For at least the past ten (10) years, and continuing into the present, Park West planned, operated and continues to operate a fraudulent scheme to sell artwork at shipboard auctions on Royal Caribbean cruises, representing at each of the auctions on all of the cruises that the artwork is a "good investment," and will, immediately upon disembarking, appraise for "many times" the purchase price. In fact, the artwork sold at the shipboard auctions is low-value or worthless, often mechanical reproductions or otherwise misrepresented in kind or quality by Park West, and is sold at inflated prices.

Park West and Scaglione were assisted and facilitated by Royal Caribbean in accomplishing the goal of the Art Auction Enterprise to sell millions of dollars worth of artwork misrepresented to be a "good investment" and to sell phony Appraisals supporting the value of the artwork for the profit of Defendants. Park West, Royal Caribbean and Scaglione earned millions of dollars from the operation of this illegal scheme.

Royal Caribbean voluntarily and knowingly joined and conspired with Park West to feature the Park West art auctions on its cruises.

Defendants' scheme as alleged in this Complaint violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. § 1961, et seq., and the state common and statutory laws entitling Plaintiffs and the Class to damages.

PWG designed, operated and conspired with Scaglione and Royal Caribbean to operate the fraudulent scheme described in this Complaint.

PWG designed and operated the Art Auction Enterprise and conspired with Royal Caribbean and Scaglione to operate the Art Auction Enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity in violation of RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), as described in this Complaint.

Defendant Albert Scaglione ("Scaglione") is a citizen and resident of Michigan. Scaglione is the prime architect of the fraud and conspiracy to operate the Art Auction Enterprise described in this Complaint. Scaglione is the founder, president and chief executive officer of PWG, having held the position of CEO for forty (40) years. Scaglione is in charge of the day-to-day operations of PWG and Park West and personally earned millions of dollars from the sale of artwork and Appraisals on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean conspired with Park West, Scaglione and John Does 51-100 to operate the fraudulent scheme to violate RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), as described in this Complaint.

Park West styles itself as the world's largest art dealer, selling over 300,000 pieces of artwork a year, garnering revenues in 2007 in excess of $300 million. Half of this revenue was generated by Park West shipboard auctions conducted on the world's most famous and popular cruise ships, including the ships of Royal Caribbean. The art auctions are always conducted while the ships are cruising in international waters.

On its website, Park West states that its mission is to bring the experience of researching, collecting and living with fine art to people who do not have access to outstanding galleries and auction houses. Park West purposefully pitches its fraudulent and deceptive scheme to the naïve art purchaser at shipboard auctions, selling low value, worthless or fake artwork, while misrepresenting to Plaintiffs and the Class that the artwork is valuable, a "good investment" and that the artwork will "appraise immediately after purchase for many times the sale price." These uniform misrepresentations were made by Park West to Plaintiffs and the Class on all Royal Caribbean shipboard art auctions during the Class Period.

The artwork Park West sells is not what it represents to its customers. Park West knew but did not disclose to Plaintiffs and the Class that, to the extent the artwork is "original," it is one of a series so large that it ultimately becomes depressed in value, is one of a series of multiple series, was run after the artist's death, was done by another artist ostensibly with the permission of the featured artist or, worse still, was simply a poster. The artwork purchased by Plaintiffs and the Class is not a "good investment" because it will not appreciate in value.

The only reason that the artwork Park West sells appraises for above the dollar amount paid for it by Plaintiffs and the Class at the shipboard auction is that Park West itself does the appraisal, thus guaranteeing that the number will be where Park West wants it to be - above the hammer price.

The Park West proposal was a win-win situation for Royal Caribbean. The costs associated with the auctions were incurred by Park West, thereby making Royal Caribbean's investment minimal. Royal Caribbean provided Park West with a venue to display the art and another to conduct the auction. Royal Caribbean also dedicated a block of time, always when the ship was in international waters, for Park West to conduct the auction. Royal Caribbean was careful to limit other recreational activities from competing with the same time period of the auction. Royal Caribbean crews served the provided venues.

Royal Caribbean's portion of art auction revenue is computed as a percentage of the auction proceeds (up to 20%) against an agreed (but secret) minimum per voyage. Plaintiffs and the Class spent millions of dollars on purchases of artwork from Park West shipboard auctions on Royal Caribbean Cruises. [Editor's note: It has been reported to Fine Art Registry from numerous Park West Gallery insiders - ex-auctioneers and others that the proceed percentages paid to the cruise lines are well in excess of 20%.]

The artwork that Park West will auction on any particular cruise is handsomely framed and remains on display throughout duration of the cruise. Royal Caribbean never discloses its financial interest in the art auctions. Royal Caribbean does not stand behind its concessionaires or offer any relief to Plaintiffs and the Class who complain about Park West, but it continues to allow Park West to conduct its auctions on Royal Caribbean cruises. [Editor's note: In fact, Park West is still selling its Dali Divine Comedy inventory aboard Royal Caribbean ships despite the controversy that exists.].

Royal Caribbean selects the location and timing of the auction and encourages passengers to attend and mingle at the venue before the auction in the party-like shipboard atmosphere. Passengers are treated to a free champagne cocktail-hour before the bidding begins, providing time to relax, socialize and preview the artwork that will be offered for sale. The champagne is provided by Royal Caribbean at Park West's expense and is served by members of the Royal Caribbean crew.

Shipboard art auctions are enormously successful for Park West and Royal Caribbean, earning significant revenue for both. The financial success of the shipboard auctions depends on the trust placed in Royal Caribbean by Plaintiffs and the Class. Park West trades on cruisers' trust and faith in Royal Caribbean to sell the artwork at sea and makes the same misrepresentations to auction attendees on cruise after cruise. Repeat business by cruisers is critical to the success of all cruise lines. In 2008, one-half (1/2) of all passengers on cruise ships were repeat cruisers. Repeat Royal Caribbean cruisers would be familiar with Park West, having seen them while on board a previous cruise.

With Royal Caribbean's knowledge, cooperation and agreement, Park West used the reputation of Royal Caribbean to lure Plaintiffs and the Class to the auctions and to close sales. Plaintiffs and the Class were unaware of the implications of Royal Caribbean's foreign registry and that it was not an American entity, even if departing from the United States. Passengers were generally unaware that, in the event of a dispute, Royal Caribbean and Park West would claim to be insulated by international or admiralty law from consumer claims.

Royal Caribbean facilitated Park West's fraud by allowing Park West, an American entity, to piggy-back on Royal Caribbean's legal insulation under admiralty law by deliberately scheduling the Park West art auctions only when the ship was in international waters and by never disclosing its financial interest in the auctions. Royal Caribbean "closes down" Park West's auctions while the ship is in port or in the territorial waters of any port of call, creating the illusion for Plaintiffs and the Class that there is a legal impediment to Park West's operating in port, similar to the legal impediments for operating casino gambling while in port.

Royal Caribbean allows cruisers to pay for their Park West purchases and the Park West phony Appraisals on the ship's bill that Royal Caribbean renders to passengers immediately prior to disembarking. [Editor's note: In fact, Royal Caribbean accepts wire transfers from Park West Gallery shipboard buyers directly into Royal Caribbean bank accounts so that Royal Caribbean can collect its share of the proceeds from the sale of the Park West art.]

Royal Caribbean actively assisted and conspired with Park West and Scaglione in the fraud. The pattern described in the Complaint is without substantial variation for all Royal Caribbean cruises: prominent display of auction venue on board the ship, champagne preview, auctions scheduled only in international waters, sales made by means of fraudulent misrepresentations that the art is a "good investment" and will "immediately appraise" for more than the price paid, and payment permitted on the ship's bill.

Sponsorship by Royal Caribbean provides Park West with respectability and access to a large, affluent captive audience. [Editor's note: This is a fact that Fine Art Registry has been trumpeting from the beginning. Park West Gallery can only get away with these bad business practices because of the sponsorship of the cruise lines.]

Over half of the 200,000 American passengers who cruised annually during the Class Period (defined below) reside in Florida, California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. [Editor's note: Fine Art Registry has recorded over 300 victims alone from all over the world, including the U.S., Australia, and the UK.]

Prior to the opening auction on any Royal Caribbean cruise, the artwork to be auctioned is displayed by Park West at a prominent shipboard location, including such "works" as Dali, Picasso and Rembrandt to serve as a draw. The start of the auction is prominently featured on the Royal Caribbean ship's daily calendar, on-board website and is announced over the loud speaker system immediately before beginning.

The auctioneers and other Park West employees (together "auctioneer(s)") circulate among the passengers who come to preview the artwork in order to encourage participation in the bidding and to misrepresent to Plaintiffs and the Class, in a uniform sales pitch used at all Park West shipboard auctions on Royal Caribbean, that: (1) the auctioneers have expertise in art, which they do not; (2) the artwork to be offered at auction is a "good investments," which it is not; (3) the artwork is "original," which it is not, (4) the artwork actually received will be a "unique variation" (not a copy) of artwork displayed, a meaningless term, and (5) any artwork purchased at auction "will appraise immediately on shore for many times the auction purchase price," which is blatantly untrue.

Employees of Royal Caribbean circulate during the preview, serving champagne and tidying up the venue post-cocktail hour. Also during the preview, the auctioneers promise a surprise giveaway at the first auction as yet another hook to attract bidders to the auction, all occurring within earshot of the Royal Caribbean crew.

When bidding begins, it is conducted under the direction of auctioneers who are trained by Park West. Park West employs a "Principal Auctioneer" in Michigan who instructs and trains auctioneers. The sales pitch employed by the auctioneers touts the investment value of the artwork and includes a sales patter fixing the value of each piece at a dollar amount developed by Park West prior to the auction. This value is then used by Park West as the Appraisal value, which is supplied to the customer after the sale.

At the first auction on each voyage, auctioneers pretend to "sacrifice" an "important" artwork for a seemingly ridiculously low price, sometimes as low as fifty dollars ($50.00), in order to stimulate bidding. Bidding is fast paced and reflects the general party atmosphere on a Royal Caribbean ship, where passenger spending is not only encouraged but crucial to the financial success of Royal Caribbean. The auctioneers engage in high pressure tactics, belittling bidders who hesitate to bid higher and always speaking with the pistol shot speed that is the auctioneer's stock in trade.

Plaintiffs and the Class are not told by Park West before or during the auction whether a sellers' reserve will be applied, or whether shilling (bidders who are put-ups by Park West and have no intention to purchase) or phantom bidding (bids called with no bidder) are permitted at the auction. While some of these practices are legal under the laws of some states or may be otherwise regulated by state law, Park West times its auctions to operate out of the reach of state laws regulating auctions. All Park West ever discloses to Plaintiffs and the Class is the minimum bid. [Editor's note: It has been reported to Fine Art Registry on numerous occasions that shills are used by Park West Gallery to entice, to induce, and to deceive shipboard passengers during the auction and at the post-auction private "check-out" meetings.]

Auctioneers encourage cruisers to purchase at the auctions (and the previews and the "private sales") by emphasizing that the auction is taking place on board a famous, well respected cruise line, Royal Caribbean, by stating, "Do you think Royal Caribbean would allow us to have a shop here if we were fraudulent? If we were not reputable?" At least half of the passengers will recognize Park West's auctions from other cruises, reinforcing Park West's credibility. Park West omits to disclose Royal Caribbean's financial interest in the auction proceeds. All of these misrepresentations are made at all auctions and are made openly and are well-known to Royal Caribbean, whose officers and employees can hear them being made and have heard them before. The auctions are conducted in a public space on the Royal Caribbean ship where Royal Caribbean employees have full and easy access to the proceedings.

At the auctions, as bidding is closing down (because Royal Caribbean has a competing recreational activity scheduled or another activity booked for the venue), the auctioneer encourages the cruisers at the auctions to attend a "private sale" where the unsold paintings will be displayed and are available for purchase. As part of the fraudulent scheme, the auctioneers tell Plaintiffs and the Class that the artwork available at the private sale is an even better value than the artwork being auctioned because there are no other bidders at the private sale to drive up the price. Purchasers at the private sale still pay the buyer's premium as if the artwork had been purchased at the auction.

The artwork auctioned off by Park West on its Royal Caribbean shipboard auctions were not what Park West represented them to be. Namely, the artwork was not valuable, not a good investment, not museum quality, not original and oftentimes fake. Park West deliberately and fraudulently misrepresented to Plaintiffs and the Class, in its uniform sales pitch used on all Royal Caribbean cruises within the hearing and knowledge of Royal Caribbean personnel, that the artwork sold at shipboard auctions was a "good investment," something to "leave to the grandkids" and would, once on shore, "immediately appraise for many times more" than what Plaintiffs and the Class had paid for the artwork because the artwork was "original" and "touched by the artist's hand." [Editor's note: Fine Art Registry has evidence that much of the artwork Park West Gallery ships into and out of the U.S. is being misclassified as a "lithograph" in order to escape paying customs' duty, all in violation of U.S. Customs laws.]

Park West knew, but never disclosed to Plaintiffs and the Class at the shipboard auctions, that:

(a) Dali forgeries abound in the Park West shipboard auctions (and other galleries). Dali is a prominent "hook" artist for Park West.

(b) The Rembrandts offered for sale, Rembrandt Wood Cuts, sold sometimes for as much as $10,000 each, are in fact modern prints (perhaps made from the original woodcut) that are neither rare nor valuable. Thousands of these "original" Rembrandts are available, and the prints have little chance of appreciation in value and are not a "good investment." Park West never discloses that the Rembrandt prints were not made during the artist's lifetime.

(c) Some Park West artwork for sale (all artwork is framed when displayed shipboard) is merely an ink-jet print, little better than a poster.

(d) The signed and numbered artwork from a series that Park West sells is from a very large series or from one of several series and have little, if any, appreciation value, although Park West represents them to be a "good investment." Park West only discloses the number in the series when the number is low, but not how many iterations were in the series or if there is more than one series on the market.

(e) Park West does not disclose when Park West is the only dealer for a particular artist or the work that is offered for sale.

(f) Park West artists often negotiate bulk sales of their work with Park West, diminishing the value and making Park West the sole or primary dealer for that artist or particular work.

(g) Artwork sold as "signed by the artist" may have suspect signatures or reproduced pencil signatures.

(h) Artists' "proofs" of limited editions are editions in addition to the limited edition of the work or that more than one "limited edition" of the same work has been produced.

(i) Park West always describes the pieces it offers for sale at shipboard auctions as "artwork" or "paintings," even when the work is a print.

Reputable art galleries disclose the date of a work that is one in a series for which multiple series may exist, as well as the number in the series and the number of series in existence. Reputable galleries also disclose the methodology for the preparation of a print or lithograph offered for sale and whether the print was created by the artist or by another person at the artist's direction, as well as the date of the print preparation and total number in circulation. Reputable galleries always disclose the provenance of "original" works of art. Park West never disclosed to Plaintiffs and the Class the details and provenance (as described in this paragraph) for the artwork sold at its shipboard auctions and, in fact, sold the artwork with deliberate misrepresentations. [Editor's note: Reputable galleries also don't use their hourly or salaried employees to "embellish" or otherwise alter the artwork by adding pigment or other enhancements such as a blind stamp, chop mark, hand-numbering, or any other augmentation. In other words, changing, adding to, or enhancing a work of art by someone other than the originating artist, like what is being done in the bowels of the Park West Michigan gallery without specifically disclosing these facts to the buyer is deceiving and deliberately misleading to prospective buyers. Reputable galleries also do not "create provenance" for artwork like Park West Gallery does -- a deceptive and abhorrent practice in the art industry that is not at all acceptable under any circumstances or under any possible stretch of the imagination. Yet this is exactly what Park West Gallery does and is business as usual for them. To our knowledge, Park West Gallery has never disclosed any of these facts or practices to a single buyer of any Park West Gallery art inventory, including purchasers of the Dali Divine Comedy or Biblia Sacra prints.]

Royal Caribbean knew, or was reckless in not knowing, that its participation was essential to operation of the Art Auction Enterprise and Park West's scheme. Upon information and belief, Royal Caribbean has received complaints from dissatisfied Park West customers throughout the Class Period.

Park West, with the facilitation and cooperation of Royal Caribbean, hides in international waters. Royal Caribbean carefully schedules the auctions to never take place while docked in any port and never within the territorial waters of any port-of-call. Royal Caribbean schedules the art auctions in the late afternoon (around cocktail hour and, in fact, serves the cocktails) and always after the ship has left port and is cruising international waters.

Conducting business in international waters is important to Park West's deceptive scheme because it provides a legal cloak in Park West's ongoing attempt to limit the legal protection of the states' consumer protection laws to Plaintiffs and the Class, even if the ship departs from the United States. Park West also argues in legal actions to limit the reach of federal laws to its activities. [Editor's note: Isn't it convenient how all of the Park West Gallery entities are set up to escape liability, including how they go about the hiring of their auctioneers and the method of paying them - all wired funds from an offshore bank?!]

In another lawsuit pending in Michigan state court, Park West took a different and more aggressive approach. In Best v. Park West Galleries, Inc., Case No. 0896952-C2 (State of Michigan, Circuit Court for the County of Oakland, filed Dec. 23, 2008), Plaintiffs are seven individuals, one of whom is a Michigan resident. Plaintiffs, who did not file a class action, alleged violations of the Michigan Warranty in Fine Arts Act for Park West's fraud related to the sale of artwork. Park West fired back with a counterclaim for damages against Plaintiffs, alleging defamation, tortious interference with business relationships and civil conspiracy. [Editor's note: Park West also included Fine Art Registry as a third-party defendant in this case.]

Park West's goal in conducting its auctions only in international waters is to escape the reach of the state courts and avoid the application of state consumer protection laws to its illegal activities. Thus far, with the facilitation of Royal Caribbean, Park West has been successful.

On July 16, 2008, an article appeared in the New York Times entitled "Art Auctions on Cruise Ships Lead to Anger Accusations and Lawsuits," by Jori Finkel. The article detailed sales of low value or worthless "artwork" by Park West at shipboard auctions conducted in international waters, employing representations that the artwork offered by Park West was "museum quality" or "good investments." The article further detailed the difficulty purchasers encountered in obtaining any satisfaction from Park West on their complaints. The article stated that whenever there was a settlement with a disgruntled customer, Park West required confidentiality.

Park West had a duty to disclose the true value and provenance of the artwork sold at shipboard auctions and to furnish non-deceptive Appraisals when selling appraisals. Notwithstanding this duty, Park West never disclosed the provenance of the artwork, that the artwork was not a good investment and that the Appraisals were phony, self-serving biased statements, utterly worthless for valuing the artwork. Park West and Royal Caribbean never disclosed their revenue sharing arrangement. [Editor's note: Fine Art Registry has concluded its year long investigation into the provenance of the Park West Gallery Dali inventory which Fine Art Registry will be reporting on in the near future. It is our opinion that much of the documentation submitted to victims by Park West Gallery in support of its Dali inventory (the alleged signed Dali pieces in particular) are data forgeries.]

As demonstrated by the allegations in the Complaint, Park West employed and continues to employ the same fraudulent practices to sell artwork at shipboard auctions. Royal Caribbean continues to offer Park West auctions as recreation for cruisers and to schedule Park West auctions on its cruises while the ship is in international waters. [Editor's note: And incredibly the cruise lines, and in particular Royal Caribbean, are still permitting Park West Gallery to sell or attempt to sell its Dali inventory despite the cloud that is cast.]