A car salesman from Michigan says the U.S. Postal Service lost thousands of dollars worth of vintage baseball cards and jewelry and he’s suing the government in federal court.
Anthony Johnson claims he’s been fighting for the return of his items for 2 1/2 years. He says in July of 2009, a woman staying his his home stole cash, jewelry and vintage baseball cards, put them in cardboard boxes and shipped them to her home in Los Angeles. Johnson says he learned of what happened, then contacted the USPS which intercepted the packages there.
The package was sent to Detroit, but Johnson told the Detroit Free-Press it was re-routed to a postal facility in Atlanta, “where it sat for about 18 months”. Eventually, it madeit back to Detroit and the contents were inventoried by a postal inspector there. Johnson says the postal service returned $31,000 but nothing else has surfaced.
The total value of missing items is $329,000, but the value Johnson’s attorney has placed on the cards within the documents filed in federal court seems questionable. A signed 1967 Hank Aaron
card is listed at $15,000 and a 1952 Topps Cookie Lavagetto at $50,000. Here’s the list of missing items and values assigned by the plaintiff according to the lawsuit:
(1) Rolex watch with diamonds (approx. $29,000.00)
(1) White gold ring (approx. $10,000.00)
(1) 10 karat gold chain with diamond cross (app. $25,000.00)
(1) 14 karat gold chain with diamond cross (app. $18,000.00)
(1) Men’s 18 karat oyster professional date and time Rolex
watch ($29,000.00)
(1) Men’s diamond and white gold ring ($10,000.00)
(1) Men’s 10 karat fancy link chain w/gold and diamond
cross ($25,000.00)
(1) Men’s 14 karat fancy link chain w/gold and diamond
cross ($18,000.00)
(1) 1938 Joe DiMaggio card in mint condition (+$25,000.00)
(1) 1951 Mickey Mantle card ($25,000.00)
(1) 1952 Mickey Mantle card, signed and in mint condition
($50,000.00)
(1) 1967 Hank Aaron card, signed and in mint condition
($15,000.00)
(1) 1952 Cookie Lavagetto card ($50,000.00)
According to court filings, the Rolex watch and at least one of the chains belonged to former NBA player Derrick Coleman and the watch is engraved with Coleman’s initials. The ring belongs to a sports celebrity Thomas Harris and is engraved with his initials.
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[…] Johnson claimed a woman staying at his home stole the cards and some expensive jewelry in 2009 and shipped them in two boxes to an address in California. Johnson alerted authorities before the […]