Archives for February 2016

February 10, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Former Mastro Auctions President Doug Allen Sentenced To 57 Months In Federal Prison

As mentioned last week, Federal prosecutors were seeking a four year prison sentence for Doug Allen, the former President of disgraced sports memorabilia auction house Mastro Auctions. U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman went further than that in the case of shill bidding and fake memorabilia, sentencing Doug Allen to 57 months, a much stiffer sentence than the 20 months co-defendant Bill Mastro is serving. Allen attempted to obstruct the FBI investigation after learning of it, which would seem to have earned him a longer prison sentence. [Read more…]

February 10, 2016 By Jason DeBord

“James Bond Spectre: The Auction” by Christie’s & EON Productions Coming; Live Auction Feb 18th & Online Auction Ends Feb 23rd

The most exciting original movie prop and costume sale event announced thus far this year would have to be the “James Bond Spectre: The Auction” coming from Christie’s and EON Productions. James Bond is one of the strongest and oldest genre film franchises and the material that is part of this auction comes straight from the production with their sanctioning, making it all the more desirable. Split into part invitation-only live auction (10 lots on February 18th) and part online-only auction (14 lots with bidding running from February 16th through February 23rd), the 24 lots from Spectre come directly form the EON Productions archives, along with donations from Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Jesper Christensen and Sam Smith. All proceeds from the auctions “will benefit Médecins Sans Frontières and number of other charitable institutions”. [Read more…]

February 4, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Deckard’s Original Hero PKD Blaster from “Blade Runner” Featured on Adam Savage’s “TESTED”

Adam Savage has published a video via TESTED with his hands on look at Deckard’s PKD Blaster from Blade Runner. The iconic pistol used by Harrison Ford in the Ridley Scott film is now part of the collection of a good friend of mine, Dan Lanigan. As part of this feature, you also get a glimpse of his incredible collection. I kept waiting for Steve Carell to jump into the scene and exclaim, “that’s what she said”, but (spoiler) it never happens. Profiles in History sold this at auction in 2009, and I did a feature with photos of how it was delivered to production at the time leading up to the auction event… [Read more…]

February 3, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Daily News Updates Their Ongoing Investigation on Mastro Auctions Fraud Case; Prosecutors Seek Four Year Prison Sentence for Doug Allen

Michael O’Keeffe with the New York Daily News continues to chronicle the ongoing saga surrounding Mastro Auctions and the Justice Department’s prosecution of principals from the sports memorabilia auction house, based on the FBI investigation that began in 2007. Yesterday, prosecutor filed papers with the Chicago federal court seeking a 57 month prison term for former Mastro Auctions president, Doug Allen, as a result of his “outright contempt” for law enforcement. [Read more…]

February 3, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Heritage Auction Galleries ‘Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction’ Catalog Online, Event To Be Held February 20th in Dallas

Heritage Auction Galleries has published on their latest online catalog and listings for their upcoming event, “Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction – Beverly Hills #7159”, to be held February 20th in Dallas, Texas. The sale features 601 lots of music and rock and roll items and vintage/classic Hollywood stars and personally owned items/estate items. [Read more…]

February 3, 2016 By Jason DeBord

Luke Skywalker Movie Prop Blaster from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” Fails to Sell at Nate D. Sanders Auction

A stunt blaster prop attributed to use by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back failed to attract any bids at it’s hopeful $200,000 starting price in the most recent Nate D. Sanders auction last week. Though featuring an interesting history and a prior sale at Sotheby’s, as well as a lot of mainstream media attention leading up to the auction (see CNBC, CBS, Reuters, MSN, EW, Daily Mail, NBC, etc.), the “jackpot” reserve strategy employed by Hollywood memorabilia auction houses that I’ve frequently written about seemed to be the barrier to sale. [Read more…]