We just received a letter from CAPTAIN EDWARD L. BEACH (1163-LIFE-1990) that gives additional details into the story of the man who ‘scammed’ so many American veterans out of their priceless combat medals. Here are portions of that letter:

“As a matter of fact, it wasn’t only submariners - Andy Goodpaster got taken, as did the Naval Academy Museum, and GENE FLUCKEY (2169-C-1992) too. The guts of the story was that a very personable young man who passed himself off as Steven Pyne, grandson of Rear Admiral Schuyler Pyne, whom I happen to know and respect (now deceased, of course), went around calling on NAVY CROSS holders and such, telling them how much he loved and respected them and would like to show this by mounting their medals in a beautiful case. Those who got back their medals found they were substitutes, and it developed he had sold the originals.

He also preyed on the Army, citing himself as the grandson of a General Pyne, who was evidently the brother of my Admiral Schuyler Pyne, and also himself a bona fide individual. Both brothers graduated respectively from West Point and Annapolis back in the 1920’s. I was in on terminating this character’s career and he is now serving time. It turns out that he made a lot of money doing this. Andy Goodpaster’s MEDAL OF FREEDOM was sold for about $30,000 and so was GENE FLUCKEY’S MEDAL OF HONOR. My medals weren’t that prestigious, but I understand he got around $5,000 for the set.

One of the scams involves the PURPLE HEART, and it’s been discovered that a number of them wandering around the country in various collections actually bear fictitious names. You can but one for about $25, but if it has the serviceman’s name to whom it was issued engraved on it, it’s worth $500 or more. Many thousands of these were issued, and many families of deceased servicemen, not knowing their value either gave them away, lost them or, in some cases, honestly passed them over to the charlatans who were collecting them for profit. These of course, probably weren’t enough to make a good living on so some of the gentlemen involved took up the practice of purchasing a large batch of new PURPLE HEARTS and engraving fictitious names on them, thus multiplying their value enormously. Some of them, I’m told, even made up fictitious histories of the supposed recipients.

In my own case, and those of Goodpaster & FLUCKEY, and the Naval Academy Museum (which unknowingly gave up an original George Dewey medal to this guy), we all got our medals back, slightly the worse for wear in some cases, but anyway we got them back. When the cops took a warrant and invaded Pyne’s house they filled up the back seats and trunks of two police vehicles with TWO POLICE VEHICLES FILLED WITH LOOT!

The loot the b-----d had collected. I’m told his wife and 12-year-old daughter were there and you can imagine how they must have felt.”

We also got a letter from RADM EUGENE FLUCKEY (2169-C-1992) in which he tells us there are ‘scam artists’ like this all over the world. To which we may add this little bit of information.

What Can Possibly Happen Next?

There is a guy in Chicago who sells autographed photos of war veterans (mostly from the German forces) at shows in and around the midwest. He had been a Member of SHARKHUNTERS for one year, but when we learned the real reason he joined, he was not allowed to renew his Membership. What’s wrong with selling autographed photos, you might ask. Absolutely nothing, as long as everything is on the up-and-up. However, let’s look a little closer.

A collector in Chicago called me to let us in on this situation, gave me all the details, so I telephoned this fellow. I did not say my name, just said I was interested in buying autographed photos of German war veterans, mostly U-Boat veterans. He said that he had them to sell, most for the price of $45 and up. I asked how he came to have all these hand-signed photographs and he said that he was personal friends with many U-Bootfahrer and he told me in particular, that OTTO KRETSCHMER (122-LIFE-1985) was his personal friend, and that OTTO stayed at his home every time he visited Chicago. Problem there is that OTTO was only in Chicago once, stayed at our hotel during our CONVENTION in 1993 and I’m sure doesn’t even know this guy.

I asked how he came to know all these veterans. He said that he joins all the groups he can & gets the roster of members with their addresses, then writes to veterans and asks for an autographed photograph - and he tells them it is for his private collection. He does not tell the veteran that he will sell this photograph, but that is what he does with the photographs, autographed books and other items. One would probably wonder if any veterans would send photos if they knew they would be sold for a profit.

Around the end of February, this guy walked into a German-American Club in Florida and began to spout off that he was friends with all these German veterans in Germany, and he also said that his own father was an officer in the Kriegsmarine. His father, he said, served on board a German cruiser in the Mediterranean during the War. One man spoke to him and told him this must have been a very secret mission, because there were no German cruisers in the Mediterranean; and he also mentioned that he was a Member of SHARKHUNTERS. This guy whose father ‘was an officer on a German cruiser in the Mediterranean’ turned tail and left quickly.

One question came to mind after this telephone call - a veteran might probably send one or two photographs if asked; they are usually very decent and will do this. However, to keep up a full stock of autographed photos for sale, it would be necessary to ask for quite a lot of photos from the veteran and no one is so stupid they would not realize that this guy would be selling them; so they probably would not give more than one or two photos with their signature. Where does he get dozens and dozens of these photos?

We really do not know, but we do know how Tom Shutt, formerly of the King’s Crown Gallery in Kansas City and then Tustin, California got his stock of ‘hand-signed’ photographs. They were hand-signed all right; but Shutt himself signed the veteran’s names - he forged the signatures of a great many veterans. An interesting problem, eh?

So, if you are a veteran of World War II and someone writes to you for a hand-signed photo for his own collection - you probably want to make certain that this is indeed true. And if you are a collector and look at autographed photos - make sure they were signed by the veteran; not by the seller.

WHO IS THIS GUY?

If our attorney has not already passed out from this section, we will give this man’s name in KTB #120 next month.

More Scam Update

Regular readers of our KTB Magazine know how we have traced the steps of Tom Shutt, former owner of the now-defunct King’s Crown Gallery. This gallery was first in the Kansas City area but it was moved for questionable reasons to Tustin, California where the gallery flourished for some time, selling autographed photos and prints, and hosting seminars with great air aces and well-known veterans of the U-BootWaffe.

This came to a quick end a while ago, when police in Ventura, California arrested Shutt for selling photographs of ERICH HARTMANN (2805-+-1993) that had forged signatures on them. Then RICHARD REINHART (SH 3766-1994) & (EH 98-1994) brought charges against Shutt and won a large judgment for about $60,000 which Shutt was supposed to pay off at a mere $150 per month. After paying for just a few months, Shutt stopped sending money and he left California with more than a few police agencies looking for him.

Shutt has been spotted again, this time in the midwest. A dealer in Fort Wayne, Indiana bought some ‘autographed’ photos of German fighter aces from him on 2 April this year. I spoke with the dealer, Mr. Joe Hyde. He had already been contacted by BOB REINHART, who gave him the complete update on Shutt. Mr. Hyde said he was absolutely certain that the items he bought from Shutt were genuine and original, not forged. Why was he certain? Because the signatures ‘really looked like’ genuine autographs. I pointed out that forgeries are supposed to look like genuine, but also said that perhaps he did really get genuine autographs. Local police have been contacted to look into any outstanding warrants for Tom Shutt.

We will keep our Members advised of any additional news.