Hero Restoration, Anyone know the latest? 24 24

[Courageous Cat]

On 11/23/2023 at 9:24 PM, shadroch said:

Hire some homeless guys to picket his house with signs calling attention to his deeds.

contact georgesoros.com. I heard he hires picketers on a regular basis

[Number 6]

On 11/23/2023 at 3:23 PM, Vfactor1 said:

 I love the fact that so many people are willing/want to do something for the victims of HR, but if you think for one moment this guy is gonna release any or all of these high dollar books he has held hostage for years to a complete stranger merely because he asks nicely, you are are gonna be seriously disappointed. This wouldn’t even make good business sense for him and opens him up to even more liability. Why would he just automatically start trusting anyone?

 

He’s already effectively stolen tens of thousands of dollars of books and the money paid to restore them. 

Clearly, “liability” doesn’t seem to be a major concern for HR. 

[wardevil0]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:58 AM, Number 6 said:

He’s already effectively stolen tens of thousands of dollars of books and the money paid to restore them. 

Clearly, “liability” doesn’t seem to be a major concern for HR. 

Maybe "deniability" is a more appropriate term than "liability."  As long as no one really sees what's going on, he can claim to still be working on it and the problems are all due to impatient, pushy, inconsiderate customers.

[Chip Cataldo]

On 11/24/2023 at 11:20 AM, wardevil0 said:

Maybe "deniability" is a more appropriate term than "liability."  As long as no one really sees what's going on, he can claim to still be working on it and the problems are all due to impatient, pushy, inconsiderate customers.

...until the police get in there and find nearly all the books gone. Then the stuffing hits the fan. 

[wardevil0]

On 11/24/2023 at 11:45 AM, Chip Cataldo said:

...until the police get in there and find nearly all the books gone. Then the stuffing hits the fan. 

Actually, I'm wondering if the FBI Art Crime Team would be the way to go.  I would assume most local law enforcement would be unfamiliar with the nuances of high-dollar paper, but these guys might be interested if the total dollar value gets high enough.

Check here: https://artcrimes.fbi.gov/art-crime-team-1

Or, if @MattTheDuck or @Sauce Dog want to compile complaints and pursue this route, I can refer you directly to the Special Agent on the Art Crime Team in the Portland Field Office via PM.

[Number 6]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:20 AM, wardevil0 said:

Maybe "deniability" is a more appropriate term than "liability."  As long as no one really sees what's going on, he can claim to still be working on it and the problems are all due to impatient, pushy, inconsiderate customers.

Yeah, you’re probably right, that is a better way to put it. 
 

I was just thinking “how much more liability can there be than outright theft”?

On 11/24/2023 at 8:45 AM, Chip Cataldo said:

...until the police get in there and find nearly all the books gone. Then the stuffing hits the fan. 

Well, like the other posters have said, I’m not super confident that Matt approaching this guy is actually going to result in getting books back. 
 

But I do think/hope that it IS an important first step to eventually getting someone in authority over there to confirm what is and isn’t there, how much stuffing needs to hit the fan and whether the fan needs to be turned on high-speed. 

[Chip Cataldo]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:09 PM, Number 6 said:

Well, like the other posters have said, I’m not super confident that Matt approaching this guy is actually going to result in getting books back. 
 

But I do think/hope that it IS an important first step to eventually getting someone in authority over there to confirm what is and isn’t there, how much stuffing needs to hit the fan and whether the fan needs to be turned on high-speed. 

I don't think Matt going to his house is the right thing, either. Compiling a list of people and what they have there and how much money they have paid for work not done is best. Presenting all that information to the police or fraud department of whatever local investigators handle that is the correct thing to do and will drive home the severity of the situation.

[Vfactor1]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:12 PM, Chip Cataldo said:

I don't think Matt going to his house is the right thing, either. 

I agree, I think it’s a horrible idea.

On 11/22/2023 at 10:45 AM, MattTheDuck said:

I don't know what Hero wants.  I am hoping for his cooperation to resolve the situation.

Matt, I think it’s great you want to help buddy and you’re willing to but I think we all know what HR wants, he’s said it plenty of times! Hoping for his cooperation is very naive.

 

At the very least and best we could hope for in that situation:

On 11/22/2023 at 10:54 AM, Black_Adam said:

on the off chance you are able to establish contact with him he is going to tell you to go  yourself.

 

V.

[mattn792]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:50 PM, Vfactor1 said:

I agree, I think it’s a horrible idea.

Matt, I think it’s great you want to help buddy and you’re willing to but I think we all know what HR wants, he’s said it plenty of times! Hoping for his cooperation is very naive.

 

At the very least and best we could hope for in that situation:

 

V.

How about letting things play out before bagging on the whole effort?  

[Vfactor1]

On 11/24/2023 at 2:10 PM, mattn792 said:

How about letting things play out before bagging on the whole effort?  

Well that’s an awfully strong statement.

You always go around trying to start stuff with people?

Most of these were quotes from other people. Have you read any of the replies from this guy? He’s not normal! All we are saying is to think about it before approaching this guy in person!

Your “play out” has been played out in different arenas in the past and the result was disastrous. Read about the Chicken Man in Roswell, GA friend!

Good grief, can’t even comment without someone trying to start an argument. I have no interest in fighting with you dude.

V.

[mattn792]

On 11/24/2023 at 1:21 PM, Vfactor1 said:

Well that’s an awfully strong statement.

You always go around trying to start stuff with people?

Most of these were quotes from other people. Have you read any of the replies from this guy? He’s not normal! All we are saying is to think about it before approaching this guy in person!

Your “play out” has been played out in different arenas in the past and the result was disastrous. Read about the Chicken Man in Roswell, GA friend!

Good grief, can’t even comment without someone trying to start an argument. I have no interest in fighting with you dude.

V.

[Vfactor1]

Sorry man, didn’t actually realize you were just kidding. Guess maybe I’m a little too passionate about this whole ordeal. Just sucks seeing this. My apologies.

 

V.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Vfactor1

[Gaard]

I'm not understanding why it would be a horrible idea. Would it make matters worse somehow? At the very least, it would show Mike that people aren't going to just let this go.

[Chip Cataldo]

On 11/24/2023 at 4:06 PM, Gaard said:

I'm not understanding why it would be a horrible idea. Would it make matters worse somehow? At the very least, it would show Mike that people aren't going to just let this go.

I think people are worried that he's unhinged enough (based on his posts) that the door confrontation would go south fast.

[Sauce Dog]

On 11/24/2023 at 4:06 PM, Gaard said:

I'm not understanding why it would be a horrible idea. Would it make matters worse somehow? At the very least, it would show Mike that people aren't going to just let this go.

Direct confrontation is pointless if the customers do not consent to their books going into the hands of a third-party that does not have insurance (we are operating under the assumption Hero Restoration still has insurance at this point). If Matt goes over it has to be to pick up SPECIFIC books that customers in the survey he posted consented (to both Matt and HR) to change hands (details of which are not yet flushed out, the survey only hopes to figure out if people are interested in such an idea)

Edited November 24, 2023 by Sauce Dog

[mattn792]

On 11/24/2023 at 3:29 PM, Chip Cataldo said:

I think people are worried that he's unhinged enough (based on his posts) that the door confrontation would go south fast.

He is unhinged enough, and Matt has already said he's not going to just show up at the guy's door out of the blue.  Why do people keep acting like this is the plan of how it is all going to go down?

[Chip Cataldo]

On 11/24/2023 at 9:27 PM, mattn792 said:

He is unhinged enough, and Matt has already said he's not going to just show up at the guy's door out of the blue.  Why do people keep acting like this is the plan of how it is all going to go down?

I have no idea. I was just answering someone's question. Matt already said he's collecting information to give to authorities/investigators. He did that a few days ago.

[Point Five]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:58 AM, Number 6 said:

He’s already effectively stolen tens of thousands of dollars of books and the money paid to restore them. 

Not to nitpick (honestly), but just as a point of interest re the scale --

The original thread from the summer was started by one guy who had sent HR $10K worth of books for pressing -- not even a restoration job, which was the company's bread and butter. I have no idea if the $10K valuation is precise -- but for the sake of argument let's assume it is, and think about that for a second. The $10K in books would barely be a blip in those rows and rows of short boxes. Ditto the five or whatever copies of AF 15 that HR said he had in various stages of restoration, and the other books mentioned in the summer thread. Tiny tiny fractions of those pictured books.

Perhaps a few handfuls have been shipped back by now, who knows. But the value of the books in HR's possession has to be *many* hundreds of thousands of dollars, and over a million would not at all be inconceivable. It would just take a stack of high-dollar GA and SA keys to get there.

 

[Number 6]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:21 PM, Point Five said:

Not to nitpick (honestly), but just as a point of interest re the scale --

The original thread from the summer was started by one guy who had sent HR $10K worth of books for pressing -- not even a restoration job, which was the company's bread and butter. I have no idea if the $10K valuation is precise -- but for the sake of argument let's assume it is, and think about that for a second. The $10K in books would barely be a blip in those rows and rows of short boxes. Ditto the five or whatever copies of AF 15 that HR said he had in various stages of restoration, and the other books mentioned in the summer thread. Tiny tiny fractions of those pictured books.

Perhaps a few handfuls have been shipped back by now, who knows. But the value of the books in HR's possession has to be *many* hundreds of thousands of dollars, and over a million would not at all be inconceivable. It would just take a stack of high-dollar GA and SA keys to get there.

 

I understand what you’re saying. 
 

I remembered that there was mentioned earlier that a number of books were shipped back.  But not knowing the value of those or what remained, I was trying to err on the side of non-hyperbole. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Number 6

[Sauce Dog]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:21 PM, Point Five said:

The $10K in books would barely be a blip in those rows and rows of short boxes. Ditto the five or whatever copies of AF 15 that HR said he had in various stages of restoration, and the other books mentioned in the summer thread. Tiny tiny fractions of those pictured books.

Hence why it is critical more people fill out that survey, especially those who have large value submissions.