Have you visited our store? Click here.This story has been covered by some of the reputable content creators but it’s chronicle here for the record.1
Russell Porter of Willoughby, OH deceived a dealer out of over $87,000 worth of vintage sports cards at the 2022 National in Atlantic City and is now facing up to 20 years in prison.
Here’s how it went down:
Rick Giddings, who sits on the board of directors for The National and owns Gizmo’s Sportscards, was setup at the National (booth #1413). Giddings was approached by Porter, who had already built rapport with Gizmo’s, with a bag he claimed contained $100,000 in cash packaged in two 400ct boxes.
Porter gave the bag to Giddings then proceeded to cherry pick 29 vintage cards from Giggings showcase that together totaled over $87,000 in value. The lot included cards of: Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, and Sandy Koufax.
Porter gave the 29 cards to Giddings and Giddings thought a deal could be worked out but the transaction hadn’t yet completed before Porter asked if he could take the cards to his son who was setup just three booths away.
While Porter returned to Giddings booth for more card talk, Porter’s son never returned with the cards so Porter went looking for him. While waiting for Porter to return, Giddings went through the bag and discovered the two 400ct boxes contained only $500/ea. in $1 bills.
Porter never returned but he did send a text to Giddings later that day saying he would contact him the following morning but he never showed up.
To view the current eBay auctions for Mickey Mantle baseball cards, click here.
Giddings then proceeded to contact the Atlantic City Police Department, which investigated the incident and referred the case to the Atlantic County Prosecutor.
The police report indicated that officers contacted Porter on August 1st to request he return to Atlantic City for questioning but he declined. As a result, he is now required to return to Atlantic City to face formal charges. According to the Atlantic City Prosecutors office, Porter has been charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking and second-degree theft by deception. These charges come with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Additionally, while Giddings is pleased charges have been filed against Porter, he hasn’t yet recovered his cards and is considering filing a civil suit against him.
If you have any information about the suspect or the case, contact:
Thomas McCabe at the Atlantic City Police Department, (609) 347-5779
References:
- Ohio man charged with theft of sports cards at The National. sportscollectorsdigest.com ↩︎
Maybe if we started chopping off hands for theft, we’d probably have a lot less of it.
No doubt that would reduce theft but it’s also a breach of the Eighth Amendment. Judiciously speaking, all we can hope for is for the legal system to produce an appropriate penalty that would discourage the offender from doing this again. As for the National, a lifetime ban or at least a healthy suspension would be justified.
He tried this on a guy who knew him AND HAD HIS CONTACT INFORMATION? What did he think was going to happen? I mean, if you’re going to scam people, I guess I’d rather they be stupid enough to be easily caught, but wow.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s done this to others. Hopefully if so they can also get their cards back and such.
That wouldn’t surprise me either. I hope Giddings gets his cards back too.