May 12, 2005
"We were estimating the flag at over a million dollars. We had three casinos that hadn't even bid yet and it just went dead right after they went public with the thing," said David Nicholson.
David Nicholson drew a lot of attention back in the March when he sold a flag on eBay that he claims flew on a construction crane at the Pentagon on 9/11, The flag originally sold to a bidder in Minnesota who was offering to pay over $370,000 for it. However, seven days into the ten day auction, Nicholson's hopes were dashed.
"We got $25,000 for it. A gentlemen in Loudoun County bought it and donated it to an elementary school named after two of the victims from 9-11. That is a difference of $346,000 dollars," he said.
Nicholson claims the Facchina Construction Company undermined his sale by writing a letter to Ebay, claiming the flag was a fake. In that March 8th letter to Ebay, an attorney for Facchina said, "Please be advised that the item description is erroneous. Facchina has advised us that it did not have a crane on site at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In reaction to the loss of money, Nicholson filed a civil suit today in Orange County Circuit Court looking to get back the $346,300 lost between the two buyers. The suit claims, "Facchina intentionally and willfully interfered with Nicholson's contractual and/or business expectancy."
In the end, Nicholson just wants one thing. "I just want them to do the right thing and tell the truth. Tell the truth and confirm that the flag was there," he said.
