About 30 years ago I imported some wood from Africa. It can be a very tricky business.

There are some woods that are not allowed into the US for one reason or another. If you are in this business you know this because the US State Department tells you all about it.

I was approached by a 'customer' who wanted some very rare wood out of The Republic of South Africa. My first response was why did they not get it from someone who deals in that wood now and their answers sounded lame, so I looked into it.

The wood in question was considered a religious totem to a tribe in RSA and, through a friend I had that lived there, I found that it would take a Safari to secure some. The cost would be quite high, so I told the customer it could not be done. They said cost was no object which was another red flag.

To make a long story short it turned out another wood dealer was behind all of this and was plotting to set me up with the US Wildlife Service and the US Customs Department. I think someone from the US State Department had a short talk with them about how this was a bad thing and if they did it again there might be a legal problem in their future.

But as this pertains to this Gibson thing: If Gibson just ordered up the wood and the supplier from India sent them the wrong type it would be hard for them to tell if the wood looked closely like the wood they have been getting. The Feds would have had no choice but to raid the place since the wood in question is not allowed into the US. Gibson's problem appears to be not with the Customs people but with the supplier in India who may have been duped as well by their supplier.

Or it all could be nothing more than an honest mistake.

And to claim politics had anything to do with this is just too far out there to be practical. Is the claim that if you give to the GOP, and you break the law, you will be held accountable for breaking the law? It has been my experience that if you break the law your political background will do you little good. If you doubt that then call Tom DeLay and see what he has to say about it.

Honesty is the best policy, and it never hurts to buy from a trusted source.

As the old saying goes: If you don't know Banking you had better know your Banker. The same can be said for any business relationship.