(Siento ponerlo todo en ingles, pero asi me lo encuentro
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Massive Jackson collection surfaces in New Jersey
By EVAN BERLAND
Associated Press Writer
March 5, 2004, 4:42 PM EST
ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- Gold-trimmed costumes, metal-studded shinguards and other memorabilia of pop icon Michael Jackson and his family sat covertly in a warehouse in this downtrodden city for the past 18 months.
The massive collection, including a sketch of a boy, celebrity letters and music awards, was booty from a lengthy legal battle waged against the Jacksons by a one-time business associate.
That Henry V. Vaccaro Sr., a 63-year-old construction company owner, came to own the family collection is nearly as odd as its resting place for the last year and a half.
"I like their music but I'm a Johnny Cash fan," Vaccaro said as workers emptied the 6,000-square-foot room the collection had filled.
Vaccaro, of Interlaken, announced the existence of the trove this week even as he supervised its packing. He would not reveal the name or nationality of the buyer, although he said the man will display the collection in Europe and Japan. Vaccaro also would not reveal its sales price, but indicated it exceeded $1.4 million.
Vaccaro used to head Kramer Guitar Co., which made instruments for performers such as Eddie Van Halen. The Neptune-based company went bankrupt in 1992 and a company owned by the Jackson family agreed to purchase it, he said. For a short time, Vaccaro sat on the Jackson Communication Inc. advisory board, but the company soon defaulted on payments for his guitar company.
Mired in personal bankruptcy at the time, Vaccaro sued JCI and was awarded a $1.4 million judgment, which the family said it couldn't pay. "They sold off my company and I got nothing," he said.
Neither Michael, Janet nor LaToya Jackson were named in the suit because they had not used money from JCI.
After nine years of wrangling, Vaccaro used a private investigator to discover an Oxnard, Calif.-based warehouse that was home to the collection. A bankruptcy trustee awarded it to him after he paid $65,000, much of which was used to cover the family's outstanding storage bills.
He said he recalled hearing family members talk of amassing their possessions as they contemplated starting a restaurant chain in the early 1990s. But when the collection arrived in 2002, he still was shocked.
"Couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it," he said, shaking his head. "I knew it was worth more than the amount of the ($1.4 million) judgment."
Calls to representatives for Michael Jackson and for the Jackson family were not returned.
Darren Julien evaluated the collection in 2002 before it was shipped from California while he was working as an associate for the Internet arm of auction house Sotheby's. He said he authenticated Vaccaro's story and the horde of materials.
Julien said it was the largest accumulation of Jackson family materials on the planet, in part because the pop star has been known to give away collectibles to friends.
"It's larger than Michael's own personal collection," Julien said. "It's pretty extensive.
At the time, Julien gave the collection a conservative estimate of up to $1 million, but added that it could have fetched more. "You never know," he said.
Vaccaro's loot included a packing crate belonging to Michael Jackson containing several stage costumes, including gold-trimmed jackets with military-style epaulets. He also found one of the star's earliest get-ups, worn when he sang with the Jackson 5.
Fear of theft spurred Vaccaro to install a modern alarm system in the warehouse, which sits across from a vacant lot. He spent seven months cataloguing and photographing the items and quietly put the word out for buyers. He said he entertained visitors from as far as Germany and Japan.
"I said I got to find the right buyer because that's going to give it its value," he said, adding that he refused to sell the collection piecemeal.
It took workers three days to box up the entire assortment this week. Amid the sounds of ripping packing tape Wednesday, Vaccaro entertained interviewers and pitched in.
He packed a wicker basket of peach-colored bath towels with "LaToya Jackson" sewn into them. On a dusty table a few feet away sat metal-studded shinguards, one of Tito Jackson's belts, long suede boots with a tag reading "Randy Jackson" sewn inside, and a sequined leather outfit belonging to LaToya.
Jermaine Jackson's Grammy nomination letter for the 1984 duet with his brother "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin"' sat on the table. On a bookshelf sat an NAACP Image Award given to The Jacksons in 1984.
A get-well card from record company executives to Michael Jackson sat across a table from a Diff'rent Strokes script. Janet Jackson had a role on the sitcom from 1981 to 1982.
When asked, Vaccaro said the item he will never forget is a pencil sketch of a young boy signed by Michael Jackson. The pop star is charged with child molestation.
While he might have made a bundle on the sale, Vaccaro is hoping to continue cashing in. He has set up a Web site called
www.jacksonvault.com that, for a fee, will show viewers photographs of each item.
"It'll blow your mind because you'll see in detail everything that was in this warehouse," Vaccaro said.
On a table in the warehouse sat a yellowed telegram dated July 6, 1984. "Dear Michael," the note read, "Thinking about you. This evening please try not to make an ass of yourself and please for God's sake don't fall in the orchestra pit."
The name at the bottom of the telegram: Marlon Brando.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/w...ar05,0,6561921.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire