FBI raids Gibson today for illegally imported tone woods!!

You know I would be really surprised if it turns out to be true that they willfully purchased banned woods.  But even though you go through all the proper records keeping etc. it only takes one weak link in the chain of supply to get you in trouble.  The stocking of woods that have been put on the list since they were purchased is more likely.  I have a friend that has a fair stock of Brazilian Rosewood that he bought like 30 years ago.... and has the receipts to prove it!  There is nothing illegal about having it if it was legal to harvest at the time of purchase.... but no new logging is allowed!

Doug

Nice catch wood police. Now go and nab more of those sick freaks who do horrible things to innocent children................

I'd agree to a point....There are worse things happening in the world but I think the environment is important too! With out it there is no world! We're talking about the rain forest which could hold undiscovered cures for disease, endangered species, and some forms of plants and animals that haven't even been discovered yet. If a government is going to make a law protecting it then it should be inforced...IMO. The Idea is that if no one will use it, they can't sale it and won't harvest it... Do we need fewer laws in general and to enforce those more regularly??? Probably, but those are other issues....
  I don't know if Gibson knowingly bought the illegal wood or not, but I would think a major company ,that is concerned about the environment, would check before buying a bulk of illegal of endangered wood... They got it through a German supplier and the president of Madagascar signed a bill for it to be allowed out of the country but that doesn't make it legal to import into the US or right to harvest it at all. It was strictly a financial decision for them (Mada) and not an environmental one...BTW, it was the department of Fish & Wildlife ,not the FBI, that raided them and seized the material.
  As I think about it though, Martin, Taylor, Godin, Larrivee, and other major manufactures offer smart wood guitars made with renewable timber and ,as far as I'm aware, Gibson has yet to offer any comparable models... If anyone can correct me on this, please do so. I read articles all the time about companies trying to protect the environment but I don't think I've ever seen Gibson's name mentioned among them... Although the CEO does sit on the rainforest board.

"fully cooperating" most likey because they got busted no sense in defusing a bomb after it has exploded, I suppose we should give them the benifit of doubt its not unusual for the top people to not know what the bottom half is doing something like "plausable ignorance"

Yes there are many trees but few are chosen for Gibson,I am not an endangered animal or plant person and to old to worry about the ozone layer or rouge comets smashing the earth to little pieces or lizards dying on some remote island the earth will replenish itself man may not be around to appreciate it tho