A minor Tax bill that wasn't the reason for the action but "revenge" may have come into play on some level. Val had been sold short by the "establishment" for years... if you get involved with this industry and more specifically, the "fraternities" herein, the politics can get very funny and cause some very unfair elements of advantage for the unworthy and disadvantage to those that actually have talent.
Any "Professional" worth his/her salt wasn't hurt by anything exposed in those shows... a lot of people trying to climb up into the pro ranks may have panicked a bit but that goes back to their inability to turn things around to their advantage. The Elephant Vanish from the show is based on the old Melbourne Christipher unit I used to own... it ticked me off that it was tipped but on the other hand, it is a method that's outrageously impractical on one level and on another level, now that it's "known" it can be used to actually fool folks.
Penn & Teller tip a lot of methods used by magicians in their shows. One night in particular they exposed the pass, some kind of break and a card force early in the show. During intermission (if I recall the story correctly) Jamie Swiss sent into the audience doing card tricks using ONLY those methods that were exposed and yet NOT A SINGLE PERSON CAUGHT ON TO THE FACT!
Many years ago the L.A. Times did an article on Johnson's Products exposing their Cigarette Thru Quarter gaff in a full color 4 x 6 photo... this was one of my primary routines. Rather than panic I got with a good friend and over a couple hour period, we created a routine that was clean and shut down the idea that I used anyting remotely close to the Johnson device. I proceeded to perform that routine as part of a Sunday Brunch at the Magic Castle using the newspaper article as my close-up pad and asking the audience how I could have possibly done all they'd just seen using something that obviously clunky...
Sorry guys, but only the wannabes fear exposure of this kind. If you honestly know your art and the craft you will have no problems side stepping this kind of thing.
Magician Dean Hankey (TheDean) was working his show at Lake Tahoe when the first show aired... the show that "tipped" the levitation ala forklift.
Dean knew ahead of time about the forklift explanation, had a lifesize flat foamcore picture of a forklift made up... with girl in air the curtain lifts so he can get the hoop... he sees the forklift, makes a face and pushes it over... the audience laughs and are still mesmerized in that they don't know how she stays up...
It's perspective gang!