Do You Collect Horror Movie Posters? Must Read!

[mrwoogieman]

This got lost in the Collecting Things Other Than Comics thread, so here it is again for anyone who might be affected, complete with a quote from Robert Rogovin:

 

 

 

Anyone have any movie "posters" from this guy?

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/fraud_is_monster_bashed_ig7rKuBLexA3VsJRgZ7uHI

 

There won’t be much room for posters where he’s going!

 

A Georgia man who conned collectors by peddling counterfeit horror-movie posters was sentenced to the maximum 6 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay his victims $1.38 million in Manhattan federal court yesterday.

 

“This guy is the Bernie Madoff of the movie-poster industry,” victim Robert Rogovin, 65, said of Kerry Haggard.

 

Rogovin, a Scarsdale comic-shop owner, spent $20,000 on three pieces faked by Haggard.

 

“He’s a piece of human garbage,” he added.

 

Haggard worked his scam by paying a New York City printing company to make high-quality ink-jet copies of horror-movie posters of such classics as “The Mummy” and “Frankenstein.”

 

 

GREEDY GHOUL: Kerry Haggard pawned off fake posters of classic horror films to collectors and swindled $712,000 from a pal.

The 47-year-old would then sell the fakes to trusting collectors via such sites as eBay for prices ranging from $500 to $5,000.

 

Haggard, who now suffers from arthritis and walks with a cane, even ripped off close friends.

 

Jim Gresham, 59, became so close with Haggard the two men would talk several times a week and even went on a European cruise together with their wives.

 

But, all along, Haggard was trading his fake posters for Gresham’s authentic ones — like kids do with baseball cards — scamming the betrayed man out of $712,000.

 

One was an ultra-rare poster of 1935’s “Werewolf of London” flick.

 

“He ate our food, he came to church with us, and he stabbed me in the back,” the Michigan snowplow-business owner thundered in court.

 

“I put our retirement money into posters because it seemed safe. It was safe — until Kerry Haggard came along.”

 

When the judge adjourned court, the half-dozen gathered victims broke into applause and one gleefully shouted, “See you later, Kerry!”

 

During the hearing, Haggard tried to apologize, but Judge Colleen McMahon wasn’t buying it.

 

“Anyone who has a list of victims as long as yours is a serial criminal,” McMahon said. “You just didn’t get caught for a very long time.”

 

[comicwiz]

Thanks for the share. I posted the link to this story on another message board after reading it.

 

Having been recently scammed by a fraudster who I've come to learn has been at it for many, many years, I know the feeling of wanting justice exacted. I'm sure many of this poster peddler's victims had some reason to celebrate after hearing the judge's words:

 

“Anyone who has a list of victims as long as yours is a serial criminal,” McMahon said. “You just didn’t get caught for a very long time.”

[jimjum12]

Thanks for the share. I posted the link to this story on another message board after reading it.

 

Having been recently scammed by a fraudster who I've come to learn has been at it for many, many years, I know the feeling of wanting justice exacted. I'm sure many of this poster peddler's victims had some reason to celebrate after hearing the judge's words:

 

“Anyone who has a list of victims as long as yours is a serial criminal,” McMahon said. “You just didn’t get caught for a very long time.”

 

[Dr. Balls]

Ouch.

[Buzzetta]

In a related story, the New York Mets revealed that the owner of the team, Fred Wilpon, is an avid horror movie poster collector.

 

[50 Cent #II (1st)]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fake-frankenstein-posters-georgia-man-sentenced-310088

 

You're telling me that this guy gets 6 years and yet PGX is still doing business?

 

[mrwoogieman]

I find it fascinating that the buyers laying out this kind of cash (Rogovin bought three for $20,000 total according to the article) could be duped by a somewhat simple color copy process. Was it vintage paper they were using to create the copies? Was he artifically aging them? Something that is supposed to be 60-70-80 years old has to show some signs of aging, no? Is there some knowledge in the market of pedigree collections or their equivalent for this kind of collectible? Is there an appraisal service by the auction houses that will tip seller that they've got a phony? Do the buyers have to accept some of the blame here, in a willful blindness kind of way?

[ComicConnoisseur]

I find it fascinating that the buyers laying out this kind of cash (Rogovin bought three for $20,000 total according to the article) could be duped by a somewhat simple color copy process. Was it vintage paper they were using to create the copies? Was he artifically aging them? Something that is supposed to be 60-70-80 years old has to show some signs of aging, no? Is there some knowledge in the market of pedigree collections or their equivalent for this kind of collectible? Is there an appraisal service by the auction houses that will tip seller that they've got a phony? Do the buyers have to accept some of the blame here, in a willful blindness kind of way?

How could experts of paper be fooled?