CELEBRITIES DRAWING LINE AGAINST FAKE AUTOGRAPHS.

Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer

While Agent Mulder battles black ooze and alien takeovers on ``The X-Files,'' actor David Duchovny has been filing lawsuits in Los Angeles, trying to unravel what may be a real-life conspiracy:

Who or what is behind a mysterious plot to put fake signatures on the actor's photos and sell them for $50 - and can they be stopped?

The fate of the case could be decided at a hearing Monday, in which a judge will consider an Internet autograph company's request to throw out Duchovny's complaint.

Whether the case survives the legal challenge, the issue seems no more likely to disappear than controversies over Roswell aliens and crop circles.

Over the past two years, Duchovny and enough stars to open a Planet Hollywood - including Arnold Schwarzenegger and former ``Lois and Clark'' star Dean Cain - have sued mail-order and Internet autograph distributors, claiming the signatures they sell are forgeries.

Meanwhile, local memorabilia stores are growing more skeptical of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa autographs, telling customers that a black-market baseball or a photo with the sluggers' signatures more likely was signed by someone else's little brother in the family rec room.

In the autograph capital of the world, Los Angeles memorabilia experts said there are plenty of legitimate products out there but warn celebrity junkies and sports fans to watch closely for counterfeits, especially online and at trade shows.

``The Internet can be very dangerous,'' said Richard Khoury, who has been working closely with signatures for 20 years at Sports Memorabilia Etc. in Studio City. ``Ninety-five percent of the people will be thrilled. They won't even know it's a fake until they try and sell it.''

The truth is out there

Regardless of whether his lawsuit has merit, Duchovny has plenty of reason to be upset.

Truly Unique Collectibles was selling his photo on the Internet for $50 - well below the asking price of other A-list stars such as Sean Connery ($95) and Mel Gibson ($110). To add insult to injury, a set of Spice Girls autographs sells for $150.

The site also includes has-beens and never-weres at bargain-basement prices - actors Scott Baio and Linda Lavin each sell for $20. And there is a staggering number of obscure actors from ``Star Trek'' and other sci-fi franchises - $30 buys a signed photo from Peter Mayhew, who howled his way to fame as Chewbacca in ``Star Wars.''

Duchovny was the first celebrity to challenge the autograph merchants, suing a now-defunct mail-order company called CPG Direct in Los Angeles Superior Court in 1996. He eventually won a $364,000 judgment against the company, said his lawyer, Farhad Novian.

Earlier this year, Duchovny and Cain filed separate lawsuits against Truly Unique in federal court, claiming it is run by the same people who owned CPG.

Lawyers for Truly Unique vehemently deny the allegations and include authentication papers for their signed photos in court records.

Truly Unique attorney Ronald Drescher said in court papers that the company adheres to standard industry practice, randomly selecting photos and using outside firms to check their authenticity.

Drescher filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits that are scheduled to be heard by U.S. District Judge Robert Kelleher on Monday.

But Novian, who is also Cain's lawyer, said both stars ordered photos from the companies they are suing and determined that they are fakes.

``Mr. Cain and Mr. Duchovny looked at the signatures and immediately knew they were signed by someone else's hand,'' he said.

Novian said Duchovny filed the lawsuits to protect his fans and protect his name. Novian advises viewers to write directly to the actor's publicist for a signed photo.

As for sports stars, Khoury describes Michael Jordan as though he's Michelangelo, with a signature that is the celebrity autograph equivalent of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

``He leaves his own special trademarks,'' Khoury said, pointing out the subtle way the star turns the M in his name into his jersey number, 23. ``If you know the business, you know all of his loops and slashes. It can't be copied.''

Sign like Mike

While fellow NBA All-Stars Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley have inconsistent scribbles for signatures that are difficult to authenticate, Khoury said an experienced dealer can spot a fake Jordan from 3-point distance.

Khoury gets most of his inventory directly from sports figures or orders from reputable companies such as Upper Deck Authenticated, which has contracts with the stars and uses devices such as holographic seals to prevent forgeries.

The FBI estimates that as much as 75 percent of the $750 million-per-year sports memorabilia market involves fraudulent products, although Khoury and others in the business said that figure is too hard on the dealers.

Khoury said some of the forgeries he has seen are so obvious, it's funny. For example, Babe Ruth died in 1948, when athletes were still using fountain pens or pencils to sign autographs. Khoury recently was presented a Babe Ruth item that was signed with a ball-point pen.

Other fakes can deceive even an expert's careful eye.

``Some that come through look good; they look really good,'' Khoury said. ``I tell people, if you're in doubt, just walk away from it.''

Pieces of history

Autograph dealer David Rodriguez has a stern warning for those looking for a piece of history: If a strange guy walks up carrying a stack of bats with McGwire's name on them, they're probably phony.

``There's so much bad McGwire out there because his signatures are in high demand and he's terrible about signing,'' Rodriguez said. ``He doesn't do shows. He'll sign one autograph per kid at the ballpark, and that's about it.''

Rodriguez, who sells sports and celebrity autographs on the Internet, said he's 100 percent certain that his product is legitimate. His screening process is simple: ``We do everything in person,'' he said.

Rodriguez said he has a group of ``kids,'' ages 16 to 24, who go to award shows, movie premieres and personal appearances to get photos autographed by the stars and sports figures themselves.

The best about signing are John Travolta and Jackie Chan. ``Jackie's walked out on the street and signed a dozen autographs to one kid and been really good about it,'' Rodriguez said.

The worst are Barbra Streisand, The Artist (the former Prince) and Marlon Brando. ``I think I've had one kid in 10 years who got two Brandos, but he's been turned down 10 times,'' Rodriguez said.

Novian said he has become even more cynical about autographs than he was when he filed Duchovny's first lawsuit.

``Every time I go by a memorabilia store in a mall, I wonder, Is any of this legitimate?''

(Different ending in Bulldog Edition)

He said some stars, such as Tom Cruise and Michael Jackson, have offered autographs to keep signature hunters from tailing their cars.

``Michael's limo driver will stop and say, quit following us and he'll sign one piece each,'' Rodriguez said.

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PHOTO (Color) Richard Khoury of Sports Memorabilia Etc. in Studio City says 20 years in the business has taught him to spot fake signatures.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News