[meteorite-list] Please read this. Bryan Scarborough still at it!

From: cdtucson at cox.net <cdtucson_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:35:47 -0500
Message-ID: <20120214103547.4P3D0.305230.imail_at_fed1rmwml208>

MikeG, list,
I have never done business with Scarborough nor have I ever met him. I only know of him through this list.
I understand your confusion because I did have a bad experience with a Mifflin meteorite but, it has since been completely explained and anybody effected was quickly refunded their money.
For the record; In a nut shell what happened is this;
I purchased a find from Mifflin that later turned out to be a "throw down" (meteorite used to adjust either a metal detector or to give a visual comparison) left behind.
I sent this pristine fully crusted find to be cut and sold by a well known dealer. I never saw the interior of this cut stone or I would have recognized it as odd and the NWA fall it turned out to be.
It was re-sold and I was alerted to it's odd morphology by a buyer I had never met before. I called the dealer selling the material and he told me another well known dealer told him it was a likely second lithology of Mifflin. Had I not been told this the sales would have ended then.
Long story short; the stone turned out to be a throw down from a different hunter.
This story was believable because the stone was found the day after another stone had been found in the same area.
This is where it gets interesting.
The day the first stone was found and announced with much excitement , the land owner came outside and proclaimed it had been found on her land and she demanded it be handed over to her. The finder argued that it was found on the side of the road but, the lady insisted the road belonged to her as it was built on her land.
When the finder refused to give up the meteorite she demanded everyone they had to leave or she would have the police remove them. This meant that everyone left in a hurry. Apparently leaving behind a throw "down". This throw down was found by a different hunter the next day and subsequently sold to me. At the time I did not know where this stone was found. This info was reveled to me later but, he too says the lady could not prove the road belonged to her so he too kept it.
Due to possible litigation against me because I cannot prove or dis-prove this story I chose to write this off as "experience" and we paid back all buyers of this stone but, to this day we have not had a single piece returned to us. I guess people chose to keep this material along with the full refunds we gave.
I truly hope they flushed it all down the toilet as this has caused much grief and confusion. In any case I hope this clears things up.
Carl Esparza
Meteoritemax

--
Cheers
---- Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote: 
> Hi Brandon and List,
> 
> Thanks so much for this warning and going public with it.  You are
> doing a valuable service to the meteorite community as a whole.
> 
> I have noticed a DISTURBING trend in the meteorite world lately, and
> that is secrecy involving members who have fallen from grace by
> offering bogus specimens.
> 
> Without Jason Utas coming forward and going public, non-IMCA members
> would have never known that their collections were compromised by
> Scarborough-Esparza bogus Mifflin affair where NWA chondrites like
> Chergach/Bassi were being sold as Mifflin.
> 
> To all of the "watchdog" groups out there who are supposedly
> safeguarding the integrity of the market - STOP BEING SECRETIVE about
> the wrongdoings of your members.  By sweeping their misdeeds under the
> rug, you are doing to entire community a disservice and acting as
> accomplices in the destruction of the integrity of collections of
> non-members who are not privy  to the internal business/wrongdoings of
> the group.  The entire community, members or not, have a RIGHT to now
> if their collections are comprised by your members.  Stop trying to
> salvage the damaged reputation of your group by hiding the crimes of
> disgraced members. This secrecy is backfiring because many of us are
> informed collectors who are not pushovers or fools - we know what is
> going on, despite the best attempts to cover it up.   It's only making
> the group worse than it really is.
> 
> The next time one of the members of these groups engages in criminal
> or unethical activity, do not limit the announcement to your own
> members - TELL THE PUBLIC.  We have a right to know.  If not, informed
> collectors are going to start taking their business elsewhere.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> MikeG
> 
> -- 
> *************************************************
> Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber
> 
> Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com
> Facebook -  http://tinyurl.com/42h79my
> News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516
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> ***************************************************
> 
> 
> 
> On 2/13/12, Brandon <b1dunovant at aol.com> wrote:
> > List,
> >
> > I would like to give my opinion regarding Bryan Scarborough a.k.a,
> > lonestar*meteorites.
> >
> > I try to give everyone the benifit of the doubt and after hearing the
> > questions about John/Bryan's Tissint listing I had to go and look at his
> > listings for myself. While doing so that I noticed he had a 27.2g "Oum
> > Dreyga" slice he was selling that looked an awful lot like an unclassified
> > slice I purchased from him a couple years ago. It was the next slice after
> > mine so I recognized the inclusions and shape immediately.
> > I can honestly say my slice is not Oum Dreyga as similar as they look. Oum
> > Dreyga has twice the metal flakes as mine and I'm positive, as his. Mine is
> > much more likely an L-chondrite, not an H.  Though very similar at first
> > glance they are indeed different and I've spent the last half hour verifying
> > my claim.
> >
> > I would not trust one damn thing this guy sells! This is now the second
> > stone he is selling which I know first hand isn't having both his specimen
> > and the actual specimen he is representing it as.
> >
> > He is still up to his old game and now I am positive! Buyers still beware!
> >
> > Just thought I would share my 2?.
> >
> > Brandon D
> > IMCA# 9312
> >
> >
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Received on Tue 14 Feb 2012 10:35:47 AM PST