WESTFIELD — A Westfield sports memorabilia business is at the center of a police investigation after authorities say it may have operated illegally.
On Tuesday, Westfield police executed a search warrant at MisterManCave, a memorabilia business linked to an alleged “counterfeit sports memorabilia scheme,” according to city officials.
The following day, a lengthy Facebook post surfaced from an account appearing to belong to MisterManCave founder Brett Lemieux.
In the 1,200-word message, the writer claimed the organization sold millions of fake items totaling over $350 million in sales. The post stated that Lemieux had considered stopping the scheme, but “the money was too good.”
Hours after the post was published, Westfield police confirmed Lemieux took his own life.
On Thursday, his Facebook page was deleted, but Westfield Police did not comment on the authenticity of the post.
Steve Grad, a well-known autograph expert and authenticator featured on “Pawn Stars,” said Lemieux had a long-standing reputation in the industry.
“People have known about this guy. They've known his work. They know what he's been up to,” Grad said.
“He has been at it for years and years. And he's driven down the price of things. You know, you look at a Tom Brady autograph and Tom Brady's value is affected drastically by this individual.”
Andy Albert, owner of Indy Card Exchange, said the alleged scheme has already shaken the local memorabilia market.
“My phone was blowing up all night long,” Albert said.
“He did professional framing services for us probably four or five years ago — never had direct interaction with the memorabilia piece of it. Thank God.”
Albert added that the fallout will likely be felt across the industry.
“99% of the people in this industry do things the right way. And that one bad apple ruins the entire apple cart. It just infuriates me,” he said.
“Unfortunately, that's going to have shockwaves for years to come.”
Albert also took time to show WRTV how viewers can verify the authenticity of their memorabilia from home:
Grad agreed, noting that fake memorabilia from the scheme is likely still in circulation.
“The thing that stinks is that stuff is still out there,” he said.
Both the Westfield Police Department and the FBI say their investigation is ongoing. They plan to provide more details, such as the number of people affected, once the case progresses.
