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Authenticity is Everything
Jerry Gladstone & Christopher Morales Took More Than My Money
Seth Garceau (right) and friends going to a Bob Dylan concert
with Seth's father, Rick Garceau, in Des Moines, Iowa in 2004.
By Rick Garceau
When I was growing up, I loved listening to music. My passion was so strong that I knew it was something I wanted to share with my children, Seth and Tess.
Although the popular music of the time had changed between our generations, I still wanted the kids to appreciate classic rock in the way that I did. I started by introducing songs from bands such as The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. In the morning, while I prepared breakfast I would blast music from these bands that the kids thought was “outdated.” While they would eat, I would sing along with the music and they would laugh and make jokes about how terrible my singing was. Even though the jokes were at my expense, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my mornings. Seth and Tess eventually learned the words better than I did, and that’s when I knew that music was something that would keep us together.
As the kids got older and started spending more time with their friends, our family still had the music to keep us in touch. My son and his friends were all Bob Dylan fans, just as I was, so it was a great surprise that they kept me in mind when they had an extra ticket to one of his shows. I was touched that out of all the people they could have asked to go, they chose me. The only problem was that I was building a house on Madeline Island in Lake Superior, and the concert was 11 hours away in Des Moines. However, I wasn’t going to let the distance keep from missing out on this great opportunity to enjoy Dylan with Seth and his friends.
I left early in the morning and drove nine hours to my hometown to pick up the boys and proceed to the concert. After three more hours of driving, we were finally there. The concert was phenomenal, as we all expected. But what I will remember most are the smiles of excitement on the boys’ faces during the entire show. At that moment, I forgot about the long drive ahead of me and just let the good times roll.
Shortly after the concert, Seth, a member of the Iowa National Guard, volunteered to join his battalion to fight the war in Iraq. After a mere 30 days of being there, Seth was killed by a roadside bomb that struck his Humvee. During the years to follow, I experienced many different emotions, but a large part of what I was feeling was emptiness. When you lose a child you not only lose them, but you also lose a huge part of yourself.
It took me awhile to adjust, but I found that through listening to music, I could start getting that part of myself back. Music has a way of conveying emotions that you sometimes can’t explain on your own. Music gave me a voice of my own and by listening to music that Seth and I both loved, I found a way to keep him alive in my heart. I eventually got back on my feet and started feeling more and more like myself. But something was still missing.
Although Seth was always with me in my heart, I wanted a way to celebrate his life and our love for music in a way that everyone could see. I devoted the next few years to remodeling my living room into a room built completely for Seth. In this room, I started by displaying military emblems, such as his purple heart and the items that he was carrying at the time of his death.
I didn’t want the entire room to be about Seth’s military endeavors, though, so I thought carefully about other ways I could memorialize his life. That's when I found Jerry Gladstone's autograph company, American Royal Arts. I ended up purchasing an autographed Grateful Dead guitar and an autographed Dylan and the Dead poster to remind me of the cherished hours Seth and I used to spend together, talking, laughing, and listening to these famous artists.
These tokens of the bond with my son meant the world to me. So I was devastated to discover that the autographs on the guitar and the poster, like all the classic rock memorabilia sold to me by Jerry Gladstone, were forgeries authenticated by Christopher Morales.
Now, the memorabilia that once brought back pleasant memories of my son elicits feelings of heartbreak and disgust.
By betraying me and thousands of others like me, these criminals have not only stolen our money. They have robbed us of much more than that.
Related:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Courtesy of American Royal Arts
Tags: Jerry gladstone, american royal arts, christopher Morales, dylan, fake, forgeries, grateful dead
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Peter Lougheed on
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Sorry, Steve. I meant to say that Gladstone must have known Morales certified items were banned from eBay.
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Permalink Reply by Barry S on
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He buys "authentic" items from "dealers" for couple hundred bucks, sells them for thousands. He sent them "out" to a forensic examiner who signed off they were real. When customers wanted pictures of the signings, he got them. He had no idea the items he sold were fake, or the pictures of the signing was fake, or that the forensic examiner was lying to him. It was just a great business. Buy low sell high. He had an A+ rating with the BBB for crying out loud!
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Permalink Reply by DB on
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Barry - just like Albert however once the gig is up one has to change otherwise there is perhaps "criminal" intent.
I wish it were that easy to rely on "obviously" and "99%" because if it were I'd already have a warrant issued for someone's arrest.
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Gladstone did it for 25 years, Albert since 1969. You are right DB, I know there is a shady grey area for them to hide in. They didn't just rob a bank. (they couldn't have made this much money) They can all go legit and try to hide all their dirty money, but they will pay one day. I hope.
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My point is that we can't just throw our hands up and say there is no way to stop these criminals. This website does a great service revealing these cons, but law inforcement has to do something, don't they?
What do you think is the solution DB?
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as we saw with FineArts - they will threaten to sue so people will go into hiding or in some cases file in civil courts. There are two good ones going on right now. I hope the Plantiffs win on one side and the defendants on the other side based on "the superiority of the evidence is more powerful than the oppositions" based on the Jurors (if a jury trial) understanding of the evidence. If a trial by judge then it gets real interesting.
In this instance, and based on the circumstances presented, it would appear that recouping the lost $88k is tantamount thus civil and perhaps punitive factors if they can be proven. Criminal cases require the buy-in from either the AsstDa/DA, state AG (typically useless) or the US Atty (NY seems to not shy away from memorabillia type cases).
I'm of the belief that if you hit 'em in the wallet it hurts alot more than going to jail but sometimes it's unfortunate that we don't have Judge Parker conducting civil cases so he could "hang 'em" at his convenience. But civil cases require $$ for your atty.
In either case - it takes one person that must drive it with a vengence. Unfortunately, alot of time transpires as we wait. Law Enorcement (aka Feds) are way too busy with high priorities and other cases and unless there is a multi-GAZillion dollar headline (for the investment spent) they are way too slow to react. When they do however it's like the queen mary when she turns (i.e. u don't want to be caught in the wake).
These conMen & scam artists know this as well. They count on it.
This particular thread's story however should be shared with news agencies across the country so it can go viral. Without publicity it doesn't get the attention it might otherwise deserve.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on
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Let's hope it's not like the Queen Mary. She's embedded in concrete and going nowhere.
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Hi Barry, i am confused, are you being sarcastic? Im assuming you are but for a minute it sounded like you were talking about Gladstone in a positive light and that he was an actual victim, lol. That truly is a joke. Gladstone is one of the biggest forgers out their and i sincerely hope that this poor man is able t get all his money back from this crook and then even more for compensation. Jerry Gladstone was forging items from the very beginning. He simply got caught by Steve and when he knew he was going to be sued out the ying yang, he made up the story that he was duped. The email Steve has from one of Gladstones workers says it all. That needs to be used in court against him. Gladstone is clearly picking out what guitars to forge and how to forge them. Its truly amazing. I cant wait till another disgruntled employee of his comes along and really unleashes the bomb that will shut him down for good.
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Chris,
I think you're mixing people up. I didn't call Jerry Gladstone a forger. But I did say he sold forgeries—lots of them. He bought them from suppliers, but he later claimed he didn't know they were forgeries. I find that rather impossible to believe, though.
He told me that a few months after the FBI reportedly raided his business. He mentioned them when he called me.
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Yes Chris, very sarcastic. Except for the A+ rating on the BBB. I would never cast Gladstone in a positive light. I'm very sorry if you thought that . I bought one of the many fake guitars he got from Gallery of Dreams, a couple of years ago. He bought $7000 guitars for a few hundred, but he didn't know they were fake. Sorry, being sarcastic again.
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Permalink Reply by sling on
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Note that Gladstone was the one who actually initiated the lawsuit that ended up being hs undoing.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on
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Rick:
What a heartbreaking story. My condolences on your tragic loss. I honor and thank Seth for his service and the ultimate sacrifice he made.
No matter what was done to you, nothing can take away the love you had for your son and the good times you shared. They can only hurt you financially... after that don't let them have any power over you or your thoughts.
My prayers are with you.
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