As if the Hobby needed another black-eye

While this is slightly old news but I haven't seen much commentary in the blogsphere.

Allegations of “shill-bidding” have been leveled against auction house and industry giant Mastro Auctions of Burr Ridge, Illinois. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations served subpoenas on the company the weekend of the National Sports Collector’s Convention. Check out this article in the Chicago Tribune.

Many people have long suspected that the champagne and cavier portion of the Hobby have not always been ethical in their business dealings. Whether it's consigning self-authenticated items, i.e Dave Bushing or this latest saga, it seems that as the old saying goes, "where there's smoke, there's fire". While these are only allegations at this point it does serve as a reminder that when big money is involved without any regulatory, 3rd party oversight, there is bound to be trouble.