Feds raid Gibson offices

[truthisfreedom]

Source: Nashvillepost.com

Federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local police today seized wood, guitars, computers and boxes of files from Gibson Guitar's Massman Road manufacturing facility.

Sources say the Nashville-based guitar manufacturer is being investigated for violating the Lacey Act, a key piece of environmental law, for importing endangered species of rosewood from Madagascar. Rosewood is widely used in the construction of guitars and sells for $5,000 per cubic meter, more than double the price of mahogany. The island nation off Africa's east coast is a key producer of the hardwood, the export of which has links to international criminal activity.

A statement from Gibson released late Tuesday afternoon says the company is "fully co-operating" with the investigation.
(snip)


Sources tell NashvillePost.com Gibson was involved in a scheme that shipped the wood from Madagascar to Germany and then to the United States.

Read more: http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/11/17/gibson_guitars_raided_by_fbi

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Sad sad news, all around.

[fascisthunter]

1. I Saw a Program on this very Subject

I wish I could remember where, but it may have been on LinkTV.

[lapfog_1]

2. Damn!

And here I thought that they had arrested this freak.

[alfredo]

3. If they did that, they might have to touch him. EWWWW

[chieftain]

4. Dumbest man on TV.

I know Hannity and Blitzer are in the conversation but Gibson takes the dunce cap every time.

[Ter]

5. I thought it was Mel Gibson

:)

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

7. +1

[TroglodyteScholar]

8. JESUS, is he ever creepy looking!

WARN a guy!

[harmonicon]

6. one of the many reasons to buy a vintage guitar over a used one

another being to support a local economy in various ways: a vintage guitar will likely require some set-up and maintenance performed by a local guitar tech (sure a new one may as well, but not as much), and that vintage guitar will likely be purchased from an individual or locally owned shop rather than a giant chain which would funnel more money to the top and away from local economies.

[chaplainM]

9. I'm glad Les isn't around to see this. n/t

[Igel]

10. This should be good.

If the paperwork's in order, it'll be a bear to show that Gibson did anything knowingly. A lot of the rosewoods tend to look similar, especially when they're quartered and not yet flat sawn (assuming Gibson actually doesn't just use them for veneer).

I have this nagging suspicion that my guitar is made from wood that is illegal for me to have bought. It's in CITES app. III, if it was described properly. But I have no idea of knowing whether or not the tonewood was legally imported, as claimed, or was actually the species listed. (Supposed to be Honduran rosewood, and quite possibly is. But it's not like I could compare it with the other rosewood species, or the varieties that exist but aren't usually commercially available.)

In fact, it'll be interesting to see if the Gibson wood really is CITES app. I or II.