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?. All these girls I could draw better than when I was in sixth grade.. 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. 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. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. Abstraction allows me to explore multiple paths of my creative desire. 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 one thing led to another and we were just like, Lets put this behind us. And once we get past all of that, we started talking about this plan that he and Spencer have. My world view actually expanded. and having to sign a fucking book. By hitting the ball back into Warren's 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. 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. That was the point all along. After researching auction houses online, Warren singled out Christie's in New York. One evening it occurred to Spencer that they had used the Walter Beckman Yahoo account to contact both Christies and Gooch. [Warrens] like, Come on up, Eric remembers. as we left we were going to make an anonymous phone call so they knew she was up here, Eric continues. Spencer continued with his heavy schedule of classes, studying, painting, and working out, while Warren returned full-time to U.K. With the pressure mounting, however, Warren was caught shoplifting a TV dinner from a local supermarket, Eric was arrested and charged with D.U.I.police pulled him over not only for running red lights but also because Warren was on top of the car, hanging on to the roof rackand Spencer crashed his Acura Legend. It is more important to get a plan down, as flawed as it may be, and then continue to work on it as the entrepreneur would work on their business over time. The minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky, 125 miles from Lexington, houses approximately 1,200 inmates in multi-story cellblocks encircled by concentric layers of razor-topped fencing and fortified guard towers. I was kind of skeptical, continues Spencer, but the way I rationalized it was: its the biggest auction house. Warren and Eric got out of the G.T.A.V. They're all slim and dressed identically in cheap sneakers and a khaki uniform emblazoned with their incarceration numbers, and all have hair down to their shoulders. The take could be more than $5 million. 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 we'll be released. All four, now 22, children of privilege, products of elite Lexington high schools, are serving seven-year sentences for their parts in the crime. Warren and Spencer readied themselves early without waking the others, silently showering, shaving, and putting the finishing touches on their outfits. The two boys sought cover from the cops in the sprawling grounds of the housing projects. In terms of the dollar amount involved and the extraordinary circumstances, the theft was one of the most significant in its history. 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. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. Warren, under an alias, would make an appointment with Gooch for that afternoon to view the books they wanted to steal. A 20-man task force of Lexington police and F.B.I. As far as they could see, there were only two ways out: either getting away with the crime or getting arrested for it. The banality of assessments, passing courses for the sake of progression and limited intellectual stimulation meant that Spencers time at university was far removed from his hoped for experience. He loved that it had been made the screen saver on the F.B.I.s computers. Still shaken from her ordeal, Gooch, in her 50s, told police that shortly after entering the Rare Book Room with the two men she had been struck on the arm with a Taserlike weapon, her hands and feet were bound with zip ties, and a wool cap was pulled over her eyes. The truth is, but for one obvious, big mistakethe trip to Christie'sthey probably would have gotten away with it, a Lexington police detective told me. The truth is, but for one big mistake, they probably would have gotten away with it, an L.P.D. We felt bad., Warren and Eric rode the elevator to the basement, but they couldn't find the fire exit. For one, its cheaper, and this allowed me to work less and spend more time with my young daughter. I spent two years in FCI Ashland before being transferred to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Returning five minutes later with a rolling red suitcase in tow, Spencer opened it on the conference table. sent a team to interview Melanie Halloran, who told the agents about her meeting with Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. The plan for the actual robbery sets out three distinct phases. received two additional pieces of evidence from Christies: security-camera footage of the meeting and a cell-phone number the men had left behind. As she was heading toward a display case, Gooch felt a tingling on her right arm and collapsed to the floor. 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. I was nervous. A female detective went undercover as a Transy student, tailing Spencer while a team staked out the yellow bungalow. Because this is so much bigger than anything weve done before, Eric says. Four students stole priceless books from Transylvania University. They stopped talking entirely and disbanded. All rights reserved. If we go in there they're not going to suspect that we stole these. Because of the expense, only Warren made the trip, touching down at Amsterdams Schiphol Airport on a Saturday morning in early March 2004. (Having seen their fair share of heist movies, they knew how dangerous it was to leave a paper trail.) 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). Eric would stay on the main floor while Warren subdued Gooch in the Rare Book Room. When they arrived on campus in the replacement G.T.A.V., they couldnt find a parking space anywhere near the library. The meeting was scheduled for the next morning on the southern edge of Central Park near the Plaza Hotel. 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. Chas turned the G.T.A.V. 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. It didn't take long to tie in Eric and Chas. Failure to plan is planning to fail because if you don't plan anything, you might as well not plan at all. I've met with them, Eric continues. The books were much heavier than the boys had projected, and the pair could handle only three at a time. The next day, they worked off their hangovers by checking out Ground Zero before strolling into the bustle of Chinatown for lunch. Hes probably thinking I blamed him for [stealing] the money, which I never really did. All four, now 22, children of privilege, products of elite Lexington high schools, are serving seven-year sentences for their parts in the crime. Not what I expected, not what I wanted it to be, Warren says. 's all-time most significant art-theft cases. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Number one on that list was failure to create a business plan. Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka had grown up together in adjacent subdivisions on Lexington's south sidefully planned residential tracts wedged in between the city and the gradually receding horse country that rings it. 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. Like if we ever get caught, we're talking about international issues, way past interstate commerce or whatever the hell it is.. They stuffed some of the smaller books Gooch had pulled out for them into their backpacks. Were going to need more people, Warren remembers thinking. For example, if you want to go on a vacation, you should first decide where you are going and how much money you have . Warren jumped at the opportunity and recruited another adrift freshman, his old high-school soccer teammate Eric Borsuk, as a partner. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. Bam. The books were much heavier than the boys had projected, and the pair could handle only three at a time. He looked like he was dressed from a thrift store, Halloran told the agents. . 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. 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. computers in the Lexington field office. We did the robbery as a way to escape, Eric says. These people's perspectives, because they have money, they're tweaked., In October of his freshman year, Warren quit the U.K. soccer team, forfeiting his scholarship. The two men followed the librarian into the Rare Book Room, and John closed the door behind them. Choose your favorite reinhard art prints from 2,323 available designs. 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. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. So we get the passport from the dude, plane tickets. Warren also ordered four stun guns over the Internet. I was not in my ordinary largely white existence anymore. . 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 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. He was told to look for a bearded, heavyset man in a solid-blue sweater. He said his name was John. Although the two hadnt really been in contact in the first few months of school, Warren knew that Spencers artistic talents would be an asset. Im not sure, but it was a lot. When not at practice, Warren spent his time smoking pot, watching Comedy Central, and reading German philosophy. Afterward, Warren and Spencer briefed the others, and the four went to lunch, where, the boys say, Chas insisted they spend another night in New York and attempt to see Mr. Leckey the next day. I love that my kids will grow up seeing both worlds and experiencing both cultures. Aside from harming B. J. Gooch, Spencer, Warren, and Eric maintain that they have no regrets. The other was short and quiet, wearing a yellow jacket two sizes too large and a matching scarf. 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. When Eric let him in on the plan, Chas mocked the three as deluded potheads, he recalls. Despite the differing temperamentsand the disapproval of Spencers parentsthe two were best friends from the age of eight, a friendship that revolved largely around soccer. Warren sectioned off a bedroom by hanging bedsheets from the rafters and furnished it with an old mattress and a tangerine easy chair he had picked up from Goodwill. As a precautionary measure, they left the books in the car. Spencer was arrested in a simultaneous raid on his dorm room at Transy. The painting, in digital form, would become a popular screen saver on the F.B.I. I'm not sure, but it was a lot. 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. The thieves left no fingerprints behind, and there were almost no witnesses. No response. 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. and Lexington police put the pair under surveillance. Eric and Chas dropped Warren and Spencer off around the corner from Christies. 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. Though they attended different high schools, both were varsity captains, and both made all-state. Warren sectioned off a bedroom by hanging bedsheets from the rafters and furnished it with an old mattress and a tangerine easy chair he had picked up from Goodwill.
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