Gibson Guitars has settled federal charges of unlawfully importing ebony wood

Rolling Stone –

Gibson Guitars has settled federal charges of unlawfully importing ebony wood from Madagascar for fretboards by agreeing to pay $350,000 in penalties, The New York Times reports. Gibson will pay a $300,000 fine and donate an additional $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company will escape criminal charges if it does not violate terms of a settlement in the next year and a half. Gibson also agreed to abandon a lawsuit seeking $261,000 in damages incurred during the investigation.

"Gibson has acknowledged that it failed to act on information that the Madagascar ebony it was purchasing may have violated laws intended to limit over-harvesting and conserve valuable wood species from Madagascar, a country which has been severely impacted by deforestration," said Ignacia S. Morena, an assistant U.S. attorney general.

Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s chief executive, last year called the charges "baloney."

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Comment by Fweezella on August 7, 2012 at 6:59am: love that pedal board! Wow, they may be coming for your guitar! It's 2112 a century early!

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on August 6, 2012 at 8:50pm: chit no wonder...he's knockin on me door..lmao

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on August 6, 2012 at 8:43pm: now where the hell is Fweezella??....he ought to be all over this one, hell heres just his pedal board...

oh fweezy???....where ye be??

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on August 6, 2012 at 8:38pm: ya, exactly....crappy clones of the 70's ..w00t!

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on August 6, 2012 at 8:30pm: Xcept the "Les Paul" ;)

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on August 6, 2012 at 8:10pm: different manufacturing methods actually buddy, both great geetars, but Martin is the superior as far as retaining $ value, and haven't played one yet that played shitty ;) but I have had a couple shitty Gibson's now ...lol

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on August 6, 2012 at 7:58pm: Martin's are not Gibson's & Vice-Versa ;)

Comment by Nathan on August 6, 2012 at 6:44pm: Martin is in Nazareth, PA.

Don't know the numbers re Gibson.

Comment by Nathan on August 6, 2012 at 5:48pm: Odd that the Feds didn't charge Martin Guitars with the same 'crime'. Martin engaged in the same 'act'. Just another governmental shake down people...move along...nothing to see here......

Comment by truth on August 6, 2012 at 5:42pm: Gibson Guitar CEO Says Feds Told Him Problems Would ‘Go Away’ if La...

Gibson Guitar CEO Says Feds Told Him Problems Would ‘Go Away’ if Labor Outsourced to Madagascar