Urgent: Regarding Sergio And Liane Sismondo's Books, Etc!

Is anyone in the Syracuse, New York area?

I ordered and paid for a book from Liane Sismondo in early May, never received it, and have been unable to get back in contact with Liane after ordering it.

Just a little while ago, I called the apartment building she lives in, to see if I could get a better phone number for her, from them.

They said she "left" a little while ago (as in within the past month), and they'd like to get a hold of her too, as they have some questions. It seems like she left her stuff in the apartment. They said something about hiring a company to clean out the apartment, and that the dumpster is filling up fast. Sounds like books were left in her apartment too.

They said I could come get it myself, but I live across the country, in Oregon, so that will not work. I have no idea what all is being thrown away, but I can only imagine all the important books and materials that are/will be going in the trash.
If anyone is nearby and can go there and save stuff, it would probably be worth their while, in the materials/books, but also for philately itself.

Address is Regency Tower Apartments at 770 James St., Syracuse NY
Liane's apartment was #1108
Looks like they're open 8am-4pm on Mondays, 8am-5pm on Tuesdays through Fridays.
The number I called to learn this information was 315-474-7811, which pops up on Google for Regency Tower Apartments.

Yowza, I hope this has a happy ending for the hobby.

Sounds like a worthwhile field trip for the APRL staff.

Sounds like a bunch of legal questions that need to be answered first .

Some of the Sismondo Library will appear in an upcoming Dutch Country auction

Not if it's been thrown out, there aren't.

That's assuming the person throwing out the stuff has legal authority to do so.

That is an issue between the former owner and the disposing party. It's not incumbent upon a dumpster diver to ascertain the legality or propriety of how an item became the trash they now claim. There may be future legal processes that would require the items to be returned to the original owner, but there's nothing keeping a person (other than trespass, perhaps) from claiming anything in the garbage.

For what it's worth, the lady I spoke to on the phone indicated that I could come there myself and get the book, so it seems doubtful that they'd care if someone took books out of the trash.

The ~$30 book doesn't warrant flying across the country, if it's even there anymore, so I guess a Paypal dispute is the next step for me. I just emailed Scott Tiffney at the APRL, so hopefully something good can come from this.

Dumpster diving is generally legal if the container is on PUBLIC property. Private property can be another matter. Then you have to consider whether or not the cleaning company WANTS you in their container.

Which is why I brought up the trespass issue.

Liana is not in the USA, but in Canada. I had a pleasant and long conversation with her on the telephone. SHE called me! She called in response to my various routine letters, which she received. If you send her a letter to the various addresses she will eventually see it. She cannot be reached directly by phone but will call back as time and need allows.

Understand that she has been turned completely on her head with the illnessES of her and her husband of many decades before his recent death. This includes a long term period in the hospital where she herself was administering speach therapy to her husband.

I would think she is aware of the cleaning of the apartment in NY which I think she owns. Do do I think she is willing to toss away philatelic material into a dumpster. That does not mean someone else is not doing so illegally. However someone local would need to follow up on the issue to learn the true circumstances of the clean up there.

They, she and Sergio maintained the two, USA and Canada addresses to avoid the detailed pain in the backside when trying to move business inventory through customs.

While I can understand your frustration over a paid for book, it may show up. If it does not, be thankful there is a Scott Classic Catalog due to their efforts.

Lastly, there are family dynamics at play as the children all have good careers and no interest in the stamp business. That does not mean they don't understand the value. They lost their father and they would like their mother around.

I don't know how you paid, but just cancel it if by credit card or see if the check actually cleared. In May 2023 their websites were already down.

See: https://goscf.com/t/83680

Thanks for the update Parcelpostguy .

Hello, new to this ... I also have been looking for Liane too. The last time I talked to her was back in March, when she informed me of Sergio's passing. I told her I was very sorry to hear that, and asked her if she could send me back my stamps that I sent her and her husband, Sergio to authenticate. I have not received any reply since. I had sent her some stamps that my Grandfather passed down to me back in January of this year, to get authenticated. Having a Sismondo Certification was well respected in the Philately Community.
Having a business with the public has an obligation to its customers to return such property to its rightful owners.
However, running off to Canada, is no excuse to avoid your responsibilities to the customers of one's business. I am sorry if these words seem a little harsh, but I have been asking her to return my stamps since March of this year. I even told her she did not even have to pay anything to return them, for I sent a postage paid return envelope with my stamps.
If she felt overwhelmed with all the duties, she had ahead of her after Sergio's passing, all she had to do was ask for help. Ever since I started collecting stamps again, I had realized the philatelic community has been very caring.
With now, all I believe is Liane is dragging her good, late husband's name through the dirt. I just hope they do not get thrown into a dumpster.
Obviously, Sergio had a collection of his own, so I am hoping she would not let anything of value go to this end, since she knew the value of these stamps as well.
If anyone has new information of what is going on with "Sismondo Stamps", please let me know here, *** Edited by Staff - Please review the rules that you agreed to when you registered. ***
As these stamps are very valuable to me, since they were handed down to me by my grandfather.

Your stamps are going to have to wait , It has only been a short time since his passing . Give her time to be with family and hope their children will help out . Her health hasn't been the best . The courts will allow more time to settle and close down Sergio's business dealings .

Every stamp dealer and stamp auction house is well aware they had customers who send in material to be expertized and they want to be sure everything is clear before they take anything . So wait and let the family clear everything