GiBSOn FACiLiTiES RAiDED,
CEO juSzKiEWiCz RESPOnDS
BY REBECCA DIRKS, JOE COFFEY, AND ANDY ELLIS
nASHViLLE, Tn – Federal agents raided Gibson facilities in
Nashville and Memphis on August 24 investigating alleged
illegal wood imports. These raids came nearly two years after
agents originally raided the facilities in 2009. On August 25,
Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz addressed the press on the
steps of the company’s Gibson USA facility in Nashville and
vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Both federal investigations concern the Lacey Act, a law that
was passed in 1900 to regulate the trade of endangered species. In 2008, an amendment expanded the law’s scope to cover
plants—including some wood species used to make guitars.
Many luthiers and guitarists take exception to the amendment,
suggesting that it is poorly written and would even prohibit most
guitarists from traveling overseas with their existing guitars if
taken seriously.
Gibson’s cases revolve around ebony from the Republic of
Madagascar seized in the 2009 raid, and Indian rosewood seized
in August. Following the most recent raid, a representative for
the Environmental Investigation Agency told NPR that an investigation showed that Gibson knowingly imported illegal wood.
“Gibson clearly understood the risks involved,” EIA direc-
tor of forest programs Andrea Johnson told NPR. “Was on the
ground in Madagascar getting a tour to understand whether they
could possibly source illegally from that country. And made a
decision in the end that they were going to source, despite know-
ing that there was a ban on exports of ebony and rosewood.”
Juszkiewicz, however, says that Gibson has sworn statements
and paperwork from the Republic of Madagascar on file in fed-
eral court declaring that the ebony seized in 2009 was legally
obtained. Further, The Wall Street Journal reports that Juszkiewicz
attributed the most recent alleged-illegal wood to a labeling
mistake, likely made by a broker, and the Gibson CEO says that
Indian authorities approved the sale.
“The Justice Department’s position is that any guitar that we
ship out of this facility is potentially [an] obstruction of justice and
to be followed with criminal charges because we bought product
Delta Bluesman
David “Honeyboy”
Edwards Dies at 96
BY REBECCA DIRKS
CHiCAGO, iL – David
“Honeyboy” Edwards,
dubbed the “Last of the Great
Mississippi Delta Bluesmen,”
died on August 29 at age
96. One of the last living
links to Robert Johnson, the
guitarist remained an active
performer late in his life
with gigs scheduled across
the US and Europe, until
his health began declining in
April. An announcement on
Edwards’ website said that, “he
remained a strong spirit until
the end, telling stories, and
showing off his dexterity in
his hands.”
Edwards was born a son of
a sharecropper in Mississippi
in 1915, where the blues was a
nightly occurrence. He recalled
in a 2008 interview with NPR,
nEWS
Federal agents serve search warrants at Gisbon’s Memphis facility on
August 24. Photo by Zuma Press.
from India,” Juszkiewicz told reporters in a press conference after
the recent raid. However, Gibson employees returned to work
immediately—a move he said he is personally responsible for.
“I’ve instructed our staff to continue building the product,” he
said in response to a reporter’s question about Gibson’s compliance with the government following the raids. “I’ve taken personal responsibility for that action,” he said.
“We feel totally abused,” he said. “We believe the arrogance of
federal power is impacting me personally, our company person-
ally, and the employees in Tennessee—and it’s just plain wrong.”
Juszkiewicz has referenced Gibson’s commitment to employ-
ing US workers many times, but never as boldly as in a radio
interview with KMJ News Talk Radio’s Chris Daniel, where the
Gibson CEO alleged that the US government said that Gibson’s
problems would go away if they used Madagascar labor instead
of US labor.
Representatives of the US Attorney’s office declined to comment for our story. Currently, a government lawsuit against the
company has put the items seized in the 2009 raid in legal limbo
while raising the question of whether serious charges could be
brought against Gibson, Juszkiewicz, and others in the company.
The government claims the materials are contraband, but Gibson
disagrees and wants them back. At press time, it was unclear
whether the civil suit would continue or the government would
pursue criminal charges.
“My father was a sharecropper,
and at night when he’d come out
of the field, he’d get in the cotton shack with a chair and play
the blues—shuffle blues, low-down-dirty-shame blues—and
drank whiskey and get drunk
all night.” Edwards’ own experiences working in the Mississippi
fields from age 9, traveling the
South by foot, hitchhike, and
rail, and unfair imprisonment
laid the foundation for his brand
of genuine blues.
A young Edwards was
influenced by “Father of the
Delta Blues” Charlie Patton.
He picked up guitar at age 12
and hit the road by age 14,
spending the first part of his
life as a traveling bluesman in
the South with contemporaries
Robert Johnson, Howlin’
Wolf, Big Joe Williams, Sonny
Boy Williamson II, and Big
Walter Horton.
Edwards was first recorded
in 1942 by Alan Lomax,
