Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Hot Goss
Gibson Guitars Raided by FBI Feds for Illegal Importation of Rosewood [Updated]
Posted by Steve Haruch on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 1:54 PM
The next time you rip a sweet, sweet pentatonic riff on the fretboard of your totally awesome Gibson guitar, think about the lemurs. Nashville-based Gibson Guitars was raided by the FBI United States Fish & Wildlife Service (!) today, according to SouthComm's resident bow-tie-wearing emo apologist, J.R. Lind, who writes over at the Nashville Post:
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.
Full disclosure: I own two Gibson guitars, manufactured in 1966 and 1975, respectively--in other words, back when we didn't care what no lemurs in Africa was doin' long as we could have us some nice geetars. Lind promises to update the story as more information becomes available. It all begs the question: Could Lenny be a mole?
Update 5:26 p.m.: It was the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, not the FBI. Also, no charges have been filed.
Update 8:47 p.m.: To further clarify, the blockquote has been replaced to reflect the update to the Nashville Post story.
Comments (46)
Showing 1-46 of 46
That'll teach those criminals... I wish my tax money went to an FBI that actually tried to stop real criminals as opposed to people just trying to make badass guitars...
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For every one you save I am going to eat three...
Has anyone noticed that practically every management position at Gibson is on their job board at the moment? What gives?
I beg to differ. "It all" may raise the question, but "it all" does not beg the question.
to lemur lover
the company is run by a man who thinks he is always right
he never lets management or any level of staff do the job they were hired to do
For those questioning why the management positions are always open go to -
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Gibson-Guitar-Reviews-E6869.htm
to view a partial list of crimes committed by FBI agents over 1500 pages long see
http://www.forums.signonsandiego.com/showthread.php?t=59139
to view a partial list of FBI agents arrested for pedophilia see
http://www.dallasnews.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3574
This is called karma for the evil, evil, thing known as Henry Juszkiewicz. The man doesn't deserve Gibson and wonderful instrument and empire built by that the late, great Les. Interested in true stories - check out the evil empire on glassdoor.com. I hope you burn in hell dickwad.
Ibet those little guys taste pretty good with a little spice and some BBQ sauce!
I agree with the people that spoke out against Gibson. I worked there for under a year, got paid under what the job paid at other companies in the area, and was told to work that I had to work overtime that Saturday on Thursday or Friday afternoon.
They treat their employees like shit, and the owner has screwed up every chance he's had to turn it into an even more recognizable brand by being a control freak. I'm never buying a Gibson again, to say the least.
It would suck for the workers to take the bullet for any of this if it's true they're breaking the law, but given Juszkiewicz's M.O., I wouldn't be surprised in the least.
Gibson obviously has gone down hill since they packed up and moved from Kalamazoo Michigan to Cashville.
gibson is a serious piece of american culture. in a time of economic stress.. any undeserved, “Bad Press” would be a terrible blow… We need facts. Like rosewood comes primarily from bolivia and brazil, and that the word “charged” implies guilt.. which may cost many gibson employees their jobs. they may ALL be innocent.. but surely the workers who turn screws for gibson know nothing about the matter. what they do know is that should gibson actually be shut down, they will all need work. in this very tense moment for so many families.. a tactful decision would be to rephrase some of the statements in your article.
Just another in a long list of American companies messing up. And people wonder why the world laughs at us. Between colorful plywood SG's (Released last month), trying to put out a Jimi Hendrix "strat" (till public oppion was so bad that they made it Disappear...just type in “Jimi Gibson Strat” in Google for that mess), and now this. The supporters of this company and the "American companies are all great" crowd must be decedents of those in the 80's who tried to tell everyone that Japanese cars were junk. We all know now that that was BS. Wake up. We are getting our buts whipped for a reason, and are too redneck to even admit it.
The reason Gibson left Michigan, is because they were building shit, and the company was in bankruptcy...Regardless of Henry's crazy ass, they are building the best stuff they have since the early 60's...
I read Lenny as Lemmy in "Could Lenny be a mole?" That would have been the best joke ever.
If only environmental doom could look through the comments here and select the apathetic jag bags and selectively have only them choke on the ashes of our slash and burn economy.
I wanted to let you know that the Rainforest Alliance has prepared a statement in regards to the Gibson investigation by the USFWS, which you have posted about on your site. You can read it here: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/gibsonstatement
Illegally cut imported wood is always cheaper than domestic wood. Saving $50,000 a year on lumber makes for a decent bonus.
The way Gibson could have avoided all this is to send their remaining manufacturing to a supplier in a low-cost country. Then they could use all the illegal wood they want with little chance of getting caught, and make substantially more money in the process.
Install the strings in the USA, and then apply the "Proudly assembled the USA" sticker.
Please I can't stand Gibson, I recently visited a factory and were a bunch of snotty little punks running the show. I have a 1924 snakehead mandolin but would never buy anything from them these days... greed has killed this country
I think Gibson is building better guitars now since the 1960's. I am not defending but I heard that trees get chopped down by Madagascar farmers for clearing and burned anyway, why not use the wood? There are way more criminal acts out there like gangs, murderers, rapist and drug dealers to go after instead of Gibson.......
Gibson SUCKS! they put 200,000 small music stores out of business when they decided that we weren't important to their company and started only selling to the GIANT guitar stores. We supported Gibson for 50 years selling and advertising for them only to have them turn their back on us and refuse to sell guitars to us. Then they sue people left and right over piddly crap to show their muscle. THEY SUCK as a business, their electronics are garbage. They did this to themselves! Good by and good riddens! MORONS, they are just Morons.
The Gibson example of having a moron ruin a company has been typical in the Cashville, TN area. Just let some dimwit control freak with no perception skills take over! It happened to Shop At Home and numerous other billion dollar industries. The gibson.com website is now down. Get a chowderhead fatcat who does not even know what Operations Analysis is and HERE IS WHAT HAPPENS!
recap on the website. it is now www2.gibson.com They have Baldwin pianos now, but everything extremely pricey. If they revamp the company operatives and keep good products, it can still make it.
Oh no! God forbid. Trees grow, people plant them and at least they are being turned into something wonderful instead of something to kill like a gun.I think the government seems to have way too much power over the people.This to me seems like a publicity stunt.Why out of the blue would a fish and wild life office want to mess with a leading American business.Stupid.Why not go mess with the foreigner businesses that come to our American soil take our money and send it back over seas?
Well Gibson is history, has been great, could be even greater,... but at the end of the day that's just about money and everyone on this planet knows that Gibson live on his name since at least 15 years.
I'd rather pay the same price to a local guitar maker that will provide a great and custom made instrument rather than feeding away this kind of know at all corporation.
Scew the lemurs, I want a decent built guitar. Gibson is over rated any way. Korea and China are pumping out Les Paul at ten thousand guitars a day with no laws to prevent them from laying waste to any region that gets in its way.
Everyone (guitar manufacturers) gets their rosewood from India. India is the world's largest supplier of rosewood. Trade is not restricted in Indian rosewood. Brazillian rosewood has been unavailable for years. Why go to Madagascar anyway? That doesn't make sense. Rosewood is rosewood. Get it from somewhere where it is all legal - that's not hard. Why would Gibson partake in something illegal like that? I doubt the validity of this article. They could get in SERIOUS TROUBLE if they were bringing in American mahogany from America or the Caribbean - now that is TOTALLY OUTLAWED and has been for 10 years. Everyone gets their American mahogany from Asia. They grow genuine American mahogany (Swietenia) in plantations in various Asian countries, Indonesia, Fiji and India being the most famous.
If you are a left handed guitarist then you should be playing a GASKELL www.gaskellguitars.com
I agree with Chris, Gibsons are definitely over-rated instruments!
I played Gibsons for over ten years up until the day I bought my Fender Telecaster.
What a day it was...no more tuning after every song, no breaking strings every single night, no more Gibson guitar at a gig!!!
Check out this link if you're interested in some easy to follow Online Guitar Lessons.
Whatever one thinks about the company.......shouldn't they have their day in court? They can't get that day, apparently. That should be the concern for everyone. Did you buy a house with wood floors in it? Do you know where those wood floors came from? The message is that is doesnt matter and you'll be thrown out. What are you going to do then?
I would like to order a custom Gibson guitar made of big leaf mahogany, with mako shark tooth inlays, black rhino tusk tuning keys and a baby seal skin case.
its no longer about the importation. its abut "working the wood". if the indian rosewood would have been turned into necks in its native location, the killing of the trees would be legal. importing the raw material is not the charge. turning the raw material into guitar parts is the charge. the justice department doesn't care about saving trees. they only care about turning citizens into criminals. first the amish, now gibson
WOW! I am shocked at most of the comments posted here wishing this company will bites the dust. Folks they are on of the last American icon companies left! They still manufacture HERE in the US and employ Americans! Our jobs have gone to the very countries the FEDS are defending with our money. What the heck! Are we that screwed up as a country we would allow this to happen here then be happy to see our private sector businesses fail? What's next...your home being raided over some freakin wood? Is that ok? We should be outraged and tell the world don't you come in here and mess with our businesses you SOB's! The musicians and artists (especially in TN) should be organizing protests and let their voice be heard to support this business even if you hate the CEO! I have not seen ANY music business related group or organization taking a stand to speak out on this criminal act by our government. Gibson is over rated????? Don't let this happen folks. Please step up for American business.
Look up New World Order and welcome to it. Our economy sucks Gibson guitars are way overpriced and suck least the new ones. Martin's Boak is a fucking idiot also saying that musicians don;t want to use sustainable wood becuase the tone is not as good. Hey MARTIN you have not made a good guitar in 40 years. And this CEO donated allot of money to republicans. So this illegal moron for a President Obama I mean false idol got pissed at Gibson had it raided. This country is gone.
I'm trying to understand what "What" is trying to say. I agree that Gibson is overpriced. I haven't tried one of their current offerings in years. I'm not sure what Martin has to do with this but you have to be nuts to think that Martin hasn't produced a good guitar in 40 years. I would think that Dick Boak and many other luthiers know more about tonewood choice than you.
Unless there is more to the story than presented (which I'm sure there is), it's a story about government over-reach and bullying. The industry and the company are irrelavent so disparing comments about the company's product and a competitor's product are likewise irrelavent.
Is Gibson a union shop? I didn't think so. ;)
This is happening to Gibson because "the government" (i.e. the foreign banks who have seized control of our nation) doesn't want any private manufacturing in the United States. Just look up "Deindustrialization of America" - or watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWHdttx5UFI. It doesn't matter how much of an asshole this guy is, or whether or not he hurts his workers' feelings - Gibson hasn't broken any laws or done anything illegal. If you want Nashville to look like Detroit in 10 years, then keep squabbling over whether or not Gibson's CEO is rude or stupid, and allow this criminal activity by the U. S Fish and Wildlife Services to continue unchecked.
If the wood had been finished by Indians it would have been legal???? What is this?
So it's O.K. to kill all the whales if they are filleted by the japanese fleet?
O.K. to be allowed to fix our computer problems if advised by an Indian outsource advisor???
Just don't buy the Rosewood or have it finished by them. Let them keep their damn wood and it can rot on the docks..and oh yea, if it's so precious in it's unfinished state have India buy it back for what Gibson paid for it and prosecute the Indian sellers . That could be a deterrent for it happening again.
The FTC also has tried to shut down "whole foods", all grant companies across america, a pomegrante health company, loan companies, and the list goes on and on. The FTC just goes after big money sues for millions and pockets the money. Now they are even trying to control what people blog about because Whole Foods president has been blogging about the harm the FTC is doing to America.
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