Exactly how was that verified? I've acquired all of my bikes legitimately, and I couldn't "verify" that they weren't stolen (except the Marnati). I have some pretty good friends, and I'm active in the Philly cycling community (and have been for a long while, off and on), but no one has ever given me an early 80s Merckx. I dare say no one I've ever known was given a free Merckx by a friend of a friend (now close friend).

This doesn't compute...and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that when something smells like BS, it is.