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Authenticity is Everything
American Royal Arts Corp. and Jerry Gladstone Sued by Beatles Expert Frank Caiazzo [Apr. 13 Update]
"Frank Caiazzo v. American Royal Arts Corp. and Jerry Gladstone" was filed Thursday morning, Sept. 23, in the New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County.
According to the suit, Caiazzo seeks to recover compensatory damages, punitive damages and legal fees of no less than $500,000. The causes of action listed in the suit include: Defamation, Trade Libel, Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, and Prima Facie Tort.
Caiazzo's damages claimed in the suit revolve around a lawsuit American Royal Arts filed against him in Florida for calling a Revolver album they sold as signed by the Beatles a forgery. After almost three years, that case hasn't moved beyond a battle over jurisdiction. Last fall the Lower Court ruled that Florida was the proper venue for the case, and Caiazzo has appealed the decision.
Ironically, American Royal Arts' lawsuit against Caiazzo caught the attention of the New York Office of the FBI, which launched a criminal investigation into Jerry Gladstone and a number of his associates, including American Royal Arts' autograph suppliers and authenticators, over the suspected trafficking in forged autographs and memorabilia. The investigation is ongoing.
On August 14, 2010, American Royal Arts filed for an "Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors," a Florida form of corporate dissolution similar to a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in United States Bankruptcy Court. According to reported deposition testimony by American Royal Arts VP Agnes Palmer, inventory unsalable due to the FBI investigation was one of the leading reasons for the filing.
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The album above is the Revolver album purportedly signed by the Beatles that American Royal Arts sued Frank Caiazzo over for calling a Southern California forgery. Jerry Gladstone never posted the album online and it was not attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit.
We don't know anyone who has seen the Revolver album since the suit was filed. While not a trusted source, one of American Royal Arts' authenticators, Mike Frost of P.A.A.S., told us that he asked to see the Revolver album and Gladstone refused to even show it to him.
See the related story: Beatles-Signed Abbey Road Albums: What's Real? What's Fake?
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Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on April 13, 2011 at 5:49pm
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Frank Caiazzo's lawsuit against Jerry Gladstone and ARA has been settled and the court approved it today!
The terms are private and no one can talk, but I'm sure they had to pay Caiazzo well in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it was $1,000,000 it wasn't enough.
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Comment by DB on April 14, 2011 at 5:07am
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That's the problem of "no disclosure" settlements noone really knows (for awhile anyway).
So does this mean that company that came out of the blue can now buy up the "inventory", "stores" and so on in the bankruptcy proceedings?
and life goes on.... So was Gladstone merely a memorabilia midget as he likes to call others, a fraudster, forger, conspirator or simply incompetent to run a business like this. I am sure the many people who have launched claims that according to one of his lawyers was just piling on might think all of the above.
What then distinguishes him from so many other undesirable auction sites like Coach's Corner?
funny thing about bankruptcy laws is that those filing get to live another day. They should take the Riverside Auto issue where the "fraudster" got booted from Mass and turned up in florida and started bilking people down there. Was eventually caught and this time "no more selling cars directly or indirectly in any manner shape or form".
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Comment by Bill Panagopulos on April 20, 2011 at 3:13pm
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I hope Frank skinned that scumbucket for plenty. Oh...and hi, Dust Bunny.
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dust bunny....well there goes the neighborhood Mr. Bill ~ be very very very careful their Elmer or you too can have your own page from the "scumbuckets"... Or as Jackie would say, "how sweet it is!".
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Any comments about Gary Zimet? His website is like a cemetary...feels very dead. Just my opinion, but go look for yourself (Moments In Time). He has very few Photos of his items and only his big money items have them. Opinions?
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Has there been any further information on the settlement or other information regarding the outcome?
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The Caiazzo suit is all settled and monies paid by Jerry Gladstone. ARA is still in its Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors. The trustee has had a few auctions, which included forgeries without warning ARA had been investigated by the FBI. Gladstone turned some of ARAs stores into Pop Culture Vault and Behind the Cage galleries. Customers are going to get screwed for untold millions because they weren't told to file claims, even though they should have been according to law. But what's new?
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DB,
Just realized this wasn't the link on the settlement. Yes, there was a follow-up piece on May 6, 2011:
http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/jerry-gladstone-an...
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Sad as there are going to be alot more Rick Garceaus when they realize what has taken place.
Too bad the AP Wire Services couldn't lend a hand to get the word out....
even the gov't leaks payouts from unnamed sources!
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You are so right.
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