To those who are not familiar with why Larry Eastman was expelled from the club ... although Bob Orme has stated the reason very accurately.

Forget the name Larry Eastman for just a moment and substitute Larry's name with any name that pops into your head. Here is what Article V of the clubs ByLaws state now ... and what they stated back then:

V. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

"Any member violating the bylaws of this organization, its Constitution, or its Code of Ethics, or who has been convicted of a criminal offense, engaged in conduct unbecoming to a member, or engaging in conduct prejudicial to the welfare of the organization, shall be subject to expulsion or other disciplinary action."

I was the elected club President at the time the elected Board took unanimous action to expel Mr. Eastman ... based solely on Larry's conviction in a court of law and Larry's guilty plea. That is what the club's ByLaws called for.

David Sarles' Board, which suceeded my term of office ... and Nate Pincus' Board that followed Sarles term of office ... had the option to overturn the previous Board's ruling, or lessen the penalty ruled upon...; and the current elected Board under President Skelton has the authority to rule on any appeal that an expelled member chooses to make. This is not a decision that is left up to the membership to vote on ... as one poster has suggested.

Larry Eastman's recent decision to sell his collection has little to do with the original Board decision to expel him. That's a personal choice that Mr. Eastman has since made to now sell his collection, years after the original ruling.

I don't dislike Larry Eastman ... he seems to be a nice enough kind of guy. Having said that, Larry never stole anything from me ... but I was elected to uphold the club's Bylaws at the time, and I did ... and I'm fairly certain that many of those today who are 2nd-guessing the decision probably would have done the same thing if they were the sitting club President.