[rico43]

With the images of the Brace Collection taking on an almost mythical status, I tried to track its status through the Internet. What I found (or think I found) is pretty darn fascinating. I'll try to be concise, and source each piece of information.

The headline is that much of the collection -- at least "250,000 images of players" -- were approved for immediate sale by the judge overseeing the dissolution of John Rogers' memorabilia asserts. In an article published in the Arkansas Business Journal on June 22, 2015, Judge Chris Piazza rejected a third offer to buy all of Rogers' assets by an Atlanta-based shell company called Red Alert Group, or rather "Red Alert Media Matrix," which was a branch formed in Arkansas specifically for the purchase. The offer was initially signed off on by court-appointed receiver Michael McAfee, but McAfee changed his ruling when Red Alert could not or would not supply proof of funds in an offer of $18 million plus a billion (with a "b") shares of unregulated illiquid (a new word for me!) stocks. Two weeks after the offer, Judge Piazza gave it a thumbs down. Red Alert had even issued a press release indicating the assets' acquisition.

But at the end of the story, almost as an afterthought, it indicated Piazza had approved McAfee's request to sell the 250,000 images considered to be all or nearly all of the Brace collection in Rogers' possession. What had earlier been made clear is that Rogers had earlier sold or traded away hudreds of Braces images while he was supposedly digitalizing them for their previous owner, Mary Brace.

Mary Brace had filed suit against Rogers in June of 2014 after he defaulted on a $1.5 million purchase of the Brace archives. He made only one monthly payment of $85,000 before defaulting, leaving him owing Mary Brace $765,000, according to a July, 21, 2014, edition of the ABJ. An August 14, 2014, artricle in the Chicago Tribune indicated that the collection was already being broken up within weeks of its sale to Rogers. A line in the stor read, "Even though Mary Brace no longer has possession of her father's collection..."

A release from Courthouse News Service from January 14, 2015, said that "Rogers consented to a $765,000 judgement in the Brace case." Which, to my reading, left Rogers with the images at that time.

McAfee was appointed receiver of the assets by Judge Piazza in July of 2014 after he was nominated for the job by the First Arkansas Bank and Trust, one of Rogers' main creditors. (ABJ, July 29, 2014). In the aftermath of Red Alert Media's purchase attempt, McAfee has been able to gather all of the exisitingConlon Collection glass plate negatives that Rogers had purchased.

Who bought the Brace archvie? And for how much? I can find no report, but it would seem that neither Mary Brace, John Rogers or Michael McAfee have it in their possession. At the very least, Mary Brace no longer has any legal say about their usage.

Also, Rogers was arrested in December after he had improperly entered his former business, SportsCards Plus, in August of 2015 and under the cover of darkness and taken three hard drives from computers that reportedly held over a million scanned images. (ABJ, December, 4, 2015)