They are really nice looking bikes and I came very close to picking one up, but after reading the very long "discussion" on the CR board I changed my mind. I wouldn't judge anyone for riding one, but the karma behind the brand is seriously messed up.
I do not think Mike & Gian are the bad guys in the story, nor Brian Baylis that participated as a minor character. William (Bill) Recht was the culprit and he had the capital, without that Custom Bicycles by Confente or Medici may not have happened. Basically everyone else just wanted to make bikes and make a living. Prior to Medici, Wizard had failed, and lack of capital was a big part. One could fault Gian perhaps as he knew of Bill financing both operations and Mario did not. Bill also underestimated Mario's reaction when Mario did learn of the full business plan and most probably did not know that relations between Mario and Gian were more Italian than American.