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. Thanks for the on my post. (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.) Ad Choices. Faced with overwhelming evidence, they all eventually confessed. Speculative plans became actual plans, the plan became a dry run, the dry run became a crime - a botched affair that . 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.. Spencer was born in 1984 in Lexington Kentucky. The other two would wait around the block in the S.U.V. 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 drives me out to Lexington [Blue Grass Airport] on a Friday. It was just funny because weve been in a lot of places that theyve been, Eric says. Buried in the files was a series of e-mails to Christies in New York. detective says. 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. After researching auction houses online, Warren singled out Christie's in New York. They think we have [the books]. 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. . Bam. Ultimately, upon release, his art career has flourished. Though they attended different high schools, both were varsity captains, and both made all-state. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The next morning, all nerves, he left for the meeting site, a caf within walking distance. That afternoon they worked their way back uptown, to scope out Christie's steel-and-glass headquarters before their Tuesday appointment. Meanwhile, Eric lined up the G.T.A.V. still young, Warren says. Cops entered the basement, a dank pit reeking of marijuana, and found Warren sprawled out on a mattress. This ultimately led to the life changing events chronicled in the 2018 film American Animals. Eric would stay on the main floor while Warren subdued Gooch in the Rare Book Room. 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. Reinhards works will be exhibited at his residencys final exhibition on May 8, culminating in May 16s big reveal. I'm not sure, but it was a lot. I showed artistic ability from a young age and was selected to attend SCAPA in the fourth grade. 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. With a long, thin face and bleached-blond hair and sideburns, he appeared younger than Gooch had expected. At 11 the next morning, Chas slipped the G.T.A.V. 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. We need to just get over this stuff, Eric tells me, explaining how Warren re-entered his life after their falling-out the previous semester. 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. Hes probably thinking I blamed him for [stealing] the money, which I never really did. It gave me an excellent opportunity to learn Spanish. 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. Afterward, they returned to the Hilton for an early night. In the fall of 2004, Warren Lipka moved into the unfinished basement. I was nervous. Darren Matthews. Like, they were doing something serious, talking about the heist, going over the plan, and somebody would make a joke. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. It was only a tennis final, Eric says, but that final that day was actually harder than I thought it was going to be. They climbed onto dorm roofs, where they'd stake out the library for hours at a time, marking down the comings and goings of teachers, students, and security personnel. Inside were the books, wrapped in sheets and pillowcases. His malaise was likely exacerbated by his parents' impending divorce amid his mother's allegations that his father, Big Warren, the celebrated coach of the university's women's soccer team, had gambled the family into bankruptcy. Because of the expense, only Warren made the trip, touching down at Amsterdams Schiphol Airport on a Saturday morning in early March 2004. (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.) Far from being social outcasts, they had been popular athletes, and two were on some form of college scholarship. From the facts that were available, it appeared that a team of four men, described as Caucasian, in their 20s, had stolen some of the most prized books and manuscripts in the universitys collection, and attacked a librarian in the process. According to the revised plan, they would ditch the old-man disguises and only Warren and Eric would enter the library. 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. But after stewing in the magnitude of the potential dollar amount involved, and once convinced of the ease of the heist, the logic of the appraisal, and the legitimacy of Warren's Amsterdam connections, they say, he threw his lot in with the others. 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. Warren introduced himself as Mr. Williams. Im not sure, but it was a lot. After a quick powwow in the stacks, the conspirators decided to abort the mission for the time being and retreated to the bungalow. When I get up there, B.J. The next day, they worked off their hangovers by checking out Ground Zero before strolling into the bustle of Chinatown for lunch. In early 2006, they began serving their sentences in federal prison, with no possibility for parole. Yet he did allow and encourage the interpretation of his art as an abrogation of space and time and, above all, history. Far from being social outcasts, they had been popular athletes, and two were on some form of college scholarship. 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, they're going to put us in jail, says Spencer. They tried to come up with some link the cops could make between them and the theft, but they couldn't. par | Mai 29, 2022 | at present, the members of the family hominidae include | fulton county property search qpublic | Mai 29, 2022 | at present, the members of the family hominidae include | fulton county property search qpublic In early 2006, they began serving their sentences in federal prison, with no possibility for parole. Returning five minutes later with a rolling red suitcase in tow, Spencer opened it on the conference table. The meeting initially hit a snag when Barry was put off by the boys' youth. The three then take the staff-only elevator down to the bottom floor and escape out the west fire exit. Spencer's 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. He was visibly unnerved, Warren remembers. In a duffel bag by his bed an F.B.I. Mass Market Paperback. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to a Lexington Catholic alumnus who was making an easy living in identity theft. 2023 Cond Nast. Currently an artist-in-residence at Blue Macaw in Boscobel, Reinhard says his first trip to Jamaica has stirred his creative senses, and he couldnt be happier. The press invariably described them as good boys from good familiesupper-middle-class kids afforded every opportunity, the ones with the most to lose. As they ran, they stumbled again into Chas, who had returned in another car as promised, just in time to save them and drive Eric to U.K. for his tennis-class exam. A week later came a terse reply, telling Terry that, if he wanted to sell something, he was going to have to come in person to Amsterdam, as that is where I do business. Both Spencer and Warren were thrilleduntil they realized it would require traveling with a passport. 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. The whole operation would have to be completed by 12:30 P.M., as the boys say Chas needed to return the Dodge Caravan to his mother in time for her to sell it, and Spencer and Eric had to get to their final exams in sociology and tennis, respectively. But before long they were put to chase once again, this time by two local thugs. you know, it's. it was. 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. Warren and Eric got out of the G.T.A.V. There were all sorts of theories as to why they had done it: they were drug addicts; they had amassed large gambling debtsor Lipkas father had, and the boys did it to save the familys honor (the variant most popular with the local papers). Bam. received two additional pieces of evidence from Christies: security-camera footage of the meeting and a cell-phone number the men had left behind. 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. Even if they did steal the books, for example, how would they ever sell them? 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. The reaction to the plan was generally positiveshortly after Thanksgiving, they moved forward. The day of the heist was to be Thursday, December 16, one of the last days of final examsthe library would be nearly empty. It was just funny because we've been in a lot of places that they've been, Eric says. . 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. Having told their parents that they were going on a ski trip to West Virginia, that weekend they loaded the loot into Eric's Ford Explorer and took off on the 12-hour drive to New York for their Christie's appointment. 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. Because the boys made the highly unusual decision not to accept the prosecutor's offer to testify against one another during sentencing in exchange for leniency, they were each sentenced to identical seven-year terms. [Beckman] said, B.J., a nickname her friends and colleagues used for her, she told officers. Like if we ever get caught, we're talking about international issues, way past interstate commerce or whatever the hell it is.. 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. And I pledged a fraternity, but I really didn't get into that too much. 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. 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. Through it all, I never stopped making art. It didn't take long to tie in Eric and Chas. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. In fact, wedged in their backpacks was nearly three-quarters of a million dollars' worth of books and manuscripts: an 1859 first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection ($25,000), an illuminated manuscript from 1425 ($200,000), a set of the two-volume 15th-century horticultural masterpiece entitled Hortus Sanitatis ($450,000), 20 original Audubon pencil drawings ($50,000), and Audubon's A Synopsis of the Birds of North America ($10,000). In their senior year the two became local celebrities after a dramatic photo appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader showing Lexington Catholic star goalkeeper Lipka and Tates Creek forward Reinhard battling midair during a playoff game. Around Halloween, Warren drafted a working plan, which he presented to the other three in the basement. Improvising on the plan, he kicked Eric and Warren out on the street, believing three men in a gray minivan would draw too much attention. With each taking one end of the Audubons, they made their way to the staff-only elevator. agents were sitting behind them the whole time, listening to their every word. Warren introduced himself as Mr. Williams. In terms of the dollar amount involved and the extraordinary circumstances, the theft was one of the most significant in its history. Because the boys pleaded guilty, many of the cases crucial details remain unknown even to law enforcement. No response. Spencer drives me out to Lexington [Blue Grass Airport] on a Friday. American painter Spencer Reinhard is loving the new art he is diligently producing. A painting by Reinhard, a gifted artist, may offer some clues. The boys readily agreed, and she escorted them through the offices to a small conference room. By that point Warren, Eric, and Spencer knew for certain they were going down. We told B.J. I'd heard about them before, but I didn't know anything about them. 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. believing that they had escaped with next to nothing. Eric Borsuk, Spencer Reinhard, Charles 'Chas' Allen IIand Warren Lipka hatched a grand plan to steal rare books from their uni library Credit: KKYT. believing that they had escaped with next to nothing. All these girls I could draw better than when I was in sixth grade.. He was told to look for a bearded, heavyset man in a solid-blue sweater. Both boys were spitting images of Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. The Lexington Police Departments commercial-burglary squad was assigned to the case. opens the door for me and I'm just like, Holy shit. I quickly came up with some fake name and started walking in and I'm like, Oh, shit, this is gonna happen at any moment. So while I'm shutting the doors I look back and Warren took her to the ground. Its great to be the inspiration for this project., Two weeks into his stay, Reinhard, an ardent ornithologist, whose works draw inspiration from late Dutch-American abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning, feels that his greatest artistic asset is his versatility. I was surprised he didn't.. The truth is, but for one big mistake, they probably would have gotten away with it, an L.P.D. He then explains: "And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief. Phase 2 ends when the loot is loaded into the G.T.A.V. When not at practice, Warren spent his time smoking pot, watching Comedy Central, and reading German philosophy. 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. 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 o'clock appointment with Walter Beckman, a man she had never met. In a duffel bag by his bed an F.B.I. April 20, 2022. If we got away with it, wed be in Europe living this crazy life thinking we were Oceans 11 types. Lifting a technique straight from the film Reservoir Dogs, Warren assigned code names based on color. The crew arrived in New York City early Sunday morning. The painting is a kaleidoscope of images, including what appears to be a computer, a cell phone, a bong, the Transylvania library, and loose sheets of notepaper, floating above a desiccated one-eyed young man in a watch cap, kicking back on a beat-up couch with a blue dog on his lap. From the facts that were available, it appeared that a team of four men, described as Caucasian, in their 20s, had stolen some of the most prized books and manuscripts in the university's collection, and attacked a librarian in the process. agents poured in over the wreckage. But even at that point, it became apparent that Warren and Spencer wouldnt be able to pull it off alone. LET'S START WITH 10 DAYS OF . Hosted by 's computers. 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. For one, its cheaper, and this allowed me to work less and spend more time with my young daughter. So we ate at Pazzo's pizza pub. As far as they could see, there were only two ways out: either getting away with the crime or getting arrested for it. The thieves left no fingerprints behind, and there were almost no witnesses. 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. Among the prisoners are three of the four unlikely masterminds behind the Transy Book Heist: Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, and Eric Borsuk. Warren called me one night and hes like, We need to get together. I was not in my ordinary largely white existence anymore. Fuck Biden, Dont Tread on Me, and a Wisconsin Death Trip for Our Times. We figured, All right, well, now we just got what we thought would be impossible possibly taken care of, Spencer tells me. She offered to take his place. Though she couldnt recall much else about her assailants, one odd detail stood out. 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. 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. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. He was still enrolled, but only nominally, and remained on the fringes of campus life. 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