Customer Reviews

Operation Bullpen

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Operation Bullpen illustrates in riveting detail just how a bunch of average schmoes stepped onto the slippery slope of crime, got hooked hard, and were never able to get out of it until the FBI managed to push them out. The portrayal of the FBI operation is facinating in its depiction of the agents as just regular working guys with the liabilities and weaknesses that most of us are prone to. One of the great episode sequences in the book is when the FBI agents begin to meet and interact with the forgery ring members. It's better than watching a nature show -- you get a perspective of human nature at work in the contest between good vs. bad, or at least in society's struggle between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, and it makes for an highly engrossing study.

Operation Bullpen is the true story of the high-flying national crime ring that forged the autographs of sports stars and celebrities and ripped off American consumers for more than $100 million, before being busted by a dramatic three-year FBI undercover investigation. Nelson conducted exclusive interviews with forgers, counterfeit dealers, and the FBI to piece together both sides of the drama. This is an often unbelievable, sometimes funny, and always interesting book about autographs and forgery.

I was particularly fascinated by the story of Greg Marino, master forger. In order to get into the signing zone he'd smoke pot and often sit in front of the TV to work. Marino would consult real exemplar autographs that he and his cohorts had collected and carefully cataloged in a series of binders.

After many years and hundreds of thousands of autographs, I was amazed that Marino could forge any sig just by looking once at the exemplar. The stories of Marino sitting in a comfortable chair with his signing arm propped up on pillows, stoned to the bone, and polishing off 400 sigs while watching a Yankees game on TV made my draw drop.

The inside account of the three year undercover FBI sting operation brought the book together, making it feel like a thriller. We experience the ups and downs of individual agents assigned to the case, learn about wiretaps and hidden recording devices, and sit at the edge of our seat as the busts come down. Every serious autograph collector and dealer needs to read and understand the story of how the biggest forgery scam in American history.

This is an excellent book and one of those that you can devour in a single sitting. The author uses a nice style - switching back and forth from the good guys to the bad guys - and does a great job of character development (not that these characters needed much development!). You're left feeling a bit sorry for the bad guys and a little frustrated with the federales (for making so many mistakes and taking so long) - a nice balance. The interesting thing about this book is that it's not perfectly written from a technical sense - there are a number of obvious errors (names of famous people misspelled or wrong, facts that are off), but given the amateur nature of the whole operation, in the end, it actually ADDS to the experience. The criminals are VERY imperfect people doing a perfect con job, and the FBI and law enforcement types are "supposed to be perfect" but are far from it... so the somewhat crude nature of the writing absolutely fits. I collect sports memorabilia, mostly baseball cards, and I'll be taking extra caution after reading this. And I'll NEVER buy a third-party autograph, "certified" or not! Here's one reader hoping there's a "Bullpen 2" that tells us what happened to these people 5 years out or so...

I have been collecting sports memorabilia and working autograph shows since I was 14. I learned a lot from this book, specifically how the criminals actually fake autographs. We would always know which dealer at a show had fake items, etc, but this book really shows you just how widespread fakes were and still are in the market.

This book is well researched and quite frankly shocking and eye opening, you really never know if an autograph is real unless you get it personally. I always thought the "Authenticiation" companies were a lot of hype and this book proves that. A master forger such as Marino is too good to be caught by a run of the mill employee of an Authentication Company.

Again, bottom line, if you have, collect, or are thinking about starting an autograph collection or even just sports memorabilis collection read this book. You have no idea how many baseball cards, etc are fakes too.

I have heard of the notorious "Mother Teresa baseball", but I had never imagined such a complex story behind it. I was totally blown away by the scale of the forgery. There must be tons of Marino's works in Japan since they really love the baseball players and Hollywood stars. Do they even know they may have fakes? Funny thing is that I started to want to have Marino's work. He sounds like such a talented artist himself.
What I loved the most about this book was the realistic portrayal of the characters. You can relate to both the criminals and the FBI agents. Great work indeed.

Operation Bullpen is a great book for anyone who is interested in the collectables field. As a former card dealer I was even familiar with a few of the people involved.

The author understand the collecting world. He talks about cards and autographs as an expert which is refreshing. All too often people write about the hobby but make glaring errors showing they really dont understand what they are writing about. This book is right on! This guy knows the hobby and it's players.

It's a book that I so enjoyed reading that I rationed myself 25 pages here and 50 pages there. I stopped only because I wanted the experience to last and not be over too soon.

It's all about fake autograph conartists and how they were captured . It's a must read for anyone who has purchased autographed items or is planning to in the future. Know your seller and the "how" or "where" your item was aquired!

I have been interested in autographed sports memorabilia for a number of years, and I have a decent collection. Having heard about this case, I found the book. This was a good read, and very interesting. Some of the stuff that happened, particularly with the"vintage" stars, was amazing. I'd recommend this for anyone interested in memorabilia, but particularly if you collect it. Be careful where you get your goods from. A deal that sounds too good probably is. And anybody that has a large amount of stuff signed by Ruth or Mantle or those sorts of guys, be very suspicious of.

Author Kevin Nelson smacks a home run that chronicles an FBI operation which entered the dark shadows of multi-billion-dollar sports memorabilia industry and snagged a California-based group that had cornered the illegal market in the 1990s.

In the dugout for the crooks was a variety of individuals who had all the bases covered in the marketplace, including a "master" forger who signed at least one million bogus autographs - and pocketed $10 million during the scam - and a frustrated memorabilia dealer who turned "dirty" after he saw how the game was being played by others.

The venue for a good chunk of the fraudulent merchandise was TV home shopping shows. The FBI confiscated a portion of the "collectibles," but not everything.

Nelson covers all the bases through meticulous interviews of FBI agents, members of the gang and additional background research. Though a sordid tale of incredible greed and the pursuit of an easy score, it also demonstrates how an intoxicating lure of a superstar signature can get collectors plunking down serious dollars for a mirage.

Anyone who is interested in the hobby of autograph collecting should read this book! It's an eye opener. A roller-coaster ride of a story that draws you in. Thanks to the author for writing such a good story; a true story.....Buy It!

The book is fascinating, and I got it in a hurry.