1979 - the largest counterfeit first day cover operation fell apart, leading to the arrest and conviction of its creator, Jerry P Mather, under the name Gary P Westemberger, of Redondo Beach, Ca. The counterfeit covers were offered under the names Fiesta or La Fiesta, sold out of Los Angeles mailing addresses. The operation involved more than 350 different cachet designs starting with covers dated 1956 until 1979.
Mather started his operation around 1977, and was able to continue, because the cost of the covers was far less expensive than the cost of expertizing them to ensure they were legitimate. In the collecting marketplace the cachet became more important than the postmark, therefore many collectors did not focus or mind the counterfeit postmark. Although these covers are considered counterfeit, they still claim a price around $20.00, and many can be found signed by the player honored on the cachet, bringing up the value..
The operation started because Mather could not keep up with the demand for the 1977 State Flags set. To keep customers happy and maintain a never ending supply of first day covers, he created the first day postmark rubber stamp and continued to postmark his own covers.
Any covers produced by Mather prior to 1970 are counterfeit. After that some of the covers produced for specific stamp issues may be genuine.
Inspectors crack counterfeit scheme... James H Burns, Linn's Stamp News Feb 25, 1980
Story May Just be Starting for Phony First Day Covers, Joe Brocket Linn's Stamp News Jan 19, 1981
Mather Fake First Day Covers, Joe Brocket, Linn's Stamp News June 1, 1981
Mather Story Confusing, Joe Brocket, Linn's Stamp News Dec 14, 1981
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