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The Joe Long Forgeries.....The Shocking Truth

Hello everyone,

I was reading around a few days ago and noticed a blog where the name Joe Long was mentioned. I wasn't familiar with it at all, and so started to do a little research and found that the story surrounding the man was fairly interesting.

As mentioned by Steve in an earlier blog, Joe Long was very trusted in the autograph community and it was a shock when he was outed as selling bad items. Apparently Long was first found out by Frank Caizzo when Long was selling forged Beatles items. Apparently Long would frequently mix the good with the bad to try and fool buyers.

I have found this very interesting and would like to know more if possible. Was Long only selling forgeries, or did he forge himself?? Was Long in business with anyone else?? Did Long sell other forged autographs besides the Bealtes?? What were some of the clues that a piece was sold by Joe Long? What story did Long give when he was caught?? Did he face any legal actions??? Does he still operate today??? Has their been any evidence recently that Joe Long has been supplying other dealers???

These are all questions i have and hope that those out their who know more about the man will chime in. Anytime i hear about really good forgers who fool alot of people, my ears perk up. It really does make for a good autograph story when you hear what happened from the beginning.

I would love to hear some of what Steve and Roger know about Joe Long and what all happened involving his business and the forgeries that were sold. Did he ever admit to selling the forgeries?? Any estimates on how much profit he made??

I couldnt find all that much information on him over the net, so i thought this would be a good thread to learn up on him if others are inclined to speak about what they know. Here is an image and description i took form Autograph alert truth. And i hope Roger wont mind.

Apparently this is from one of Joe Long's old catalogs. 2 of the 3 are genuine, and 1 is bad. And whoever forged these obviously had talent.

Roger also reported in his blog that Autograph Alert used to refer to Joe Long as "Mr. Clean". Did anyone else know him as this, or is this just another one of their lies? I imagine its nothing but garbage, b/c what forger would give himself a nickname, and especially not Mr. Clean. This isnt cloak and dagger stuff, its autograph forging, lol.

Anyway i would be very interested in any info anyone could provide. I find stuff like this very interesting.

Thanks for reading

Carl

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 15, 2013 at 8:40pm

Starting in the 80s, Joe Long sold and consigned to tons of reputable dealers and auction houses. Sotheby's and Christie's probably sold hundreds of his forgeries. This all took place before my time in autographs, but I understand it took many years for most of the industry to become convinced he was a forger.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Gregory on February 15, 2013 at 9:04pm

I'd never heard of him so this is a great piece to find out more. It sounds like he made a lot of money. Anyone know how he got caught and how it came crashing down and if he went to jail etc or is still forging?

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Permalink Reply by Tiziano Vianello on June 26, 2018 at 1:41am

Possible see other photos of beatles forgeries by Joe...???? Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on June 26, 2018 at 4:23am

Joe made a ton of money...mixing in the real stuff with forgeries. I think Frank Caiazzo was one of the first to "out" him. People who were buying from Joe kept saying that Frank was jealous..etc. This was a while back...but by then....for the folks who bought stuff from Joe...it was too late! I don't believe that Joe Long is still active...

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on June 26, 2018 at 4:24am

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on June 26, 2018 at 4:29am

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Permalink Reply by Tiziano Vianello on June 26, 2018 at 4:57am

Very hard to see the forgeries.... I think that only a true expert see the fake...

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on June 26, 2018 at 5:24am

He was VERY good...he fooled a lot of people...made lots of $$$

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 26, 2018 at 6:05am

I heard that he's still in business. He supposedly sold real autographs mixed in with the fakes, which is what helped him get away with it for so long.

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Permalink Reply by Classic Rock on June 26, 2018 at 6:20am

Steve, is there a business name? or an eBay user name that you are aware of?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 26, 2018 at 7:08am

I don't know if he's on eBay or not. I've heard he still consigns to auctions, but legitimate material... or largely legit. You don't see his known forgeries in reputable major auctions much anymore like you used to.