Hero Restoration, Anyone know the latest? 24 24

[Mr. Zipper]

Some may recall that Mike, for many years, was a well regarded member of the community, a respected restoration expert with a thriving business, and someone who had great passion for the hobby. And now his life has come apart at the seams. As someone who has chatted with him casually on and off for 15 years, the situation is unreal and shocking. I was hoping against hope that Mike would pull it together and all the outstanding issues would be resolved.

I’m not excusing or defending any of his actions, and I have great empathy for the people who lost money and may lose their books. This is a tragedy. There is nothing to celebrate or joke about. The most recent developments only reduce the chances that the victims will be made whole.

[SpineTic]

On 12/16/2023 at 7:40 AM, Dr. Balls said:

I think this pretty much sums it up.

5:52 p.m – Michael De Chellis, was arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants,

reckless driving, failure to perform duties of a driver,

giving false info, failure to carry and present, and fifteen counts of contempt of court.

[CAHokie]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:25 AM, SpineTic said:

fifteen counts of contempt of court

It would be interesting to know what those 15 charges are for. That’s a lot of judgements or orders that were violated.

[boreds]

It boggles my mind that people continue to give him the benefit of the doubt. If I was missing some of the books he has stolen I'd be outside his house or store demanding my property back.

Edited December 16, 2023 by boreds

[lizards2]

On 12/16/2023 at 8:15 AM, boreds said:

It boggles my mind that people continue to give him the benefit of the doubt. If I was missing some of the books he has stolen I'd be outside his house or store demanding my property back.

And, you can be in his jail cell with him.

[mattn792]

15 counts of contempt?  Man, the court REALLY lacked understanding…

[Tnexus]

On 12/15/2023 at 6:27 PM, Sauce Dog said:

@DougC any legal advice on what happens with a property being evicted and the contents (especially if it is a business and other customer property is inside)? 

Can't speak to Oregon law, but it's a nightmare for a landlord to legally clear out an abandoned property in California. My MIL has been dealing with this exact problem and she's probably on close to year 3. To get the stuff inside to legally be considered abandoned takes a lot of legal proceedings.

[VintageComics]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:13 AM, Mr. Zipper said:

Some may recall that Mike, for many years, was a well regarded member of the community, a respected restoration expert with a thriving business, and someone who had great passion for the hobby. And now his life has come apart at the seams. As someone who has chatted with him casually on and off for 15 years, the situation is unreal and shocking. I was hoping against hope that Mike would pull it together and all the outstanding issues would be resolved.

I’m not excusing or defending any of his actions, and I have great empathy for the people who lost money and may lose their books. This is a tragedy. There is nothing to celebrate or joke about. The most recent developments only reduce the chances that the victims will be made whole.

To me it's a sobering wake up call as to how life can turn on any one of us when we make just a few bad decisions.

I'm not trying to moralize at people, these are conclusions I've come to myself as I've matured. Life is pretty fragile no matter how much we want to think it isn't, and often the "Goldilocks conditions" that we live under can come undone pretty quickly. Sometimes it just takes one bad decision and I can remember times in my life where I took one turn that changed everything. This is such an unfortunate story on so many levels for everyone involved that it's heartbreaking. 

[Point Five]

On 12/16/2023 at 12:49 PM, VintageComics said:

On 12/16/2023 at 10:13 AM, Mr. Zipper said:

Some may recall that Mike, for many years, was a well regarded member of the community, a respected restoration expert with a thriving business, and someone who had great passion for the hobby. And now his life has come apart at the seams. As someone who has chatted with him casually on and off for 15 years, the situation is unreal and shocking. I was hoping against hope that Mike would pull it together and all the outstanding issues would be resolved.

I’m not excusing or defending any of his actions, and I have great empathy for the people who lost money and may lose their books. This is a tragedy. There is nothing to celebrate or joke about. The most recent developments only reduce the chances that the victims will be made whole.

Expand  

To me it's a sobering wake up call as to how life can turn on any one of us when we make just a few bad decisions.

I'm not trying to moralize at people, these are conclusions I've come to myself as I've matured. Life is pretty fragile no matter how much we want to think it isn't, and often the "Goldilocks conditions" that we live under can come undone pretty quickly. Sometimes it just takes one bad decision and I can remember times in my life where I took one turn that changed everything. This is such an unfortunate story on so many levels for everyone involved that it's heartbreaking. 

+1 to all, well said guys.

 

[Cat]

On 12/17/2023 at 12:08 AM, boreds said:

Only 15 counts of contempt of court. Mike seems like a real sweetheart!

https://www.lebanonlocalnews.com/sweet-home-police-court-updates-nov-27-to-dec-4-2023/

 

 

"Anything else you'd like to say?" 

"I have nothing but contempt for this court." 

"That's the 15th time you've said that." 

[Gaard]

On 12/16/2023 at 11:17 AM, lizards2 said:

And, you can be in his jail cell with him.

I don't think I was born in the correct era. It just seems wrong that if someone steals property worth $1000s of dollars, you risk going to jail if you go to his home to demand your property back.

[lizards2]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:30 AM, Gaard said:

On 12/16/2023 at 8:17 AM, lizards2 said:

And, you can be in his jail cell with him.

I don't think I was born in the correct era. It just seems wrong that if someone steals property worth $1000s of dollars, you risk going to jail if you go to his home to demand your property back.

I will agree with you there.

[Sauce Dog]

I think I need to reiterate something / make clear in case it has gotten lost in the threads. Lots of people are reaching out to me now, both those on these very boards and others outside of it that have gotten wind of what is going on and found my username on various social channels:

I am not, nor have I ever been, an employee of Hero Restoration. I do not have any legal/financial association with them, and I've never met Mike in person. The extent of our email relationship is I did work-in-kind for him years ago (I traded my web design/development/branding skills to create and maintain a website for him, in turn he would restore comics I send him. Tit for tat). I have not seen or interacted with any aspect of the Hero Restoration business beyond providing a website for them and the occasional maintenance (plugins, general SEO, and offering suggestions when stuff breaks online). My work on the website ended years ago, and I was locked out of any critical online properties by Mike (his website, godaddy account, and Jotform where the submission data for the last three years is hosted on). I have no experience or knowledge of any inner workings of the business outside of what he tells me in email, be it day to day administration or any financial stuff.

I am also located in Canada - my involvement with anything here is purely in a supportive manner as a concerned member of the hobby, and legally there isn't anything I can do outside of the USA. It is only due to my experience in web forms that I've offered to help collect and organize the data in this community so that it might help those involved - I am not using this data in any way (nor can I get legally involved in an American issue), but hope someone in the USA who is serious about doing something can benefit from it (if that is the case feel free to reach out to me and we can talk).

I'm happy that many people are reaching out to me, especially those who have very critical personal information to provide that isn't available to just anyone here on the boards or regular customers, but just understand I'm not the end point that is rallying everyone together, nor am I spearheading any sort of legal action movement. If you desire to take legal action, that is something you have to start yourself, or organize with other fellow Americans - as that sort of thing is out of my hands.

edit: and also for transparency I do have one book currently out being held by Mike still. A Tales of Suspense #39 that is partially restored (Originally a CGC 0.5. Leaf casting is complete, untrimmed, colour touch however is incomplete as the first round was poorly done by a previous employee). It was suppose to be done last year, and I had planned to sell it to cover Christmas 2022 bills but it got pushed...also hoped to do it for this year, but the promised completion came and went once again.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Sauce Dog

[jimjum12]

On 12/13/2023 at 11:02 PM, Nick Furious said:

Which Oregon city are Mike and the comic books thought to be in?  Kind of long shot, but maybe an email to the local newspaper giving a link to this thread would result in a story that gets attention?  That way when he goes to the local farmers market or chickenfeed store the guy behind the counter will be like "aren't you that comic book thief?"  Six figures worth of missing comic books might make a good local public interest story.  

Especially if they led with the "why don't the authorities care about nerds?" angle.That might put a spark under someone's hindparts. Personally, I've collected for decades now...It's been 40 years since I first spent an ENTIRE paycheck on one comic. The apathy afforded to comics by insurance and law enforcement is just not OK. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Edited December 16, 2023 by jimjum12

[troydivision1]

[KCOComics]

On 12/16/2023 at 9:08 AM, boreds said:

Only 15 counts of contempt of court. Mike seems like a real sweetheart!

https://www.lebanonlocalnews.com/sweet-home-police-court-updates-nov-27-to-dec-4-2023/

 

 

Fifteen counts of contempt of court! 

What exactly does that mean? Blowing off court dates? Or insulting a judge ? 

[CAHokie]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:18 PM, KCOComics said:

Fifteen counts of contempt of court! 

What exactly does that mean? Blowing off court dates? Or insulting a judge ? 

Any type of order or judgement from the court that was not followed may count as one. 

[Cat]

On 12/17/2023 at 1:18 PM, KCOComics said:

Fifteen counts of contempt of court! 

What exactly does that mean? Blowing off court dates? Or insulting a judge ? 

It means the judge doesn't appreciate the seriousness of losing chickens. 

[Axelrod]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:18 PM, KCOComics said:

Fifteen counts of contempt of court! 

What exactly does that mean? Blowing off court dates? Or insulting a judge ? 

Generally speaking and most commonly, it's someone who won't shut up.  But 15 counts is extreme by any measure.  

[thehumantorch]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:14 PM, Axelrod said:

Generally speaking and most commonly, it's someone who won't shut up.  But 15 counts is extreme by any measure.  

can also mean refusing to refusing to obey a subpoena or an order of the court which I suspect is more likely considering the number of charges