My Latest Project

Mastro Manipulator: How Did Sports Memorabilia’s Premier Auction House Collapse?

Bill Mastro was the king of buying and selling high-end vintage baseball cards, used Major League Baseball equipment, original MLB game photos, and more. He ran the country’s largest online auction house devoted to the hobby. Each of his auctions would generate millions of dollars in sales.  But he wanted Mastro Auctions to reign supreme and be the go-to auction house for sports memorabilia. His drive to become even bigger and dominate the industry led him to cross the line and engage in shill bidding and other devious schemes.

This book will detail how he became so big, how the scandal evolved, and why he sat in prison for 20 months. What Mastro did shocked the sports collecting world not only because of what he did but because it continued as long as it did.

I have been collecting vintage baseball memorabilia for more than 30 years and have written for Beckett Vintage Collector, an industry trade publication. I know many industry veterans who have dealt with Bill Mastro and Mastro Auctions. When this auction house fraud was perpetrated I thought the story of what occurred needed to be told in its entirety and in a fair and balanced manner.