In regard to the American Royal Arts vs. Frank Caiazzo lawsuit, we have not taken this matter lightly.  In more than 20 years in business, we have never filed a lawsuit or have been sued, so the decision to take this action did not come without a great deal of thought.

We, as a company, have taken every step possible to ensure the authenticity of each and every piece we offer and to act in the most responsible manner on our client's behalf.

When filing this lawsuit, it was apparent to us that it had to happen.  Unfortunately, we had no choice.  The matter at hand challenges the very core of our integrity and cannot be just pushed aside.

To better educate the public, let me tell you where we were.

Mr. Caiazzo positioned himself as the supreme being in the industry.  If he gave his blessing on a piece, the selected item could potentially be worth $ 50,000 or more.  If he did not, it was potentially worthless, along with the reputation of the company offering the item.

It is obvious that no single individual should have that much power or influence on the marketplace, particularly when there is a tremendous conflict of interest as well as an inferior methodology employed.  In addition, the actions of one "self-proclaimed expert" should not diminish the many other competent authenticators in the industry.

The most important thing to concentrate on with this case is the facts and when it comes to our lawsuit against Frank Caiazzo, the facts are quite simple.  Mr. Caiazzo buys, sells and authenticates his own items.  He has no scientific training.    It is very important to understand that reputable authenticators offer their opinion, but Mr. Caiazzo went far beyond that, stating as fact that our signed album was "a recent forgery from Southern California which now joins its little brothers and sisters."  Again, he states this as fact, but does not produce any evidence at all to back up the statement.

In addition, Frank Caiazzo never physically had the album in his possession.  He never saw it, handled or examined the actual item in question.  The statement that he makes is based upon a methodology that is inadequate to say the least.   He looked at a jpeg of the album and not the actual piece.

Christopher Morales, who we have no affiliation with other than using his services as a third party forensic document examiner, is highly trained, puts every item under a microscope and insists on having the item in his possession. 

If you have visited the website about the lawsuit, http://www.frankcaiazzolawsuit.com/, you will see a letter there from Perry Cox, another self-proclaimed expert and associate of Frank Caiazzo, trying to raise money for Mr. Caiazzo's defense fund.  You will see that based on the scan and the history of the album shown that Mr. Cox plainly lied about the album being a re-release.  We have an e-mail from Mr. Cox admitting he was wrong - well after the damage was done. 

The reason we use Mr. Morales' service is because the testimony of people with just practical experience is hardly ever admissible in court, while that of people with scientific training is. 

Mr. Morales is a court-qualified forensic science expert.  He holds Dual Masters Degrees in Forensic Science and Security Management from George Washington University.  He was a Special Agent for the U.S Secret Service, an International Police Technical Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice, International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and a Faculty Advisor and Adjunct Faculty Member, Forensic Science Department, George Washington University (GWU).  He has planned, developed, and equipped complete forensic laboratories in Latin America and Caribbean.  Mr. Morales is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the International Association for Identification.

It is also important to understand that we do not depend solely on Mr. Morales.  Another highly qualified forensic document examiner, E'Lyn Bryan reviewed the same item and found it, in her opinion, to be genuine.  In addition to using known exemplars, Ms. Bryan used ultra violet and infrared tests, as well as side light tests.

Ms. Bryan is a Certified and Court-Qualified Forensic Document Examiner.  She is a frequent lecturer, instructor and published author on the subject of forensic document examination.  She is president of the South Florida Investigators Association and is a member of the National Association of Document Examiners, the National Questioned Document Examiners Association, the Forensic Expert Witness Association and the Southeast Handwriting Association.  Ms. Bryan has been invited to host the 2009 National Association of Document Examiners Conference.

Most recently, in a 2007 court case, Daniels vs. Mastronet, the judge ruled that the testimonies of the individuals who were testifying based on their practical experience in regard to determining authenticity was not admissible in a court of law.  The legal system relies solely on the testimonies of court-approved forensic document examiners.

In another case, Kumbo Tire Co. vs. Carmichael (1999), the Supreme Court ruled that federal trial judges are to screen out "testimony by expert witnesses when opinions are not based in science."  The ruling extended to all manners of experts, including handwriting analysts, and said that before they are permitted to testify before a jury, experts must show that their opinions are based on scientific principals and not just a hunch based on practical experience.

Mr. Caiazzo's website states that "Those with trained eyes can date signatures within a month or two of when they were originally signed."  How can anybody take that seriously?

The signatures we deal with are more than 40 years old and it is highly unlikely that people's signatures do not change from month to month, even day to day, depending on mood, time, drug or alcohol influence, etc.  These are people, not machines that have the ability to consistently sign the exact same way every time.

I have personally witnessed signings with several people, most recently Sylvester Stallone and Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane.  I can attest to that fact that the first signatures they signed on the art differed greatly from the last.

Mr. Caiazzo also stresses that The Beatles were so protected and the ability to get their signatures was extremely unlikely after 1963.  However, he also states that he has a personal reference compilation of more than 8,000 Beatles signatures, both individually and as a group? How can this be?

Not only were the Beatles accessible as a group, but they were very accessible as individuals as well.  They were celebrities and signed quite often as documented in the books and media below.

Larry Kane, the only American journalist to travel with The Beatles tells a different story. In the book "Ticket To Ride: Inside The Beatles' 1964 & 1965 Tours That Changed The World," Mr. Kane attests to the availability of The Beatles for signing.  "At every stop, leaders of fan clubs were brought either to the hotel or the backstage dressing room to meet the Beatles...and the Beatles treated them with food, photographs and autographs."

Tom Fontaine, authenticator for two auction houses and UACC member, recently published a study on the authenticity of Beatles signatures.  In it, he states," This study will not detail the way the Beatles did their signatures...The analysis will avoid statements like that because there are always exceptions to the rule."  He also states that "in 1965, the Beatles signed for Teen Magazine reporters, disc jockeys and opening acts."  According to the study, the Beatles also signed many items in 1967 during the filming of Magical Mystery Tour:  "They took breaks during the bus rides and signed many dinner menus, postcards, etc."  

In addition, Mr. Fontaine personally attests to writing to the Beatles even after their break-up and receiving back signed material. "All four members have answered letters and enclosed signed material...From 1976 through 1980 you could get a response within one month.  I wrote to George Harrison and he signed 2 items for my wife and I.  The response took about 8 months.  I had similar results when writing Paul McCartney.  Ringo Starr was a very good through the mail signer in the mid to late 1990s."

There are countless other books from noted and respected people who talk about backstage signings with the Beatles, obtaining signed photos, signing sessions, accessibility to the group, etc.  

For example, in his recent biography, Eric Clapton talks about getting a handful of original John Lennon drawings for his work on the Live Peace in Toronto Concert.  In "Memories are Made of This," Dean Martin's daughter talks about the stars of Hollywood kids lining up for Beatles autographs after the Hollywood Bowl concert.  Jerry Schilling, author of "My Best Friend Elvis" writes about going to a house where the Beatles stayed and getting an 8 x 10 photo signed by all four Beatles from a stack of them on a table. 

In the book, "John Lennon: the NY Years," John himself talks about signing for people on the street.  In his video for "Mind Games," Lennon is walking through Central Park signing autographs for people along the pathway.  See this on You Tube by searching John Lennon Mind Games.  Ironically enough, the night John Lennon was shot, he was in the midst of signing autographs for fans outside his New York apartment.

As I have said before, I really think the bigger picture here is that many of the large well-known auction houses are doing the public a grave disservice using self-proclaimed experts who are not court-qualified, have no scientific training and often put their own items up for auction to determine authenticity.  There clearly seems to be a conflict of interest.

In closing, it is important to note that we are not alone in our concerns about Frank Caiazzo.  There is a link on the website where people can share their experiences and dealings with Mr. Caiazzo.  There are many many people who have had experiences with Mr. Caiazzo similar to those of American Royal Arts who have provided us with useful information and have expressed appreciation for the action we have decided to take.