Some 3,000 people attend auction of recovered items

BOARDMAN – Chris Roman knew there would be a crowd at the Western Reserve Auction Center on Saturday morning.

After all, most of the items to be sold at auction that day were recovered from a highly publicized theft ring that once operated in the Mahoning Valley but was broken up by authorities about two years ago. The intrigue from that alone would surely draw some curious onlookers to the auction, he thought.

But what he saw when he stood atop the auctioneer’s stand simply blew him away.

“This had to be one of the largest auctions that this area, if not the entire state of Ohio, has seen in a long, long time,” said Roman, of George Roman Auctioneers. “The turnout was way beyond what I expected.”

He estimated that nearly 3,000 people crowded onto the grounds of the auction center on Western Reserve Road, and many of them came intending to buy, not just look, as more than 500 people were registered to bid.

“You just don’t see that many people coming out to bid like that. Generally, if you get 200 people registered to bid, that’s a big auction,” Roman said. “This was amazing.”

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com