Roadium Open Air Market Mike Romo - Space auctioneer Illegal auction Torrance, California

Mike Romo has been running and illegal space auction at the Roadium Open Air Market for quite some time.  What he and his cronies do is illegal and unethical.  Better spaces are held back and not pre-sold, so then they are available for a same day auction.  You cannot buy these spaces on a weekly or monthly basis, for the pre-paid rate.  You can can pay a large "One-time" amount to buy the right to pay for the space monthly.  I'm sure Mike Romo works on a percentage for that.

The same day auction is rigged.  A large crowd of new, and some not so new, vendors wait out front  for the space auction.  The auction is conducted off the back of a flatbed truck that rolls up.  A map of the swap meet on an erasable marker board is then marked up with X's for the spaces "Not available."

The auction begins, with a minimum bid of $10.00 over the cost of the space you we're not permitted to pre-pay for:  Better spaces are always held back!  The first "Best Space" goes to the highest bidder.  I have seen vendors pay $80.00 or more than a space is worth, and then some $40.00, $20.00 etc.  After these vendors leave and go to set up, the " X's" are removed from the board with the swipe of a finger, a few at a time, and then these spaces are sold for $10.00 above their price too.  The auction is rigged and is a sham that creates a false demand for spaces, and a false value for their price. 

Many swap meet vendors are "little people" poor immigrant people who have no voice, and don't want to speak out against corruption.  After watching this practice for several months and seeing many people being hurt by Mike Romo and his cronies, in this illegal and unethical auction, I decided to no longer frequent the swap meet.  I no longer wanted to be their shill.

There was a recent shooting at the Roadium, and it doesn't surprise me! I understand a few off- duty or former police handle the security at the market.  There is obviously not enough real police presence there, for a broad daylight jewelry heist to be committed.  They don't want the actual police snooping around their bogus auction, or observing other illegal and unethical business practices going on at the market. 

Mike Romo runs the Rodium Open Air Market like a concentration camp.  He and his owners should be ashamed of how they exploit the poor and needy in the community.  The Roadium is a rip-off to countless vendors. The scam has now been exposed in the hope that it will help bring about change.  Shame on you Mike Romo you are a workplace bully who exploits and discriminates against little people who can't defend themselves.  You lie and run a rip-off auction and you are a scam.  The fact that you are on the take with certain vendors is also without question.