I found my stolen sho-bud on ebay What shoul I do?San- Fran!

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 24 Sep 2007 5:33 pm

http://myworld.ebay.com/siteunscene/

This is the guy's identity. He seems to have mostly positive feedback, but his response as to how many pedals it has shows he doesn't know much about the instrument.

Maybe he doesn't know (or ask) whether it's stolen.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 24 Sep 2007 6:24 pm

well, Im not going to contact him yet, but my fiancee is GOING to be the highest bidder. so feel free to bid away.

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 24 Sep 2007 6:27 pm

Alex, I have obtained good photos of the guitar that Ron sold you. Do you want me to email them to you?
It has very pretty woodgrain which would be very distinct for comparison with photos of the "other" guitar in question. We are working on the serial number thing. I know who sold the guitar to Ron so I will check with him. He is also a friend of mine.
Jerry

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 24 Sep 2007 6:48 pm

Thanks alot jerry, that would be great!!

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 24 Sep 2007 6:52 pm

Alex,
Here's a reply in which he answered a query of mine. You have his first name there also:

Did you read the description ??? It mentions the fact that it has NO
pedals or case. No ice cubes in my whiskey. It's neat. straight up.
OK Thanks for the interest. Adrian in San Francisco.

Upon my asking why there were no pedals, this is what he answered.
****************************
Here is his full name and address, from infospace:
ADRIAN SCHAFGANS
218 FLOOD AVE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112
(415) 239-7416

Here is the link to the infospace page, with a map of his location:

http://infospace.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=33

Hope this helps. I hope you get your steel back.
Bent

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 24 Sep 2007 7:06 pm

sounds like a great guy. I dont understand how he has such a good feedback rating. Hey brent, how did you obtain that info? I checked that website and got nothing.

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 24 Sep 2007 7:13 pm

Alex, please shoot me your personal email address and I will send the photos to you. Ron still had his email on his computer where you guys were making the deal and he had emailed the photos. Good pictures! You should be able to draw your on conclusions with them. rollermusic@cox.net
Jerry

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 24 Sep 2007 7:18 pm

It seems unlikely the original thief would auction it publicly. The Ebay guy is probably just as clueless about where it came from as he is about pedal steels. He's probably a flea market trader. Or a non-steeler musician who bought it off another musician just to try his hand at it. Regardless, if you can produce the serial number and the police report of the theft, it's yours, not his.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 24 Sep 2007 7:53 pm

david, I agree with you on that. I dont think this guy stole the uhaul or the pedal steel. Which makes me think he might be cool if I contacted him with the truth. However, his remarkes make him seem like a real A-hole that would be imposible to deal with.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 24 Sep 2007 8:32 pm

The guys got the serial number posted on ebay. that cant be good for me. 177xx.

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 24 Sep 2007 9:03 pm

what says US law in this situation? If he bought it at a flee-market is he still a criminal?
JJ

Colin Mclean · Post by **Colin Mclean** » 24 Sep 2007 10:02 pm

Whatever you do, DON'T DO ANYTHING TO TIP HIM OFF.

I promise you he will wash his hands of the whole thing in a hurry.

He almost certainly WILL NOT be cool with you, you will likely get a similar response to the one Bent Romnes got with his question, stating he doesn't know what you're talking about, then the auction will probably disappear along with Mr. Adrian Shafgans himself.

If Jerry can get you the ENTIRE ser. # that is your best bet IMHO. Tell the SF police you have the # for them and see if they change their tune.

If not, I like George Plemons' idea!!!

People who steal are the scum of the earth. They are cowards and liars and you have to be equally sly and underhanded with them to beat them at their game. Same goes for people who knowingly deal in stolen goods, and I'm not giving this guy the benefit of the doubt.

Dom Franco · Post by **Dom Franco** » 24 Sep 2007 10:10 pm

What a crime drama, it will be exciting to see how it all turns out.

Seriously, I am praying that you get your steel back, and they find the pedal rack and case as well as all the other stolen items!

Sincerely;
Dom Franco

Randy Phelps · Post by **Randy Phelps** » 24 Sep 2007 10:51 pm

I've got to go to the city on thursday... If you want a human to go by his house and try to talk to him let me know.

Dean Richard Varga · Post by **Dean Richard Varga** » 24 Sep 2007 11:34 pm

Alex,

There is lots of time left on the auction. Have someone go by and look at it, and casually get the rest of the serial number. I just happens to be the number that you know to be yours!

Win the auction, and then tell him that your going to sue him in small claims court in California (I think the limit in California is up ($7500.00)/ turn him over to the cops for receiving stolen merchandise (I believe punishable for 1-10 years in California- At least that what I heard Jack Webb say once) unless he comes clean. You'll scare the crap of of him- It would scare me!

Alex, I can hear you playin' that sweet Sho-Bud already!. a cool Rusty Young break like on "Bad Weather" oooohhhh....you'll get it back...

By the way, he has posted his phone number in the question and answer section: I pasted it in below.

Under US People Search on the internet with his phone number and name , you can easily easily find his address. He's not going anywhere...

This guy is just a stupid victom himself. A two bit hustler I tell ya!
____________________________________________________
bidders question and his answer from ebay!
Q: Is there anyway to see this steel in person??? I've been looking for a red Pro-1 for a long time & this one looks really sharp. I'll be in...more Sep-24-07
A: I do not work on Tuesdays all other days are between 7 am and 8 am 630 pm and 8 pm. 415 239 7416

_______________________________________________________

He'll cave! He will do anything to keep his peaceful little ebay busness going. He doesn't need the bad press.

Once he realizes what has happened, he'll probably apologize profusely and be very co-operative.

Just win the auction, and "lower the boom".

Best regards, Dean

Carol Johnson · Post by **Carol Johnson** » 25 Sep 2007 2:14 am

Johan...
In answer to your post...No, not a criminal...and no crime committed. However, if the ebay seller paid money for it, then he becomes a loser. The (proven) stolen item, once confiscated by police, is always returned to the rightful owner.
All you guys are stayin' well on top of this one...

Bob Lawrence · Post by **Bob Lawrence** » 25 Sep 2007 4:24 am

http://pages.ebay.ie/help/policies/stolen.html

Stolen Property

The sale of stolen property is strictly forbidden on eBay, and breaches UK, Irish and international law. eBay strongly supports law enforcement efforts to recover stolen property that is listed on its web site, and urges the prosecution of those responsible for knowingly attempting to sell such items on eBay. Stolen property includes items taken from private individuals, as well as property taken without authorisation from companies or governments.

If you see an item on eBay that you believe is stolen, your best course is to contact law enforcement immediately. Under eBay's privacy rules, our lawyers will provide important records about pending and past listings with an official request from law enforcement officials. Please inform the police officer handling the case that eBay will be pleased to cooperate in the investigation, and ask the officer to contact eBay via the Law Enforcement area in the Safety Centre. It is important that these methods of contact be reserved for law enforcement use only, as it enables us to respond quickly in case of emergencies. Emails/faxes directed to these areas that are not from law enforcement will be routed to the appropriate mailbox or individual accordingly and may cause delays in response time.

Bob Cox · Post by **Bob Cox** » 25 Sep 2007 7:47 am

A friend of ours,"I won't mention any names, had a dog stolen by drug runners to be used for smuggleling.Its sad, but they will sew drugs inside them and remove it at the other end.The local athorities new where it was
but would not do diddlely squat.They hired a private detective.He watched them for a week,when they were gone,he had to break in recovered the dog.The dog was treated for a large lasceration in which the gangs carved ther mark in it.It is back now home and a happy camper.I am not saying to take the law in your own hands ,but there are ways to get you guitar back.Lets face it with the deal he probably got on it, he new it was hot.And I.ll bet if you pull up some of his past sells you may uncover a can of worms big enough to go fishing for a long time.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 25 Sep 2007 7:54 am

I tell you what bob, a steel is one thing, but if someone did that to one of my dogs Id be doing 20 to life!

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 25 Sep 2007 8:04 am

Im getting impatient. Im wondering if I should just contact the guy, tell him the story, and offer to pay shipping + a reward in hopes that he might have some shred of decency. I know thats some wishfull thinking, but the fact is Im in Arkansas with no help from the police out there. Even when I obtain the serial number, they still arent going to do anything. If I win the auction hes just going to deny its stolen and sell it to the next highest bidder.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 25 Sep 2007 8:10 am

Its gone

James Mayer · Post by **James Mayer** » 25 Sep 2007 8:16 am

I'd use that phone number and contact him immediately, before he gets rid of it. You now have a lot of info on him and he will probably just want to avoid trouble with the law.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 25 Sep 2007 8:26 am

Good news!!! I talked to him and hes sending it out today. He turned out to be decent guy. He found it at a flea market. Thanks for everyones help and support. One thing he told me of the bat was that i had a lot of people looking out for me. Obviously he was talking about all of you guys on the forum. There is nothing else in the musical world like the steel community! Thanks

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 25 Sep 2007 8:36 am

great news Alex! I hope he's true to his word and you see your guitar soon.

what a shame the local authorities would not lift a finger.

since your guitar was part of a much larger theft, a wee bit of efort on their part might have led to some of the other stolen items and possibly the theif/theives themselves.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 25 Sep 2007 8:45 am

James, the guy that had the guitar said he was going to give me some info on the flea market that he bought it from. Maybee that could lead to some of the other gear. however, im sure that its all scattered

The Steel Guitar Forum

I found my stolen sho-bud on ebay What shoul I do?San- Fran!

Wow this is better than watching CSI!

Get it back!

ebay - policies stolen property