Can't have any of this documented. The others spent time in the library, too, taking notes on staff routines and viable escape routes. Because this is so much bigger than anything weve done before, Eric says. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. 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. By five P.M., Warrenas Beckmanwas back on the phone with Gooch explaining that he had missed his appointment because he had been out of town on business. . Near the boiler he also jerry-rigged a greenhouse for growing marijuana. We did the robbery as a way to escape, Eric says. His clumsy attempt to clear his name, in a no-holds-barred interview with BBC, Gabby Petitos Life WithAnd Death ByBrian Laundrie. Buried in the files was a series of e-mails to Christie's in New York. After researching auction houses online, Warren singled out Christie's in New York. Among the prisoners are three of the four unlikely masterminds behind the Transy Book Heist: Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, and Eric Borsuk. Nothing panned out until mid-January, when, following a federal subpoena, Yahoo delivered all the data on its servers related to the walter.beckman@yahoo.com address. Then, everything becomes meta. If you want to do something, you should figure out how you are going to do it. Shift + Tab to replay. 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. Attempting perfection in writing a business plan will only lead to one end result: the business plan will never be written. The reality however was rather more mundane, he sensed that his studies were little more than a continuation of his high school. 2021 Spencer Reinhard all rights reserved. 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. He scored a joint before checking into a hole-in-the-wall and falling asleep. Waiting for the law to snatch them was nerve-racking, but they went on with their lives as if nothing had been amiss. The three then take the staff-only elevator down to the bottom floor and escape out the west fire exit. I'm expecting when I get up there it's going to be taken care of and I'm just going to start lifting books. A uniformed doorman cheerily welcomed both boys into the lobby, where they informed reception that they were there for Mr. Walter Beckmans appointment with Thomas Leckey, Christies rare-book specialist. By early November the boys were selling fake IDs at a hundred dollars apiece, and had apparently branched out into more lucrative identity manipulations. Because no one would go to Christie's with stolen books to get them appraisedthat's how we did a lot of stuff, like, we would smoke weed directly under the [security] camera on the Transy campus, park a car right underneath it and then smoke for like an hour. All four were brought to Lexington police headquarters and individually interrogated by F.B.I. In the case of 67-year-old Alan Slattery of the U.K., it prevented a robbery from even happening. Chas not only lived in the yellow bungalow but also was a part owner of it with his father, a prominent Lexington real-estate investor. for a second vehicle at a secret location, which, according to Warrens plan, is used to transport team and loot to temporary resting place. After the heist, since it is certain that the stolen books will be entered into art-theft databases within a week, they have to get the books appraised at Christies in New York immediately. They simply ignored him, and the four returned to Lexington. 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. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. What I found incredibly valuable about prison was the multiculturalism. I was kind of skeptical, continues Spencer, but the way I rationalized it was: it's the biggest auction house. They got security around that? Nonchalantly, very nonchalantly, I mean, just kind of shooting it between us. Over the phone and by e-mail, Beckman had asked to view, among other items, a first edition of Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species and four double-size folios of John James Audubons Birds of America. Oh, yeah, he almost got shot, says Eric, laughing. He feared being restricted in any way. The fourth, Charles Chas Allen II, had been transferred to a federal medical center in Lexington.) Only by committing a felony could they ensure that they would never end up living back in the sterile, suburban world of the subdivisions. Warren was like, I've talked to these guys. The investigation of the Transy Book Heist came to an explosive end on the morning of February 11, 2005, as a SWAT unit broke down the front door of the yellow bungalow with a battering ram, blasting stun grenades throughout the building. The investigation of the Transy Book Heist came to an explosive end on the morning of February 11, 2005, as a SWAT unit broke down the front door of the yellow bungalow with a battering ram, blasting stun grenades throughout the building. Reinhard is here for a monthlong working visit at the invitation of Bianca Bartley and Zuar Jarrett, the programme director and chairman, respectively, of the recently launched creative initiative in St Mary targeting local and foreign artists spanning various disciplines. The author knocks on the doors bearing the darkest symbols, behind which lie guns, ammo, antisemitism, antiabortion dogmaand a belief in the coming civil war. 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. As she was heading toward a display case, Gooch felt a tingling on her right arm and collapsed to the floor. American Animals brings to the silver screen the story of the Transy Book Heist of 2004, where four students tried to steal $12 million worth of arts and books from the Special Collections Library . They all pled guilty to federal charges of robbery and. (Because Spencer was a Transy student, he risked being recognized in the library.) because she wanted a new Range Rover, like, what? New film American Animals tells the story of one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history when three well off friends Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk and Chas Allen decided to try . He was also less cordial and more agitated in person, asking Gooch soon after arriving if he could invite a friend along to see the books. As they scooted down the stairs their arms gave out and they stopped to catch their breath. He scored a joint before checking into a hole-in-the-wall and falling asleep. The boys readily agreed, and she escorted them through the offices to a small conference room. Because no one would go to Christies with stolen books to get them appraisedthats how we did a lot of stuff, like, we would smoke weed directly under the [security] camera on the Transy campus, park a car right underneath it and then smoke for like an hour. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. 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. 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 Oceans 11 and Snatch. The truth is, but for one big mistake, they probably would have gotten away with it, an L.P.D. Spencer, feeling increasingly disaffected with school life himself, readily accepted the offer. Warren was already busily working out the problem, returning for advice to his underworld contact: What if we had some artwork that we wanted to sell? Warren remembers asking him. 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. agent discovered the stolen books, all undamaged, as well as the five-page typed plan for the heist, an accounting ledger, wigs, instructions for opening a Swiss bank account, and stun guns, which had apparently arrived after the robbery. 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. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. The severity of the requested sentences was predicated on the dual propositions that, although the Audubon volumes had never been physically removed from the library, according to the letter of the law they were nonetheless stolenincreasing the monetary value of the crimeand that the Black Cobra Stun Pen used to subdue B. J. Gooch not only inflicted physical harm but was in actuality a dangerous weapon. Worse still for the defendants, B. J. Goochs ordeal had become a cause clbre among librarians, many of whom wrote letters to the judge arguing against leniency. 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 Eric's drawer. Warren was like, Ive talked to these guys. He loved that it had been made the screen saver on the F.B.I. American Animals, the 2018 biopic, written and directed by The Tinder Swindlers Bart Layton, is an acclaimed cinematic account of a younger Reinhard, a then Transylvania University junior whose plot to steal one of the rarest of US art history titles naturalist icon John James Audubons 1827 tome Birds of America as well as a first-edition Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin - led to guilty pleas from Reinhard and three chums, who paid the price: seven-year convictions across the board. If we got away with it, we'd be in Europe living this crazy life thinking we were Ocean's 11 types. Mass Market Paperback. Cops entered the basement, a dank pit reeking of marijuana, and found Warren sprawled out on a mattress. The meeting initially hit a snag when Barry was put off by the boys youth. I took my zip ties and I put them around her feet and put them around her arms. It was about at that point that Gooch remembers Warren saying, Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain?. 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. In the weeks following the book heist, law enforcement followed leads at Transy and reviewed countless hours of security footage from the U.K. computer lab, to which a police technician had traced the e-mail from Walter Beckman to Gooch. (Throughout the interviews with the three, it became clear that Chas was the odd man out among the group. Like Barry, the men were immediately put off by Warrens youth, and even more so by the fact that he hadnt brought any of the books with him to Amsterdam. Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain? she remembered the man saying. sent a team to interview Melanie Halloran, who told the agents about her meeting with Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. Photographed by Nan Goldin at the tender age of 19, just about to release his Tony Richardson film. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. I was expecting to play soccer quite a lot, but the coach was a completely different person once I got on the team, he tells me. LET'S START WITH 10 DAYS OF . The press invariably described them as good boys from good familiesupper-middle-class kids afforded every opportunity, the ones with the most to lose. I've met with them, Eric continues. Eric couldnt get hold of his friends car, leaving Chas to borrow a Dodge Caravan his mother was fortuitously selling the next day, the boys say. It had some tennis trivia in there that I wasnt expecting.. Warren was already busily working out the problem, returning for advice to his underworld contact: What if we had some artwork that we wanted to sell? Warren remembers asking him. I see Warren and Eric bust out of the back door, Spencer says, describing what he saw unfold from his lookout position. Faced with overwhelming evidence, they all eventually confessed. Aside from harming B. J. Gooch, Spencer, Warren, and Eric maintain that they have no regrets. When Halloran inquired about them, Spencer spoke up and offered to fetch them from the car. I was nervous. 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. The three then take the staff-only elevator down to the bottom floor and escape out the west fire exit. Lifting a technique straight from the film Reservoir Dogs, Warren assigned code names based on color: Mr. Green (Spencer), Mr. Yellow (Warren), and Mr. Black (Eric)as in the film, emotions turned testy when he assigned Mr. Once the boys were inside the library, students stared at the ridiculous old-man disguises. 214 E Main StLexington, KY United States 40507, (Shift + Enter to play/pause. The contact, who identified himself only as Barry, stipulated that Warren had to bring $500 in good-faith money. For Spencer it all started with a series of mild disappointments. They were skeptical, Warren recalls. She agreed. Back at Warrens later that afternoon, the boys were transfixed by local coverage of the Transy Book Heist. According to the news, it appeared that neither Gooch nor anyone else was able to provide the police with an accurate description of the boys. He also didnt have photos, photocopies, documentation, or even the slightest ability to intelligently discuss the books. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. He also didn't have photos, photocopies, documentation, or even the slightest ability to intelligently discuss the books. We live in 10 months of the year in Colombia and spend two in the States. 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. And I pledged a fraternity, but I really didnt get into that too much. Eric rented a proper bedroom upstairs, while Spencer moved back into the dorms at Transylvania. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. Thats what we were doing, kind of living this little Matchstick Men, college kind of life.. Id heard about them before, but I didnt know anything about them. Cant have any of this documented. Eric dropped the books, and he and Warren made a run for it. detective says. As reported by People, poor planning and a fumbling execution including one member, Reinhard, leaving his home phone number at an action house eventually led to their capture. 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. computers in the Lexington field office. As she was heading toward a display case, Gooch felt a tingling on her right arm and collapsed to the floor. It was hard for us. 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 Chappelles Show. Spencer called himself Mr. Stephens. . So we go back down to the bottom floor just to get away from her. I think we all knew that we wanted something different, and we had to break away from where we were living. Like many aspiring art students Spencer believed that the academic community he was joining would inspire and enlighten him, exposing him to new experiences and methods. Spencer gives me 500 bucks, in my pocket. He was whisked into a squad car. They stuffed some of the smaller books Gooch had pulled out for them into their backpacks. Nothing panned out until mid-January, when, following a federal subpoena, Yahoo delivered all the data on its servers related to the walter.beckman@yahoo.com address. Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain? she remembered the man saying. Both boys were spitting images of Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. Having concluded that the next logical stage of his development was to study art in college he enrolled at Transylvania University in Kentucky. On the second-floor landing, Chas, in high-end flannel pajamas and thinking they were being robbed, pulled out a derringer, only to drop the weapon at the last moment. How the hell would we do this? And he said, I know a guy in New York.. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. He looked like he was dressed from a thrift store, Halloran told the agents. Phase 2 involves the actual theft, and begins when Spencer takes his position at an upper-floor window of the nearby athletic center, where he will be on lookout. Boom. As far as they could see, there were only two ways out: either getting away with the crime or getting arrested for it. Wearing a heavy coat, gloves, and a wool cap, Beckman signed the visitors' log. Though I showed artwork briefly with Ann Tower Gallery, my career as an artist has been limited to private sales and commissions, including contributing a mural to PRHBTN in Lexington in 2018. Ultimately, upon release, his art career has flourished. They said that this set, Birds of America, sold for $12 million. I said, Twelve million dollars, just sitting there? 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. Near the boiler he also jerry-rigged a greenhouse for growing marijuana. Two months later, amid a local media frenzy, the four formally pleaded guilty to all six federal charges, including theft of cultural artifacts from a public museum and interstate transportation of stolen property. as we left we were going to make an anonymous phone call so they knew she was up here, Eric continues. Warren called me one night and he's like, We need to get together. They checked into the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, Warren signing in under the nom de guerre Harry Ballsania name backed up with one of their fake Kentucky drivers licensesand paying in cash. 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. To be such a big part of her life has been a joy. Suddenly without Erics mock-ups, software, and equipment, Warren thought of Spencer. We weren't, like, hardened criminals, so we kind of had to really put up a front. Warren deepens his voice: How ya doing? That kind of stuff. After an awkward back-and-forth, Warren finally handed the man the $500. Titled A Plan to Fail, it was part of a series he had done on the crime for a local art gallery while out on bond. So we get the passport from the dude, plane tickets. 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. agent discovered the stolen books, all undamaged, as well as the five-page typed plan for the heist, an accounting ledger, wigs, instructions for opening a Swiss bank account, and stun guns, which had apparently arrived after the robbery. When an agent called, he got a voice-mail recording, This is Spence. . Warren, under an alias, would make an appointment with Gooch for that afternoon to view the books they wanted to steal. We felt bad., Warren and Eric rode the elevator to the basement, but they couldn't find the fire exit. Lifting a technique straight from the film Reservoir Dogs, Warren assigned code names based on color: Mr. Green (Spencer), Mr. Yellow (Warren), and Mr. Black (Eric)as in the film, emotions turned testy when he assigned Mr. All Rights Reserved. (The librarian who chased them out of the library did tell police the correct total of four thieves, even though she had seen only three.) from an unsuspecting friend and got his hands on zip ties, a wool cap, electricians tape, and bedsheets. After high school I chose to attend Transylvania University where I would continue to play soccer and study art. Spencer drives me out to Lexington [Blue Grass Airport] on a Friday. Now we cant ever go back there. Abstraction allows me to explore multiple paths of my creative desire. I never intended to paint them and I resisted the idea but in the end I couldnt help but indulge the irony. With a long, thin face and bleached-blond hair and sideburns, he appeared younger than Gooch had expected. See, we have no choice now but to create something new, someplace else. He said his name was John. No response. Meanwhile, Eric lined up the G.T.A.V. agents poured in over the wreckage. Only cannabis-smoking goalkeeper Warren Lipka . By that point Warren, Eric, and Spencer knew for certain they were going down. Forensically examining Instagram accounts, interviews, and police reports, author Kathleen Hale reconstructs their relationship, and ultimately Petitos murder. Among them was the 2002 photo from the Lexington Herald-Leader of Spencer and Warren playing soccer. very unofficial.. It didn't take long to tie in Eric and Chas. They take you in the Special Collections and show you these books, Spencer remembers, including Transy's 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. She also said that she was so suspicious and put off by the young men's youth and demeanor that she had recommended to her boss that they not pursue the business. It was the sense of redemption that I hadn't anticipated. In a duffel bag by his bed an F.B.I. Seeing something in the wayward Warren, the preppy grifter pitched him the idea of selling fake Kentucky drivers licenses in the U.K. dorms. 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. After a brief discussion they chose Chas Allen, a handsome, clean-cut U.K. business major who had started the lawn-care company with Eric the previous summer. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to a Lexington Catholic alumnus who was making an easy living in identity theft. into a perfect parking space and watched as Eric and Warren entered the library. For footwear he went with clean white sneakers. Warren had run up the side of the hill and frantically ran off. I wouldnt trade it for anything., Looking ahead, the artist divulged that he is due to have a show next year in Los Angeles and has much to produce. 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. It was definitely a terrifying thing. It was the sense of redemption that I hadnt anticipated. 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. For footwear he went with clean white sneakers. At 11 the next morning, Chas slipped the G.T.A.V. Leave a message. A Google search of Spencer Reinhard brought up numerous hits for soccer in the Lexington area. That was the plan. A female detective went undercover as a Transy student, tailing Spencer while a team staked out the yellow bungalow. And I pledged a fraternity, but I really didn't get into that too much. 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). When not at practice, Warren spent his time smoking pot, watching Comedy Central, and reading German philosophy. I get the call on the cell phone. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. After researching auction houses online, Warren singled out Christies in New York. They had reserved a room in the same Midtown Hilton that Spencer and Warren had stayed in nearly a year earlier. In the fall of 2003, Warren left for the University of Kentucky on a full athletic scholarship, eager to take his game to the next level, and with vague plans of getting into politics. Far from being social outcasts, they had been popular athletes, and two were on some form of college scholarship. This story was recently documented in the feature film American Animals. The guys hung out together when they could, with Warren frequently conjuring up fantasiesthrough billowing clouds of marijuana smokeof post-heist life for them in the Mediterranean, complete with sleek catamarans and topless women. and having to sign a fucking book. By hitting the ball back into Warrens court, Spencer thought he would keep that thrilling flicker of criminality burning for a bit longer, while fully expecting there to be an insurmountable obstacle somewhere down the road. Now the hard partwe have to steal them. I was nervous. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. Speculative plans became actual plans, the plan became a dry run, the dry run became a crime - a botched affair that . Just days before their arrests the three even took in a movie: Ocean's 12. Spencer had underestimated his friends resolve. It was only a tennis final, Eric says, but that final that day was actually harder than I thought it was going to be. I had so few distractions to take me away from my work, and only by bettering myself could escape the belief that I was losing my best years. The story behind their motiveand how they got caught. Inside were the books, wrapped in sheets and pillowcases. If we go in there theyre not going to suspect that we stole these. He then explains: "And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief. So I walk off happy, come back to the States, and blow Spencers mind.. A 20-man task force of Lexington police and F.B.I. But before long they were put to chase once again, this time by two local thugs. Pink, in this case to Chas. Indeed one might consider these years to be a catalyst with which he could find his unique vision. I'm not sure, but it was a lot. 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. So I walk off happy, come back to the States, and blow Spencer's mind.. Oh, yeah, he almost got shot, says Eric, laughing. The L.P.D. 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. Phase 2 ends when the loot is loaded into the G.T.A.V. agents were sitting behind them the whole time, listening to their every word. Gooch agreed to reschedule for 11 the next morning. The meeting ended after 30 minutes, and Ms. Halloran escorted the two out, assuring them that shed be in touch after conferring with her superiors on the best way forward.

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