The inexplicable raid nearly two years ago on a guitar maker for
using allegedly illegal wood that its competitors also used was another
targeting by this administration of its political enemies.
On Aug. 24, 2011, federal agents executed four search warrants on
Gibson Guitar Corp. facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and
seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. One of the
top makers of acoustic and electric guitars, including the iconic Les
Paul introduced in 1952, Gibson was accused of using wood illegally
obtained in violation of the century-old Lacey Act, which outlaws
trafficking in flora and fauna the harvesting of which had broken
foreign laws.
In one raid, the feds hauled away ebony fingerboards, alleging they
violated Madagascar law. Gibson responded by obtaining the sworn word of
the African island's government that no law had been broken.
In another raid, the feds found materials imported from India,
claiming they too moved across the globe in violation of Indian law.
Gibson's response was that the feds had simply misinterpreted Indian
law.
Interestingly, one of Gibson's leading competitors is C.F. Martin
& Co. According to C.F. Martin's catalog, several of their guitars
contain "East Indian Rosewood," which is the exact same wood in at least
10 of Gibson's guitars. So why were they not also raided and their
inventory of foreign wood seized?
Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief
executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians.
Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.,
and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a
long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to
Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the
past couple of election cycles.
"We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted," Juszkiewicz said
at the time, adding the matter "could have been addressed with a simple
contact (from) a caring human being representing the government.
Instead, the government used violent and hostile means."
That includes what Gibson described as "two hostile raids on its
factories by agents carrying weapons and attired in SWAT gear where
employees were forced out of the premises, production was shut down,
goods were seized as contraband and threats were made that would have
forced the business to close."
Gibson, fearing a bankrupting legal battle, settled and agreed to pay
a $300,000 penalty to the U.S. Government. It also agreed to make a
"community service payment" of $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation — to be used on research projects or tree-conservation
activities.
IBD
For background on this, see my previous posts Gibson Guitars And The Lacey Act Misused and Gibson Guitar and US Department of Justice reach settlement agreement.
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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