by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Jan 28 – Two men were charged with trading card fraud in 2024. On January 14, 2026 before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Ronnie Abrams, one of them testified against the other. Inner City Press was there, and live tweeted, here:
Witness: I think Anthony [Curcio] wanted revenge on PSA. He was working on a short movie. He also thought we should make money off youth basketball
Witness: A card buyer from NY called and threatened me, mentioned my ex-wife. Then a guy called from Dallas, said he'd fly and find me. Anthony told me he resolved it with them.
On January 15, after other witnesses, the cooperator was back on the stand, still on direct. He was shown photos of his co-defendant's Lego mansion, and use of his name in e-mails.
Behind the scenes, the parties exchange letters about the scope of cross examination of the cooperator, how much of Curcio's history with and feelings about PSA can get in. Both letters on Patreon here
While Curcio's motions in limine argued to keep out expert witnesses, PSA Expert witness Jackie Curiel took the stands. Curcio's motions in limine also argued "to limit the introduction of his prior conviction for an elaborate robbery of an armored car... shown on ABC's 20/20.. Curcio overwhelmed an armored care driver with mace, utilized unwitting hired actors wearing work uniforms matching his own so as to disappear into a crowd and floated away down a nearby creek using an inner tube."
On January 29, guilty verdicts but no remand to jail before sentencing, set for May.
More on X for Subscribers here and Substack here
The case is USA v. Curcio, 1:24-cr-312 (Abrams)
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