The problem is severalfold.
First, it would spesar that some of the wood was from species listed on the CITES list as threatened or endangered. Importing same without the proper paperwork is a big deal, as much as importing an animal (alive or dead) similarly listed on the CITES list. CITES is a treaty and, as Constitutional scholars know, treaties are the supreme law of the land.
Second, there have been allegations that Gibson was either bringing in "new" wood as "old" (pre-CITES) wood, or otherwise bringing in "new" wood. I don't know the truth of them (that's why they're called "allegations"), but if any of them are true, it's a real problem.
Third, the reason these woods are on the CITES list in the first place is because (a) there's demand for them and (b) there's money behind the demand and (c) the people where these woods grow don't give a hoot about the viability of their ecosystem or the survival of these species when they balance those against ... eating. Moreover, a substantial number of these woods either grow in low density in their original range (i.e., they're uncommon to begin with) and/or never really get too big (so a lot of trees have to be taken to get marketable quantities). For example, macassar ebony (an exquisite wood) as an unmolested tree only rarely grows larger than 8 inches diameter. Veneering your desk with it will consume the better part of a whole tree.
I, too, long for the day when my dad was able to go to the scrap bins at the Martin Guitar factory and get rejected rosewood fingerboards for his project wood. But that day is gone. It's a function of having a world with 7 billion people in it.
