDERSON
people understand you will get caught. Can anyone be trusted anymore? I
thought those were two of the best authenticater around. Who can we
trust now?
WALTER ANDERSON
http://members.tripod.com/~heynetboy/
http://auctions.yahoo.com/bin/user?heynetboy&link
Jeff Novell
I didn't care for his writing, but now his rep is totally trashed...
d, 27 Oct 1999 21:39:00 -0400, "Chris Harris"
<harris3...@worldnet.att.com> wrote:
Jeff Novell
jtno...@earthlink.net
"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need..." -Jagger/Richards
matts
probably happy
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warren's all-stars
"experts" like these? That's a real shame. Kudos for whomever is
carrying out these investigations.
Warren
Tom Timmerman
Just a note, several years ago I mentioned to Miedema that I was
a Ray Knight collector and would like to find more jerseys. To this
day, he still finds oddball Knight items for me. Once, a supposed
Knight Orioles BP jersey appeared in SCD. I called to buy it but
was told that Miedema beat me to it. I called him to see if he
bought it for me. He said that he did, but was sorry to say that the
jersey was the wrong year and could not be Knight's. I probably would
not have known the difference. Dave's always come across to me
as an honest guy. Maybe there's more to this story (kind of like with
Jerry's). I hope so.
TT
Vinny Holland
The problem is that no one is a total expert. There are a number of very
knowledeable people out there with the best intentions. Unfortunately it's
not as easy as people would like to think on authenticating something. When
they base a money-making business on being an expert they open themselves up
to scrutiny.
I have some artist friends who routinely laugh about how easy it would be to
forge an autograph. When I would say things about old paper, vintage ink,
etc. they would have an answer. Buy old ink in NYC, get old paper at any
flea market, etc.
The only safe way to collect is the most innocent way. Get autographs
yourself, buy packs and make sets, educate yourself about the possibilities.
I wish it was easier.
Best Always,
Vinny
--
Self-promoting signature deleted for political correctness. :)
SteelHanky
it is painfully obvious from my dealings with him the past 15 or so years, that
he does know his stuff. His expertise in autographs and uniforms knows no
bounds. I'm hoping this is a misunderstanding, but (a) Dave's reputation is
tarnished, if not ruined, forever and (b) I find hundreds of blank,
certificates of authenticity signed by him to be highly irregular. I can see
signing 5, even 10 at a time, but >200? Oh dear.
Dave's helped me with a lot of hard-to-find Pirates autographed cards. Found
me a 1976 SSPC Kent Tekulve autograph. Last I heard, Kent signed only about 30
of these. Not sure if Kent's softened his stance on autographing an
"unauthorized" card though.
--- JAD...
--- JAD...