UBB.threads Forums General Interest Community Center Craig Gottlieb expelled from WAF

Interesting.
Appears he was engaged in some shenanigans over an alleged Mengele passport and, after much ado, was given the heave ho.
We'll see if it sticks, and what if anything comes from the team of experts who are said to be examining this document. I imagine GDC may be his outlet for any breaking news since he is now silenced at WAF, at least for the time being.

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=717482

Just read the thread on WAF and find it incrediable what a mess.

My goodness, just read the entire thread and it is even better than a soap opera.

Funny how friends stay silent during a turmoil ?

Where are the Laurel and Hardy ?

He even went on various FaceBook(FaceWaste) groups/pages touting this POS fake/fantasy passport.

I would like to see him come clean with the source of this, whether it is fake or genuine I don't see why it has to be treated like a state secret. Very good odds the source is a forger/fraud/scammer, quicker hes outted the better, and longer Craig waits the worse it looks on him for protecting the identity of a possible high level thief.

There are only 2 possibilities, Craig - Either its good or its not.
If its good, then the source of this questionable document would no doubt love the attention.
If its bad, then its self evident why he should be revealed. Do the right thing, salvage some of your rep and put it on record, unless there is some compelling reason not to. He needs to be outted, not to satisfy my curiosity or anyone else, but simply to protect others from getting burned.

Well. That turned down hill quick lol

Wow!

That is something else.

Well, when you do questionable things, they catch up with you! He has been given a free pass for too long in the hobby and now is the time for it to stop.
Ron

Craig always throws everyone, within arms length, under the bus. However this time he was protecting The Source (forger), which leads many to the conclusion of why, all of which (in the real world) doesn't look good for him. The WAF thread reads like a slow mo train wreak with a 'Legend in his own mind' trying to steer the UN-steerable wreak of his own making.

What's bad for the hobby has to go, or the hobby goes down the drain.

Serge

Really are any of you surprised about CG...This guy seems to do this to himself...I don't understand how he can even walk any more,he keeps shooting himself in his feet so many times.


Sepp

GDC 0292 Gold

I have read many different threads and posts about if there is ever a doubt about the authenticity of a certain item, that the person selling it should "come clean" and reveal the truth about it , and where it came from. Then I have read in many places how with each passing year there are more and more fakes and garbage turning up at the MAX and SOS. "tables of fakes". And that no one says anything about it.

We'll if I could I would call them out on it. Here on this site many of you have been extremely helpful when it comes to someone asking if a certain item is legit The knowledge I have learned here ihas been very beneficial . But in a hobby where we would like to see more collectors, how detrimental would it be for someone to buy a " fake" at a show for quite a bit of money just to find out its junk! No more collector, bad experience , kill the hobby!

Yes, I know about buyer beware, but where do you start when you don't know about all the tiny details about a dagger? Yes, read and educate yourself. Getting burned should not be a lesson every collector should go through especially when this is an expensive hobby I really hope that the more knowledgable guys will point them out at the SOS. If not, you will have more people come to see your collection / museum and "window shop" and be too afraid to buy because of the fear of throwing away a few thousand. Wish there was a true way of authentication It would be better than nothing IMO.

Call me a sceptic, but after close inspection of the passport, I doubt that picture is Mengele.

ha ha,, some funny comments just here alone and I didn't even see the WAF site. .
There is just SO much bullshit with his questionable or outright fake items every year.. Yet when he has the piece you/we want he gets the sale,,oh well such is the state of our hobby now...Really,,I don't think dealers like him or Floch should even be allowed to have a table at the big shows.

Craig has elevated himself to the upper levels of militaria collecting, and he is obviously a very good talker and self promoter ,,, Perhaps too much so, I doubt if "humble" is in his vocabulary. I have no doubt about his passion, but I think greed & vanity are overriding factors here and led him to make some rash decisions that morphed into this latest fiasco.
Credit where credit is due, the man has probably had 1,000's of successful transactions, and his stint on pawn stars and drive to create his own spinoff are noteworthy ,,, But unfortunately, it will be scandals like this that sticks in everyones minds. One can only hope that he is capable of learning lessons and concede that everyone, including himself, is capable of making mistakes ,,, And its often how one handles the aftermath that makes the mark on the man.

IMO, Craig will spin this and try and come out looking like the good guy again. He's likely trying to track down the faker and will have a full camera crew with him to film the "take down". In the end he will tell us all how it was all a ruse to catch the guy and he couldn't talk about cause it was an active investigation.
Not of a fan of the guy, but he is a great spin doctor.

We tried to voice these concerns/attitudes/characteristics before on the forum and were either censored, banned or told we were just haters. What they falied to realize, was we just wanted to protect the hobby and identified actons like CG displayed as bad for the hobby. Has nothing to do with the person but his actions. I am glad it is being realize by this forum and others. Ron

CG used to occasionally appear on "Pawn Stars" as an "arms expert." Haven't seen him there for awhile. Anything, regardless of what it is, advertised as rare, with a high price, is likely to be a fraud, but not necessarily so.

Storm in a tea-cup!!
Front page of L.A.Times Feb 8th
Gottlieb found dead in mens toilet in San Diego.
"Naked bound and gagged" suspected homicide.
Ongoing
Seiler (yank in UK)

I agree with you Tanker. I'm still waiting for an answer to my earlier post. CG is one guy. How about all the others? Especially if they sell bogus stuff right in front of reputable dealers.

we have lost many great members from scandals like this over their albeit correct comments , I was never so glad to see him leave this forum. Leave it over on WAF guys we do not need to loose any more members here just saying this is one with potential to get nasty.

I dunno Paul ... This is legit TR collecting news, we can't shy away from addressing or even acknowledging things like this, else the forum will turn into pretty much a meek sales venue and little more. Any forum you have guys walking around on eggshells to some degree, this one is no exception and neither is WAF, all kinds of guys there predicting a ban for speaking their minds.
So long as there is no mudslinging or baseless innuendo I don't think it will be a problem, Craig no doubt wants to see this issue get buried the quicker the better, I think it should stay alive until it is resolved in some fashion. Yes they booted him from WAF but they also locked down the thread, so save for people who have read it or participated in it, there will be many unaware of this potential scandal.

I have no qualms about the guy promoting himself as long as he's an honest dealer and clearly advertises the correct persona of himself, so that he's not perceived to be someone he clearly might not be. Is he an honest dealer? That's the question that needs to be addressed! I don't know him so I can't say.

But what I don't like, and this is from my perception from seeing and reading things from his own self serving hand is himself giving off the persona and perception of someone he clearly isn't without correction. Using words like found, uncovered or discovered under the disguise as a hunter of history or "History Hunter" when in fact he didn't go hunting for anything. These items were clearly brought to him.

If this passport is fake then why is he still promoting it as genuine to the world, and then why not correct it? See his Wikipedia page at; Gottlieb

you are totally correct Doug just don't want to see any more of the old guard disappear from here used to be so much fun.

Nothing positive so I edited post..

soft voice...First time I've had a statement edited. Why? It's a neutral statement, neither positive or negative. It's a question for goodness sake and a legitimate question that only CG can answer. Not only that, the statement is factual. It's stated on the page mentioned as well as the news and other sources. Which, if he still is allowing this passport to be looked at or not by forensics I'm sure he will provide information in due time or not. That's up to him. Thank you.

This great site "GDC" that we have "privileged" access to, isn't responsible for the actions of it's members are they? So why would that statement ruffle anyone's feathers? It shouldn't!

I agree, This should not have been edited! A legitmate question that needs an answer. If we start editing and censoring, then we will never know the truth. If the forum does that, then they are afraid of the truth being said. Ron

Are you sure it was edited? Usually down at the bottom its says edited by Whoever. See Damst edit thread above.

Although the statement is still there. It is stated, Nothing positive so I edited post. So the intent is?

I take it to mean Damast edited his own post because he decided it (his post) was nothing positive.

But ask him.

--dj--Joe

I am only guessing, but I think Damast edited his own post. Because no one edited Mikee's post.

So, let us hear from Damast before we start lighting the torches and grabbing the pitchforks.

I tend to agree. No harm, no foul.Ron

Soft voice, Mikee:

The only person who edited your post was yourself. You posted it at 02:54 02/09/14 and went back 7 times over the next 32 minutes to change the words you posted. Each change is recorded in the Admin Log along with the date, time and the IP of the person who made the change. The IP is yours. No one else touched your post

You also went back 4 times to amend post #294671 above

DAMAST edited his own post once as noted.

Dave

PS - Sometimes the edit is recorded on the post and sometimes not. Why, I do not know

I'll bite ,,, Who/what is "soft voice" ?

Yes, Sorry for all the confusion, I edited my own post..... I wrote something that was true but not positive at all and I deleted my post.. Regards: James

When you edit a post, there is a check mark at the bottom labeled "Mark as Edited?". If you click on it, it will remove the check mark, and the edit will not be recorded on the new post. It will still show as edited in the Admin Logs

So, Mikee there is no problem at all with you posts.....I just made a mess of things when I edited my post. There that should straighten it all out....

Soft voice.. Dave you are correct, I'm the only one that changed my post and always take the time allotted to edit my own post. Like I'm doing right now. So, of course I know what I wrote, I just misunderstood Damast's post. I thought he had the power to if he wanted, I was wrong. "My misunderstanding". I'm sorry and my humble apologies to Damast and to anyone else I've offended for my misunderstanding. Sorry you had to work so hard to dig up all those changes Dave!

Mikee,,yeah just technical difficulties ,[everyone in soft voice now],,,yes please, thank you, yes sir, we can all get along now..

Aw HELL! 'lighting the torches and grabbing the pitchforks' is so much more fun!!! ,,,Come on guys who's got a freakin match!

Mac66,

Read our Code of Conduct again please. The bits about insults and adult language. Thanks

Dave, worse things have been said at a kindergarten.

this forum is to heavily policed imo.