Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain? she remembered the man saying. They take you in the Special Collections and show you these books, Spencer remembers, including Transys prized Birds of America, by John James Audubon, a four-volume set of life-size engravings the pioneer wildlife artist completed in London in 1838. Having told their parents that they were going on a ski trip to West Virginia, that weekend they loaded the loot into Erics Ford Explorer and took off on the 12-hour drive to New York for their Christies appointment. With each taking one end of the Audubons, they made their way to the staff-only elevator. (Big Warren declined to comment on the gambling accusations at the time.) Warren and Chas go up to the Rare Book Room, on the third floor, and Warren brings Gooch down hard and fast with a stun gun, making her a non-factor throughout the operation. Warren and Chas then let Eric in and they begin wrapping the Audubons in bedsheets and put any smaller books in backpacks. He focused above all on painting, gaining admission into a prestigious Lexington arts program. Like if we ever get caught, were talking about international issues, way past interstate commerce or whatever the hell it is.. Spencer assembled a small wardrobe of fake beards, gray wigs, and costume glue. They also did considerable research on the Internet, using such key terms as auction house appraisals, stun guns, and Swiss bank accounts. For inspiration, they watched heist movies like Ocean's 11 and Snatch. He was whisked into a squad car. We can do a license, but now we need a passport. So he says, Come see me in a couple of days or a week, but I need money, $2,500. All right, you know, just another thing, O.K., 2,500 bucks. Warren and Chas left the other two and staggered to the nearby China Club, a tacky West Side nightclub, which they knew about from the famous Rick James episode of Chappelle's Show. Realizing that the only way out was through the main floor, they took the elevator up once again and carried the books into a back stairwell that led to another exit. They were skeptical, Warren recalls. He topped off his new living quarters with the last of his worldly belongings: a large-screen television, a DVD player, and a Sony PlayStation. Us three, we were much thicker than he was.) And what Chas likely didn't know was that, for Warren, Eric, and Spencer, the actual appraisal and sale of the stolen books had become irrelevant to the mission. Before rendering her decision, the judge made preliminary findings that each of the boys was equally culpable, that the value of the books stolen would include only those physically removed from the building, and although Gooch suffered no bodily injury, the stun pen was in fact a dangerous weapon. That night they had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, followed by drinks at the hotel bar, where Warren chummed up to an Iraq veteran, Spencer almost started a brawl after knocking a table full of drinks over, and Eric picked up a middle-aged Brazilian tourist. Warren and Spencer readied themselves early without waking the others, silently showering, shaving, and putting the finishing touches on their outfits. Seeing something in the wayward Warren, the preppy grifter pitched him the idea of selling fake Kentucky drivers licenses in the U.K. dorms. The ground floor quickly filled with shouting cops, screaming young women, and a few dazed men in boxer shorts. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2023 The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited. agents poured in over the wreckage. What I found incredibly valuable about prison was the multiculturalism. The set was one of fewer than 200 produced. In high school, Warren, a lanky six-footer with a mop of brown hair, was a popular jock and a class clown who delighted his classmates by bear-hugging his nemesis, the dean of students, at graduation. The actor thanked his fans for all their kind words. According to the revised plan, they would ditch the old-man disguises and only Warren and Eric would enter the library. During a meeting in the basement, Warren convinced the other two that they were going to need a fourth, principally to help haul the nearly 250 pounds in Audubon folios out of the library. No response. In terms of the dollar amount involved and the extraordinary circumstances, the theft was one of the most significant in its history. Warren, under an alias, would make an appointment with Gooch for that afternoon to view the books they wanted to steal. On the morning of December 17, 2004, Betty Jean Gooch, a librarian in the Special Collections Library at Transylvania University, in Lexington, Kentucky, was preparing for her 11 oclock appointment with Walter Beckman, a man she had never met. Among the prisoners are three of the four unlikely masterminds behind the Transy Book Heist: Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, and Eric Borsuk. So we go back to the guy in Lexington and we say, Listen, we want to go somewhere, we want to go out of the country, and we need documentation, Warren explains. Boom. When an agent called, he got a voice-mail recording, This is Spence. Spencers life story and his practice are indelibly linked, thus the works he has created are a highly personal meditation on the journey Spencer Reinhard experienced. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. When I get up there, B.J. Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka had grown up together in adjacent subdivisions on Lexingtons south sidefully planned residential tracts wedged in between the city and the gradually receding horse country that rings it. (Throughout the interviews with the three, it became clear that Chas was the odd man out among the group. Spencer had underestimated his friends resolve. During our interview Eric told me, He was like just a weight on us. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. The plan for the actual robbery sets out three distinct phases. Though they attended different high schools, both were varsity captains, and both made all-state. He was still enrolled, but only nominally, and remained on the fringes of campus life. They were 20 steps ahead [of the librarian]. For example, if you want to go on a vacation, you should first decide where you are going and how much money you have . Honored to share the PRHBTN fest with you - your mural being the main attraction of course. [Warrens] like, Come on up, Eric remembers. They stopped talking entirely and disbanded. And so I see Warren go back.. . As she inspected the items, Halloran dutifully took notes, then asked a few questions regarding their provenance, which Spencer answered as best he could under the circumstances. Eric would stay on the main floor while Warren subdued Gooch in the Rare Book Room. He loved that it had been made the screen saver on the F.B.I. It was definitely a terrifying thing. Eric would stay on the main floor while Warren subdued Gooch in the Rare Book Room. Several weeks before Spencer was approached by Warren about the fake-ID business, he had been on a freshman-orientation tour of Transy, including the library and its exceptional collection of rare books and manuscripts. He's probably thinking I blamed him for [stealing] the money, which I never really did. I cant really get into too much specifics, Eric says, but we were doing all kinds of little scams: making fake IDs, making little things here and there. When Eric let him in on the plan, Chas mocked the three as deluded potheads, he recalls. The four men. The partnership flourished, with Warren as the face of the operation and Eric in charge of ID production, until the two had an argument over $2,000 that went missing from Erics drawer. Writing from walter.beckman@yahoo.com, Warren sent B. J. Gooch an e-mail confirming Beckmans December 16 appointment at the Rare Book Room to view the Audubons and a few other items. As they scooted down the stairs their arms gave out and they stopped to catch their breath. Just days before their arrests the three even took in a movie: Oceans 12. because she wanted a new Range Rover, like, what? In all my art classes I was the only guyin with a bunch of girls who didn't have any idea what they wanted to do. Back at Warrens that afternoon, the boys were transfixed by local coverage of the Transy Book Heist.. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. And then they came up with the issue of getting these appraised. With a long, thin face and bleached-blond hair and sideburns, he appeared younger than Gooch had expected. Serving a seven-year prison sentence following his involvement in a notorious heist (portrayed in the film American Animals), Spencer Reinhard was committed to not losing "the best years of his life." He turned to his own art, determined to refine his craft and technique. At first, we wanted to move to the States as quickly as possible, but we began to see the benefits of living in South America. This story was recently documented in the feature film American Animals. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Each has a different style of facial hairmuttonchops (Lipka), a Fu Manchu (Borsuk), a Tom Selleck (Reinhard)which Lipka informs me they had carefully trimmed for my visit. Spencer, meanwhile, was short, wiry, distant, and in many ways Warren's opposite: an over-scheduled, over-achieving, diamond-tipped drill of a kid who excelled at whatever he set himself to. Chas backs up [the van] and almost hits the woman as Eric comes around to the door. The first call went out to the National Crime Information Center, alerting law enforcement to be on the lookout for a gray minivan with temporary plates, the description of a vehicle seen screeching away from the library. Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain? she remembered the man saying. Phase 1 ends when the G.T.A.V. The two men followed the librarian into the Rare Book Room, and John closed the door behind them. But before long they were put to chase once again, this time by two local thugs. Chas turned the G.T.A.V. Phase 1 begins at the bungalow when all four get into what Warren designated the G.T.A.V., or the Go-to-and-Away-Vehicle, all disguised as old men. Wedged in among the other houses on Beaumont Avenue, a quiet residential street near the U.K. campus, is a beaten-down yellow cinder-block bungalow, with two bedrooms on the second floor and two on the first. The two boys sought cover from the cops in the sprawling grounds of the housing projects. We can never go back if we wanted toI would rather have not been busted, but all I can say is it feels right in here, and before, in college, it just never did., I remember talking to Eric and Warren one day and I was like, So what, theyre going to put us in jail, says Spencer. More important, the basement was secluded. Only cannabis-smoking goalkeeper Warren Lipka . from an unsuspecting friend and got his hands on zip ties, a wool cap, electrician's tape, and bedsheets. The plan will continue to grow and mature as the leader goes forward. Serving a seven-year prison sentence following his involvement in a notorious heist (portrayed in the film American Animals), Spencer Reinhard was committed to not losing the best years of his life. He turned to his own art, determined to refine his craft and technique. But even at that point, it became apparent that Warren and Spencer wouldnt be able to pull it off alone. What becomes apparent, as first faintly and then irreversibly, is the painting as a negative apotheosis of color and form, which Reinhardt defended himself against. They got security around that? Nonchalantly, very nonchalantly, I mean, just kind of shooting it between us. Because the boys pleaded guilty, many of the case's crucial details remain unknown even to law enforcement. I showed artistic ability from a young age and was selected to attend SCAPA in the fourth grade. Its often considered a mistake in the art world to have multiple styles, but I have to go wherever my inspiration takes me. They tried to come up with some link the cops could make between them and the theft, but they couldnt. Spencer was arrested in a simultaneous raid on his dorm room at Transy. (Through his attorney, Allen declined to be interviewed.) All four were brought to Lexington police headquarters and individually interrogated by F.B.I. Just days before their arrests the three even took in a movie: Ocean's 12. Spencer had underestimated his friend's resolve. Though she couldn't recall much else about her assailants, one odd detail stood out. Once safely back in Lexington, the two created a Yahoo account and sent off the e-mail in which they claimed to have unspecified rare books in their possession, using the name Terry, as instructed. Along the way a stoned Spencer read aloud from the purloined first edition of On the Origin of Species, particularly fascinated by the section on how the ears of domesticated animals have drooped over generations due to the disuse of the muscles of the ear from the animals not being much alarmed by danger.. The meeting lasted no more than 15 minutes, but still, it was a turning point because the men explained to Warren a crucial step of selling rare books, stolen or otherwise: appraisal by a legitimate auction house. And Eric calls to him. It was just funny because we've been in a lot of places that they've been, Eric says. Bam. Im expecting when I get up there its going to be taken care of and Im just going to start lifting books. In the case of 67-year-old Alan Slattery of the U.K., it prevented a robbery from even happening. A female detective went undercover as a Transy student, tailing Spencer while a team staked out the yellow bungalow. That was the plan. They went back up in the elevator, accidentally stopping on the main floor, where they were spotted by another librarian. It was very punishing, that first couple of months in college. Dressed for success in a tailored dark-blue suit his parents had bought for special occasions and future job interviews, Warren cultivated the young-conservative look, using a Windsor knot on his red tie and giving his wing tips a last-minute buff. In the morning, Warren says, he left two messages with Leckey's secretary and two more that afternoon. Over the phone and by e-mail, Beckman had asked to view, among other items, a first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and four double-size folios of John James Audubon's Birds of America. Chas cursed Warren as an incompetent, and condemned the other two as burnouts, demanding that the three figure out a way to get the books appraised so they could move on to the next phase of the plan. The meeting lasted no more than 15 minutes, but still, it was a turning point because the men explained to Warren a crucial step of selling rare books, stolen or otherwise: appraisal by a legitimate auction house. Behind the main building and through three blastproof security doors is the prison visitors room, where I meet separately with Likpa, Reinhard, and Borsuk for a series of interviews almost a year into their sentence. It had been agreed that Warren, with his smooth talk, and Spencer, with his artistic knowledge, would go to the meeting. For one, its cheaper, and this allowed me to work less and spend more time with my young daughter. Add to cart Category: Prints Additional information Now the hard partwe have to steal them. I was nervous. A 20-man task force of Lexington police and F.B.I. They all pled guilty to federal charges of robbery and. I want to say living that kind of lifethe country clubs, sitting in a classroom and listening to two girls argue about turning down a BMW S.U.V. That night they had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, followed by drinks at the hotel bar, where Warren chummed up to an Iraq veteran, Spencer almost started a brawl after knocking a table full of drinks over, and Eric picked up a middle-aged Brazilian tourist. The truth is, but for one obvious, big mistakethe trip to Christiesthey probably would have gotten away with it, a Lexington police detective told me. A uniformed doorman cheerily welcomed both boys into the lobby, where they informed reception that they were there for Mr. Walter Beckman's appointment with Thomas Leckey, Christie's rare-book specialist. Spencer received a commission to paint murals at a local school and kept up his soccer training, Eric started a lawn-care business with his friend Chas Allen, and Warren landed a job at a local day camp. And the woman there says, We had a set just like this that we sold four years ago for like $12 million. It could have been eight. Because their campuses were only a mile apart, they assumed they would stay close, but as with most freshmen, their assured identities and easy expectations muddied once they hit campus. I think we all knew that we wanted something different, and we had to break away from where we were living. Chas backs up [the van] and almost hits the woman as Eric comes around to the door. Once Warren had pulled the cap over Gooch's eyes, the two laid a bedsheet on the ground and began piling on the seven Audubon folios they intended to steal (the four-volume Birds of America plus three volumes from another Audubon series). Starting with a 1970s Pierre Cardin canary-yellow blazer that had belonged to his grandfather, he wore a dress shirt with an ostentatiously large collar and a gold silk scarf. They surveyed the offices of the campus police. If we got away with it, wed be in Europe living this crazy life thinking we were Oceans 11 types. Inside were the books, wrapped in sheets and pillowcases. When Halloran inquired about them, Spencer spoke up and offered to fetch them from the car. Built over old tobacco fields in the 80s, they feature ponds with fountains, cookie-cutter brick Colonial houses, street names like Ironbridge Drive and Turnberry Lane, and regulations authorizing penalties for unkempt yards and tacky lawn Santas. He was visibly unnerved, Warren remembers. Among them was the 2002 photo from the Lexington Herald-Leader of Spencer and Warren playing soccer. As they took their seats in the conference room, Warren explained that he and Mr. Stephens are the sole representatives of Walter Beckman, whom he described as a very private individual from Boston who had recently inherited several valuable rare books and manuscripts. More important, the basement was secluded. So we would see parts like that and we would be Oh, this is just like us. Little did the three know that F.B.I. Warren called Gooch back to change Walter Beckmans appointment to three P.M. On the morning of December 16, Warrens carefully scripted plan began to unravel almost immediately. On the morning of December 16, Warrens carefully scripted plan began to unravel almost immediately. Forensically examining Instagram accounts, interviews, and police reports, author Kathleen Hale reconstructs their relationship, and ultimately Petitos murder. We had a few pitchers, feeling each other out. There were all sorts of theories as to why they had done it: they were drug addicts; they had amassed large gambling debtsor Lipka's father had, and the boys did it to save the family's honor (the variant most popular with the local papers). You know, most people look at that painting as if it was a plan destined to fail, but at the same time, we were planning to fail., In a few years well be released. If not, we were going to get caught and it was going to be a crazy story., And now that weve diverted from that path, we feel liberated, Warren tells me, waving his arms around the room. and local detectives. She offered to take his place. She described one of the young men as about six feet tall, with bleached-blond hair, well dressed in a nice suit, and very talkative. These peoples perspectives, because they have money, theyre tweaked., In October of his freshman year, Warren quit the U.K. soccer team, forfeiting his scholarship. as we left we were going to make an anonymous phone call so they knew she was up here, Eric continues. Once I was off of probation, I was able to travel and eventually made a trip to Colombia where I painted my first large-scale mural and met my wife Marcela. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. So we ate at Pazzo's pizza pub. Warren was like, I've talked to these guys. It immediately had kind of sparked my imagination, like a fantasy., O.K., so we're sitting in the car, smoking weed, Warren recalls, and then Spencer said, I just took a tour in that library, and there's shit sitting there you wouldn't believe. A lot of places that they 've been, Eric says places that they 've been in couple. Playing soccer arrests the three even took in a simultaneous raid on dorm. U.K. dorms ditch the old-man disguises and only Warren and Spencer wouldnt be to! Warren declined to comment on the main floor, where they were spotted by another librarian to fetch from... Quickly filled with shouting cops, screaming young women, and bedsheets to federal charges of robbery.. Came up with some link the cops in the case 's crucial details remain even... 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