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Old 11-20-2009, 12:39 PM
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What's going on with R.L. Wilson? What's going on with R.L. Wilson?  
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Default What's going on with R.L. Wilson?

After a long absence due to other pressing matters I'm happy to be back on the forum.

Was talking to some folks at a show recently and the subject of Larry ("R.L.") Wilson came up. I'd heard that he'd done some prison time for an ethical infraction, then (after his release) was up on other charges but found not guilty. (Or perhaps I'm wrong on that.)

In any case, anyone here know where he is, what he is doing currently?
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Old 11-20-2009, 01:27 PM
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After a long absence due to other pressing matters I'm happy to be back on the forum.

Was talking to some folks at a show recently and the subject of Larry ("R.L.") Wilson came up. I'd heard that he'd done some prison time for an ethical infraction, then (after his release) was up on other charges but found not guilty. (Or perhaps I'm wrong on that.)

In any case, anyone here know where he is, what he is doing currently?
The last I heard he was still in the butt box.
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Old 11-20-2009, 03:27 PM
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is this the bloke who wrote the Colt books? Prison? Wow!
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Old 11-20-2009, 05:15 PM
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is this the bloke who wrote the Colt books? Prison? Wow!
Yup, that's him. I've got a number of his beautiful books, several of them signed.

I'm not going to google it, but apparently he worked out a deal with a Kentucky museum and an estate for some high priced guns -- to his benefit ($$$). He apparently has some other charges awaiting him when he's released.
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Old 11-20-2009, 07:18 PM
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Wilson served a one year sentence and was released in '06. He had a trial in Kentucky in '08 and was acquitted of all charges.
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Old 11-20-2009, 07:38 PM
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Here is an update on Mr. Wilson:

R.L. "Larry" Wilson Acquitted In Louisville Arms Deal - XDTalk Forums - Your XD/XD(m) Information Source!
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Old 11-20-2009, 09:13 PM
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That R.L. Wilson would be acquited, was not surprising. There wasn't a great deal of sympathy for Owsley Brown Frazier. He's a trust fund baby (Brown Forman Distillers), who has dabbled in a lot of things, but was really serious about making the Frazier Museum a success. While jurors were not quoted as such, the general feeling was that Frazier paid too much, but he should have been more hands on.

Wilson, and a few others, get a bit full of themselves when they get a couple of books published, and become the "god" of Colt values. He's probably not the only one.

This is what happens when appraisers get a bit too close to each other. There's little independence among them. It's the same for art, automobiles, and most any other collector. These are niche markets, and the travelers in those markets are little aware of how the other 99% live and breathe.

How about the guy in Oregon who has been unsuccessful in auctioning three Pre-Model 29's with consecutive serial numbers? At his end of the spectrum, the folks live in the rarified air of elitism. They have little understanding of the free market.

Last edited by Dennis The B; 11-20-2009 at 09:19 PM.
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Old 11-23-2009, 12:08 AM
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so.....nobody's heard from him since his '08 acquittal???
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Old 11-26-2013, 07:50 AM
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Can't find anything about him more recent than 2008. So has he retired from the business and is just laying low? Does anybody know?
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Old 11-26-2013, 09:05 AM
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f.t.
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Old 11-26-2013, 01:50 PM
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Mind if I borrow that?
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Old 11-26-2013, 02:29 PM
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I ran into him at the NRA meeting in Louisville. He was just there, no official capacity.
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Old 11-26-2013, 02:31 PM
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saw him at 2013 winter vegas show. was his usual full of himself attitude.
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Old 11-26-2013, 03:56 PM
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From what I gather RLW's business ethics were suspect but he is still the king of the Colt books. The Louisville fatcat he fleeced was ripe for the picking and fc was a pulling a tax scam on his end if I remember correctly.
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Old 11-26-2013, 04:27 PM
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I wouldn't trust him with a $5 bill to go pick up coffee. The consensus is/was that he's a crook. The fact that he took a fat cat to the cleaners doesn't hold much water with me. He still took the guy to the cleaners. Yes, I do regret I've purchased a few of his books. That was a mistake on my part and will never happen again. From my perspective, he's still a crook and just waiting for another opportunity.

I guess me buying his books means he took me to the cleaners, too. I'm sorry I was so gullible.
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Old 11-26-2013, 04:30 PM
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Mind if I borrow that?

Be my guest.
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Old 11-26-2013, 07:09 PM
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Was shocked to hear of the incidents he was accused and convicted of. Something about being or using a 'ringer' in the auction of Captain Samuel Walkers pistols or something to jack up the price. Saw him on an episode of Pawn Stars.

I have several of his excellent 'coffee table' books.
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Old 11-26-2013, 07:10 PM
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I think he is without question a Colt expert. And also a crook. But I enjoy having his books as reference material and eye candy.

(And I love that he calls handgun grips "grips" and not "stocks." When corrected, I get a kick out of pointing this out.)
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Old 11-26-2013, 08:17 PM
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he liked to run with the moneyed types and never could afford it on his own. think the saying is champagne taste and beer budget.
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Old 11-27-2013, 12:24 AM
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he liked to run with the moneyed types and never could afford it on his own. think the saying is champagne taste and beer budget.
Yeah that's my problem as well. Only I haven't gone to prison. So he is still around. I couldn't find anything very recent. Just curious. Thanks for those who gave me an actual answer.
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Old 11-27-2013, 04:16 AM
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I will guess that he will be in vegas again this winter for the show. can't hardly wait to see him.
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Old 11-27-2013, 09:23 AM
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Just goes to prove -- crooks can make nice coffee table books also.
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Old 04-30-2018, 06:29 AM
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one of the reasons I never bought a antique Colt. The one charge he did not walk away from was appraising and selling Texas Ranger Walker's own pair of Walker Colts, only 1 of them was crafted from an Italian copy, something a Colt expert and appraiser should have easily spotted. That he made a usurious commission on the sale, also, tightened the noose around his neck a bit tighter. Another was taking high dollar Colts in on consignment, telling the owner he did not sell it for many months, when it had sold almost immediately. Not that he did not pay the owner (as I am not sure of the precise details and dollars) it is that he used the money for several months to his own benefit. But, by that time he was in so deep he could not control the monster he created any more.

Here's a link: High-caliber Expert, High-profile Fraud - tribunedigital-thecourant

and another ....

Smoking Gun - Forbes.com

There was also hearsay of guns sold while he was the Curator of the Colt Museum for personal gain, many years prior to his Books and title as the most knowledgeable Colt expert in the world.

Anyone is innocent until proven guilty. It seems he paid his dues and learned a lesson.

Can't take away his knowledge and experience from him, although he left a trail of angry "big" Colt collectors behind him.
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Old 04-30-2018, 06:34 AM
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A blast from the past.
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Old 04-30-2018, 07:38 AM
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This thread's old enough to qualify for Social Security and Medicare.
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Old 04-30-2018, 08:08 AM
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Since Mr. Wilson died in 2016, this thread is literally beating a dead horse (collector).

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Old 04-30-2018, 08:25 AM
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Since Mr. Wilson died in 2016, this thread is literally beating a dead horse.
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Old 04-30-2018, 08:25 AM
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Well, I might as well add my two cents worth: I have 4 or 5 of his books in my small gun library, purchased for cents on the dollar at a discount store (Ollie's). I suppose there is some poetic justice in this. Whatever the man's failings may have been, the books offer some excellent photography, and provide a great source of reference.

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Old 04-30-2018, 09:49 AM
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I didn't know he passed on.

Perhaps this thread should be closed but death, alone, does not absolve nor canonized any person.

Death does, however, try to allow some reverence to the deceased by trying to remember only the good.

The people who had judgments against him or he owed money to, would probably preferred he had lived a long life.
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