The Harrisons found guilty of organising the £1 million raid on the Guitar Ranch, Verona in 2006.

Three-ColourSunburst

According to Pierpaolo Adda, owner of the Guitar Ranch.

AT THE END THE JUSTICE WON!

 And now the last update I have been waiting for 12 years!

On June 29, 2018 the Court of Verona finally pronounced itself on the unfortunate circumstances of my two thefts and recognized Richard (Rick) Harrison and Justin Harrison guilty as having designed and organized them.

I report the main parts of the sentence, which as soon as possible I will report here in full, with the related reasons, so that everyone knows who these two characters are who I considered colleagues and friends!

The full judgement, made on the 28th June this year in Verona, can be found here. (In Italian.) I guess the Harrison's won't be holidaying in Italy any time soon!

http://www.guitaranch.it/web/?page_id=15

Three-ColourSunburst

For those who don't know the story, the BBC Fake Britain program about the thefts seems to have disappeared from YouTube, but there is a copy here.

https://www.facebook.com/wesleyguitars/videos/917284418359036/

musicman100

What’s concerning is that mr pym is saying that he bought a guitar and he knew it wasn’t right straight away but he still tried to sell it on, until the police found his advert and intervened. So why didn’t he just return it straight way and rise his concerns. 

fendergibson

Three-ColourSunburst said:

For those who don't know the story, the BBC Fake Britain program about the thefts seems to have disappeared from YouTube, but there is a copy here.

https://www.facebook.com/wesleyguitars/videos/917284418359036/

Thanks for that vid, haven’t seen it before. Very interesting 

Gassage

There’s been huge conjecture about this. Does this mean the Harrison’s will be arrested? Is there an extradition treaty with Italy?

brooom

Justin, is the same scumbag who tried to buy my plexi just a couple of weeks ago. Despite the court ruling, these guys are still operating and in fact they use reverb.com and there's very little you can do to stop them from buying items you might have for sale.

crunchman

Gassage said:

There’s been huge conjecture about this. Does this mean the Harrison’s will be arrested? Is there an extradition treaty with Italy?

For the moment we are in the EU, so there shouldn't be any problem extraditing them.

JerkMoans

Gassage said:

There’s been huge conjecture about this. Does this mean the Harrison’s will be arrested? Is there an extradition treaty with Italy?

A European Arrest Warrant issued by one EU country's judicial authority is valid in the entire territory of the EU.

Although I do wonder whether the modmins should now stick this one BCD...

DB1

Three-ColourSunburst said:

For those who don't know the story, the BBC Fake Britain program about the thefts seems to have disappeared from YouTube, but there is a copy here.

https://www.facebook.com/wesleyguitars/videos/917284418359036/

Thanks for posting that (and the link) - I've wanted to watch that for a while, but as you say, it's disappeared from YouTube. It's a murky world out there. I have met DJP and chatted to him and he's extremely knowledgeable and (to me) seems as straight as a die. Rightly or wrongly, the thought of buying a vintage guitar (although I can't afford the big sticker money) in London terrifies me, although I appreciate that you can get burnt anywhere. I tend to stick to one vintage dealer who I enjoy buying from and dealing with, although I've met some other good ones as well. 

Bygone_Tones

Shame it's all in Italian. What does this mean, will they get another sentence?

brooom said:

Justin, is the same scumbag who tried to buy my plexi just a couple of weeks ago. Despite the court ruling, these guys are still operating and in fact they use reverb.com and there's very little you can do to stop them from buying items you might have for sale.

he's on ebay too, 'londonvintagegts'

Kitsune

crunchman said:

Gassage said:

There’s been huge conjecture about this. Does this mean the Harrison’s will be arrested? Is there an extradition treaty with Italy?

For the moment we are in the EU, so there shouldn't be any problem extraditing them.

Unless they sit back for 6 months and wait for no deal. Sitting pretty for a while longer then.

Hmmm, I had a "londonvintage" style bidder on my Rick when I sold it a while ago. Straight in too, but they were outbid at the last minute. Will have to look up the name again.

*edit* "VintagePlusLondonGuitars" - anyone know anything about that buyer?

DB1

Kitsune said:

crunchman said:

Gassage said:

There’s been huge conjecture about this. Does this mean the Harrison’s will be arrested? Is there an extradition treaty with Italy?

For the moment we are in the EU, so there shouldn't be any problem extraditing them.

Unless they sit back for 6 months and wait for no deal. Sitting pretty for a while longer then.

Hmmm, I had a "londonvintage" style bidder on my Rick when I sold it a while ago. Straight in too, but they were outbid at the last minute. Will have to look up the name again.

*edit* "VintagePlusLondonGuitars" - anyone know anything about that buyer?

Yes, I do - I cancelled a purchase by them. I'll send you a DM, because it could have been 'crossed wires'. 

TateFX

On a side note I have met and spoken with David and he seems to be extremely knowledgeable and like a decent guy. I wonder why he had it for sale if he suspected it to be off. Maybe he missed it and was embarrassed to say so, who knows. 

lukedlb

Stu_tate said:

On a side note I have met and spoken with David and he seems to be extremely knowledgeable and like a decent guy. I wonder why he had it for sale if he suspected it to be off. Maybe he missed it and was embarrassed to say so, who knows. 

The Italian sentence states that they planned and organised the theft, if I understand correctly, according to guitar ranch’s headline. 

DB1

I was talking to an ex-employee of theirs the other week, and heard about the story. Amazing really, and they still have the front to appear in public!

lukedlb

Court sentences aren’t the easiest to read. It seems they have five years of prison and 50,000 to pay plus expenses. 

terada

As I said in another thread, all I know about vintage gear is that I don't know enough about vintage gear.

Too many sharks out there for me to dip my toe in.

DB1

terada said:

As I said in another thread, all I know about vintage gear is that I don't know enough about vintage gear.

Too many sharks out there for me to dip my toe in.

I agree - what I know about vintage guitars you could tattoo on the left buttock of a gerbil. As the £ signs tend to be bigger with vintage guitars, it starts to get riskier, obviously. I found a dealer who I was comfortable with and have done four deals so far, and they've been deals that have been very helpful. No affiliation, by the way, just a happy punter. I've also bought a couple of cheaper ones privately (a Grabber Bass and a 1955 ES-125) and a nice 1938 ES-150, along with original case and an assessment from a Gibson historian, from Chris at the excellent Amp Guitars in Macclesfield. I don't want to come across as an advertisement for a specific dealer, because there are some good ones out there, but if anyone's thinking of getting into the vintage Gibson/Fender scene, then do feel free to DM me and I'll happily give you my (limited) experience. 

crunchman

terada said:

As I said in another thread, all I know about vintage gear is that I don't know enough about vintage gear.

Too many sharks out there for me to dip my toe in.

There are some really good modern guitars around as well.  If you can find a really good vintage one they are great, but they are silly money.  10 or 12 years ago, I played a refinished 50s Tele with a shaved down neck that was £2k more than I've just paid for an is absolutely stunning R9.  That Tele might have been the best sounding electric guitar I've played but I have played a handful of modern ones that run it close.  When you think what it would have cost in unmolested condition it's just silly money.

DB1

I agree - I'm very much into the vintage vibe (30's,40's,50's,60's Gibsons really) but most of my guitars are post-2000 and there are some great guitars in there. For me, the mix of modern and vintage fulfils just about every need, guitarwise. 

musicman100

Stu_tate said:

On a side note I have met and spoken with David and he seems to be extremely knowledgeable and like a decent guy. I wonder why he had it for sale if he suspected it to be off. Maybe he missed it and was embarrassed to say so, who knows. 

That’s exactly what I’ve said.