Today, professional wrestler Lanny Poffo has declared that a Letter of Authenticity bearing his (misspelled) name and signature, included as proof of authenticity in a recent *stoneark* auction, is fraudulent.
As has been noted in past features (see Market Watch | “stonark” / “*stoneark*” (Corner Collectibles / Cornner Collectibles)), Anthony Shkutnick, selling on eBay as *stoneark* (recently changed from stonark) has paired his own Corner Collectibles Certificate of Authenticity along with Letters of Authenticity from auction houses and a variety of other sources and individuals which are marked by unresolved questions and concerns.
I have been unable to verify the existence of most of these firms and individuals listed in the Letters of Authenticity that have been shared with me by buyers – as most of those named in the documents cannot be found to exist or are actual people but deceased.
This, along with other issues, has raised a number of questions as to the provenance and authenticity of these items offered for sale.
The Lanny Poffo-related document is rare in that it bears the name and signature of an actual living person – and he has now clearly identified it as a forgery.
The related auction listing also happens to be one of the case study examples from the recent study into the activities of eBay accounts that comprise a *stoneark* “Buyer/Bidder Network”, which raises the additional concern of possible shill bidding on the eBay auction listings.
The following is one of 280 items listed on eBay by Anthony Shkutnick in December 2008, which, per the buyer, included the “Lenny Poffo” document.
MISS ELIZABETH HEWLETTE OWNED 3pc JEWELRY SET
eBay Item # 120345039149
eBay Bid History
As noted in the opening, this was one of the case study auctions archived in an article a few days ago, which examined bidding patterns of 6 eBay accounts that comprise a *stoneark* “Buyer/Bidder Network” (see related articles – Part 1 & Part 2). 4 of the 6 accounts identified were all underbidders in this particular auction.
Below is the annotated version of the eBay Bid History from the prior article, identifying the eBay accounts participating in the “Buyer/Bidder Network” (with only the winning bidder being outside of the identified network):
In any event, I have received copies of the documentation included with this item sold on eBay by Anthony Shkutnick as evidence of authenticity.
This included the “Cornner Collectibles” Certificate of Authenticity (recently changed from “Corner Collectibles”) as well as a Letter of Authenticity from “Angelo Poffo” and “Lenny Poffo”.
Background: John Angelo Poffo – excerpt per Wikipedia (LINK):
John Angelo Poffo (born April 10, 1925) is a former professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, of Italian origin. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He is most noted for being the father of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “Leaping” Lanny Poffo/The Genius. He also held the world sit up record for several years, his total being 6,033 in one sitting.
Background: Lanny Poffo – excerpt per LannyPoffo.com (LINK):
Lanny Poffo was born in Calgary, Canada on December 28th, 1954. He hales from a family of professional wrestlers and has always been fond of poetry. He was the Poet Laureate of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation, now the WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment from 1985-1989. In his wrestling career, he would compose and recite an original poem before each bout.
At first, he was known as “Leaping Lanny” (a good guy) and published a book of wrestling poetry entitled Leaping Lanny: Wrestling with Rhyme. “Leaping Lanny” later transformed into a pseudo-intellectual villain called “The Genius” and made appearances dressed in a cap and gown. From 1989 to 1993, “The Genius” character continually antagonized his audiences. He wrestled Hulk Hogan on the TV show Saturday Night’s Main Event and gave a performance that is still considered by many to be the most hilarious wrestling spectacle ever.
His father, Angelo Poffo, was featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not! for holding the world record for sit-ups: 6033 in four hours and ten minutes. Angelo went on to have a long career in pro-wrestling. He is 79 and has been smoke-free his entire life.
Lanny’s brother is pro-wrestling’s infamous Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Randy played “Bonesaw McGraw” in the 2002 hit motion picture Spider-Man.
Below are scans of 1) the Cornner Collectibles Certificate of Authenticity and 2) the “Angelo Poffo” and “Lenny Poffo” Letter of Authenticity provided by the winner of the eBay auction.
NOTE: Elizabeth Hulette – the individual to whom the jewelry is attributed – is misspelled in the eBay listing (“ELIZABETH HEWLETTE”), the Cornner Collectibles COA (“ELIZABETH HEWLETTE”), and the Poffo LOA (“ELIZABETH HEWHELETTE”).
The Letter of Authenticity reads:
June 10, 97
To whom it may concern,
Sold to Anthony Shkutnick
Necklace, Bracelet & Earrings
Owned By Miss ELIZABETH HEWHELETTE –
Elizabeth Poffo x wife of my son
Randy Savage –
Angelo Poffo –
x [signature]
WITNESS – LENNY POFFO
x [signature]
Note that in addition to Ms. Hulette’s name being misspelled, so is Mr. Lanny Poffo’s name misspelled (“LENNY” instead of “Lanny”).
Also note that the letter includes Anthony Shkutnick’s name as buyer.
I have been in direct contact with Mr. Lanny Poffo, and he has today granted me permission to publish his statement regarding his assessment of the Letter of Authenticity shown above:
I, Lanny Poffo did NOT sign the attached document. This is a FRAUD.
Lanny Poffo
www.lannypoffo.com
Note that there was a second “ELIZABETH HEWLETTE” eBay auction listed in December:
MISS ELIZABETH HEWLETTE OWNED 2pc JEWELRY SET
eBay Item # 120344526501
eBay Bid History
In the case of the second “HEWLETTE” auction, both bidders (including the winning bidder) are 2 of the 6 accounts identified as part of the *stoneark* “Buyer/Bidder Network”.
As an update, I published a topic on eBay’s “Community Help Boards” in the “Trust & Safety (Safeharbor)” forums asking for a review of the possible shill bidding (6 eBay members making over 250 bids exclusively on *stoneark* listings in the month of December, as detailed in Part 1 & Part 2 of the Original Prop Blog analysis of this activity).
Below is an archive of my query posed to eBay Trust & Safety (LINK):
eBay deleted this “Trust & Safety” concern from their “Community Help Boards” 12 minutes later.
This happened in early December as well (see eBay Deletes “Trust & Safety” Discussion Topic About *stoneark* (AKA stonark, AKA Corner Collectibles)).
Archive – Topic Deletion Explanation Response (received via e-mail):
I filed another inquiry directly with eBay through their third-party reporting mechanisms as well, and have received nothing beyond their automated response.
Archive – Shill Bidding Report Response (received via e-mail):
90-Day Sales Archive
Below is the Goofbay 90-day archive of stonark / *stoneark* eBay public sales activity as of December 27, 2008:
The 90-day “Total Value Sold” on eBay, per Goofbay, is $33,653.50 (an average of $11,217.93/month).
All related articles can be found here: Market Watch | stonark /*stoneark* (Corner Collectibles / Cornner Collectibles)
If anyone has any additional information, please publish a Reader Comment below or contact me.
Jason De Bord