“Masterminds” Episode on Operation Bullpen on YouTube

BY KEVIN NELSON In 2006 the “Masterminds” TV series produced an episode on the Operation Bullpen case that you can now watch on Youtube. Well, excerpts from it anyhow. The excerpts were posted by a guy named “JoeMLM,” whose purpose is to call attention to the ongoing problem of forgeries in the memorabilia trade. Some [...]

Q&A on Forgeries, Fakes and Corruption vs. Love

BY KEVIN NELSON  Recently I received an email from Stephen Andon, a PhD candidate in Communication at Florida State University, who is writing a dissertation on sports memorabilia. After having read Operation Bullpen and the blogging  I’m doing for Autograph Magazine and at my Bullpen website, he wanted to ask me a few questions about [...]

Instant Reaction to ‘Monsters’

BY KEVIN NELSON Oct. 13, 2010 One of the great things about the Internet is that you can get instantaneous feedback on your writing. So it is with Monsters Behind The Door, my piece on the anonymous threats and bullying used by forgers and counterfeiters that went up on Autograph Magazine’s site just a couple [...]

Monsters Behind the Door—The Power Struggle in Autographs Today

By Kevin Nelson

HBO Program on Forgeries on YouTube

BY KEVIN NELSON Sept. 3, 2010 Anyone interested in forgeries and fake

Operation Bullpen Keeps Making News

BY KEVIN NELSON August 23, 2010 I continue to be amazed—and flattered—by the attention that my book, Operation Bullpen: The Inside Story of the Biggest Forgery Scam in American History, continues to receive nearly four years after publication. In an interview this month in Collectors Weekly, Sotheby’s consultant and Antiques Roadshow appraiser Leila Dunbar says: [...]

‘Champions Forever’ Sigs: Real or Fake?

Boxing fans have read and enjoyed Operation Bullpen: The Inside Story of the Biggest Forgery Ring in American History, and I know this because I get emails from them. Here’s the latest one, which popped into my email box at KevinNelsonWriter.com just the other day: “Hi, I have been fascinated by your book. I am [...]

Forging Author Signatures: A Nice Racket, Too

April 28, 2010. BY KEVIN NELSON Is the forging of author autographs as widespread as the forging of celebrities and sports stars? I ask this because of new revelations about Forest Smith, the Pennsylvania forger who was sentenced to prison in February for ripping off book collectors and others to the tune of $300,000. According [...]

Yes, Forgeries are Sold at Charity Auctions

By KEVIN NELSON March 11, 2010 Do forgers and fraud artists sell their fake goods at charity auctions? I was asked this question by a reader who had bought a signed 1932 Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig baseball at a charity auction and was appalled at the idea that it could be bogus. “I bought [...]

Ali Forgeries: A Painful Truth

BY KEVIN NELSON March 3, 2010 The other day I was looking into Muhammad Ali forgeries, and I had a surprising and disturbing revelation. Here is a photo of an authentic Ali signature sent to me by my friend Travis Roste, who runs joeheavyweight.com and wrote the article, “Heavyweight Autographs” in the latest issue of [...]

Next Page »