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Who is Melvin Gibbs? By Robert "Rob" Redding Jr. Publisher
July 30, 2007, 12:01 a.m. -
Former Attorney Melvin E. Gibbs has
exhausted his life savings, had his license to practice law revoked,
his files taken and his family threatened during more than a decade
of pursuit of the Smithsonian through Gibbs, 63, of Silver Spring, Md., believes the Smithsonian should be included in a $2 billion fraud, racketeering and conspiracy suit he filed against the New York-based Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in 1997 over the paintings of black artist William H. Johnson. Gibbs, who continues to risk everything and has taken his fight to the popular YouTube Web site said, "This is a small price to pay to obtain justice for the family of William H. Johnson." He said both institutions "stole Johnson's artwork" and have attacked him and his family "to cover it up." Both the Smithsonian and Michael Rosenfeld Gallery have denied these allegations and the case has been unable to move forward on procedural grounds. "This case has not gone forward because of the illegal acts that they have committed to conceal criminal conduct," Gibbs said. "And that is why I am asking for a special prosecutor to be appointed to this case." Gibbs, a former "He told me that the family has not received a dime of copyright royalties from the paintings that were stolen from them and which the Smithsonian now has," Gibbs said. "I have been fighting ever since." The family lost control of more than 1,500 of Johnson’s paintings when, according to Gibbs, the works were "stolen" before delivery. Story continues on the right -> |
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Ever since he took the case Gibbs has been relentless in his pursuit of the Smithsonian, which he said cannot prove they hold the copyright to any of Johnson's works.
Steve Turner, and authority on the history of Johnson an author of “William H. Johnson: Truth Be Told,” said Gibbs has paid dearly for his pursuit of the Smithsonian.
"There is just one of him against the power and resources of the federal government," Turner said. "They have a nice little asset and they don't want to lose it."
C. Sukari Hardnett of Silver Spring-based Hardnett and Associates, who had worked with Gibbs on the case, agreed.
"He especially has suffered the brunt of the abuse," Hardnett said in a previous interview. "I think that the fact that it has lasted as long as it has lasted is because of his character and fortitude and his love for black people and the struggle that we have had over the century."
In 2002, Gibbs was stripped of his South Carolina law license, an action he claims was the result of a "personal" attack by the Smithsonian and Rosenfeld Gallery. (See ruling)
"
In 2003, Gibbs said he
served 13 months in
This arrest came less than
four years after his 80-year-old mother-in-law was threatened in 1999.
"She was told she would face Social Security fraud charges if she did not help them," he said.
Gibbs also has given up his 6,000-square-foot dream home and estimates his bills for the case to be more than $5,000 a month.
"Realistically if something
does not happen soon there is no way I
can provide for the case going on any longer unless assistance is
rendered," he said. "The resources required to maintain the lawsuit are
enormous."
© 2007 The Washington Continent. All rights reserved.
