NEW EVIDENCE - Park West Gallery Investment Scheme Objective
by
Theresa Franks, for Fine Art Registry®
It is my pleasure to report that we have discovered new and compelling evidence that proves that Park West Gallery sells its artwork "on investment".
For the last three and a half years that Fine Art Registry® has been reporting on Park West Gallery's bad business practices, Albert Scaglione, CEO of Park West Gallery, has consistently testified under oath at trial and in depositions denying that Park West Gallery and its salesman/auctioneers represent or sell art as an investment or "on investment". This is simply not true and we now have the hard evidence in addition to the victims' sworn testimony [like Martha Szostak, Mike Vallillo, Sharon Day, Debi Austin and others] to prove it--courtesy of Park West Gallery. Victims report to us on a regular basis that Park West Gallery and its sales reps regularly use the word "investment" in pitching its art inventory to buyers. Catching a Park West Gallery salesman in the act of selling on investment is sort of like trying to nail jello to a wall. Park West Gallery also tries to slither out of any representations by its sales reps by claiming (as they did at trial) that NONE of the auctioneers or sales reps are actually their employees - but are employed by a third-party company that Park West Gallery set up in the Turks & Caicos Islands known as, Plymouth Auctioneering Services, on which we have reported extensively.
Because all verbal representations made by Park West Gallery salesmen, including Morris Shapiro, are not to be relied upon according to Park West's own invoice terms, victims find themselves with little recourse when they discover or learn that they did not get what they bargained for.
Park West Gallery's terms and conditions state in pertinent part, the following as to "verbal representations" in the sale of its artwork:
"NO VERBAL AGREEMENTS OR REPRESENTATIONS SHALL BE OF ANY FORCE OR EFFECT UNLESS SET FORTH IN WRITING IN THIS INVOICE..."
This means as a buyer you CANNOT and SHOULD NOT rely on a single word coming out of the mouth of Park West Gallery sales reps, auctioneers or whatever they would like to call themselves, including the Park West Gallery employees or customer service reps, and especially lead salesman, Morris Shapiro, or any other representative of Park West Gallery who is trying to sell you artwork. It's as plain as day. Agreeing to these terms is a very, very bad idea and should be avoided at all costs.
Now, if you are absolutely compelled to buy from Park West under these outlandish terms and conditions then make sure that any verbal representations OF ANY KIND are put in writing and especially as to value, authenticity, and the "investment" opportunity they will no doubt pitch to you. Putting these things in writing will happen when hell freezes over, of course, but there's no harm in asking. If by some stroke of luck you convince Park West to agree to memorialize their verbal representations in writing, make certain that it's Albert Scaglione that signs the document and make sure you have the document notarized.
Roy Saper of Saper Galleries, an award winning art gallery located in East Lansing, Michigan, provided the following sworn testimony in the state case--that is to say the Best, et al v. Park West Galleries, Inc. case [better known as the Sharon Day case] in which Park West Gallery also sued Fine Art Registry and the world's expert in Dali prints and graphics, Frank Hunter. Incredibly, this is the third lawsuit Park West Gallery has brought against Fine Art Registry. So far, we have been successful in winning two out of three:
"Park West clients often seek to sell their artwork and usually find their purchases available through galleries for prices significantly less than what they paid for it at cruise ship auctions. The deception resulting from grossly inflated selling prices and appraisal values is tested when Park West clients learn that they are unable to find a buyer and, in fact, they are able to buy the artwork from sources other than Park West for a mere fraction of what they paid at auction where they thought they were receiving a significantly discounted price.
"When art is being manufactured as a product and is stored and moved on pallets, it is then treated as a commodity. Commodities are traded as investments. Although Park West may market itself as a seller of fine art, it is really selling art as an investment. That is evidenced by its always claiming a value higher than the selling price, and in many cases further claiming a future value that is even greater – generally twice the claimed current appraised value. That is total deception.
"Further evidence of the Park West objective of selling art as an investment is the former print advertisements where the principal of Park West sits on a sofa and touts how much the artwork displayed on the wall behind the sofa has gone up in value compared to the change in value of the sofa. The message provided is that if you want a return on your dollar, invest in Park West art.
"Nothing further from that could be the case; unless you own Park West."
We recently obtained the slick "advertisement" that Roy Saper mentions in the bolded part of the quote above, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that what Fine Art Registry has reported from the beginning is indeed true: PARK WEST GALLERY DOES IN FACT SELL ON INVESTMENT. Three words referenced by Al Scaglione in the advertisement scream investment selling: "APPRECIATE", "APPRECIABLE", and "APPRECIATION". It also confirms all the reports of what victims have been disclosing to us for years. It also drives home the sworn testimony at trial of Sharon Day, Mike Vallillo, Debi Austin and Martha Szostak--they all stated they were sold artwork by Park West Gallery on investment.
I will be sharing this hard evidence soon with all that might have an interest. Gee, I wonder how much it would cost Park West Gallery to keep this evidence suppressed at trial. I mean they can try to bury all the evidence, cover up, redact, twist, and pervert the truth, but eventually the scale will tip no matter how many "do-overs" Park West Gallery gets.
Stay tuned for a "Truth to Power" video update with the documented evidence of the Park West Gallery "Sell on Investment" objective featuring Albert Scaglione - straight from the horse's mouth.
— by Theresa Franks
| August 22, 2010
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