(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.) Darren Matthews. 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. 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. We told B.J. He said his name was John. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. Spencer assembled his outfit with even greater care. One evening it occurred to Spencer that they had used the Walter Beckman Yahoo account to contact both Christie's and Gooch. The stun guns Warren had ordered never arrived, so he drove around town and returned with a Black Cobra Stun Pen, and had Spencer zap him and Eric to test its knockdown power. The four men. 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. Afterward, they returned to the Hilton for an early night. That was the point all along. [Beckman] said, B.J., a nickname her friends and colleagues used for her, she told officers. And then they came up with the issue of getting these appraised. When Warren arrived, he saw a man fitting that description seated with three other men. He took a cab to Dam Square, an old hippie hangout in the center of the city he had read about on the Internet. Leave a message. A Google search of Spencer Reinhard brought up numerous hits for soccer in the Lexington area. The painting, in digital form, would become a popular screen saver on the F.B.I. To have time to properly apply the disguises, he tried to reschedule his art-history final for later in the day on the 16th, but was unsuccessful. 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. Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain? she remembered the man saying. 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Im expecting when I get up there its going to be taken care of and Im just going to start lifting books. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. Seeing something in the wayward Warren, the preppy grifter pitched him the idea of selling fake Kentucky driver's licenses in the U.K. dorms. Cops entered the basement, a dank pit reeking of marijuana, and found Warren sprawled out on a mattress. Warren also ordered four stun guns over the Internet. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. The plan will continue to grow and mature as the leader goes forward. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. 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. We had a few pitchers, feeling each other out. 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. The other two would wait around the block in the S.U.V. Far from being social outcasts, they had been popular athletes, and two were on some form of college scholarship. The press invariably described them as good boys from good familiesupper-middle-class kids afforded every opportunity, the ones with the most to lose. 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. 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. 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. Forensically examining Instagram accounts, interviews, and police reports, author Kathleen Hale reconstructs their relationship, and ultimately Petitos murder. During their sentencing hearing, in December 2005, the federal prosecutor asked for 11 to 14 years each for Eric, Chas, and Spencer, and 14 to 17 years for Warren, deeming him the leader, organizer, and recruiter. When Eric let him in on the plan, Chas mocked the three as deluded potheads, he recalls. . It was just funny because weve been in a lot of places that theyve been, Eric says. 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. This story was recently documented in the feature film American Animals. 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. The meeting was scheduled for the next morning on the southern edge of Central Park near the Plaza Hotel. 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. 2021 Spencer Reinhard all rights reserved. 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. 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. Spencer, meanwhile, was accepted to Transylvania on an arts scholarship, his sights firmly set on a career in graphic design. They stuffed some of the smaller books Gooch had pulled out for them into their backpacks. Oct 16, 2018. Bam. 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. A female detective went undercover as a Transy student, tailing Spencer while a team staked out the yellow bungalow. A painting by Reinhard, a gifted artist, may offer some clues. 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. 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. 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. Churchill's statement can be agreed with. He added: Its always nice to be with people that are familiar with the area, and Ive been made to feel very welcome. When she asked for contact information, Spencer gave her his cell-phone number. The next day, they worked off their hangovers by checking out Ground Zero before strolling into the bustle of Chinatown for lunch. I think we all knew that we wanted something different, and we had to break away from where we were living. The phone number was registered to a Gary Reinhard of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. I'm utterly curious about decision-making | Sharing lessons learned from the thousands of decisions I've studied and made | Founder https://www.resolve.blog. Only by committing a felony could they ensure that they would never end up living back in the sterile, suburban world of the subdivisions. computers in the Lexington field office. Aside from harming B. J. Gooch, Spencer, Warren, and Eric maintain that they have no regrets. I can't 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. Even if we wanted to, they wont let us. The next morning, all nerves, he left for the meeting site, a caf within walking distance. When the four boys were arrested the news was met with disbelief, as none of them had been in any serious trouble before. 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. He said his name was John. They think we have [the books]. He said, You do that and you are free then to give them to us when you can. O.K., great. Warren was like, Ive talked to these guys. They had reserved a room in the same Midtown Hilton that Spencer and Warren had stayed in nearly a year earlier. . 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. Both boys were spitting images of Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. 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. 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. 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. The Real Spencer Reinhard : To have this, this need to know what is on the other side of that line, and realizing the only way to actually do that is to cross it, there's never a point in your life after that where you haven't already crossed that line. 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. The take could be more than $5 million. I was kind of skeptical, continues Spencer, but the way I rationalized it was: its the biggest auction house. 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. Once the boys were inside the library, students stared at the ridiculous old-man disguises. 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. The books were much heavier than the boys had projected, and the pair could handle only three at a time. In the fall of 2004, Warren Lipka moved into the unfinished basement. Spencer, meanwhile, was short, wiry, distant, and in many ways Warrens opposite: an over-scheduled, over-achieving, diamond-tipped drill of a kid who excelled at whatever he set himself to. Faced with overwhelming evidence, they all eventually confessed. 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. The other was short and quiet, wearing a yellow jacket two sizes too large and a matching scarf. In early 2006, they began serving their sentences in federal prison, with no possibility for parole. They tried to come up with some link the cops could make between them and the theft, but they couldnt. They also noticed a group of people lingering in the Rare Book Room. 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. Because the boys pleaded guilty, many of the case's crucial details remain unknown even to law enforcement. Spencer, meanwhile, was accepted to Transylvania on an arts scholarship, his sights firmly set on a career in graphic design. We told B.J. 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. 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. For added anonymity, Warren bleached his hair blond that night. 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. you know, it's. it was. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. I was born in Lexington, Kentucky and was raised by my wonderful parents in what was a largely carefree and happy childhood. Eric dropped the books, and he and Warren made a run for it. We did the robbery as a way to escape, Eric says. Warren called Gooch back to change Walter Beckman's appointment to three P.M. On the morning of December 16, Warren's carefully scripted plan began to unravel almost immediately. And I pledged a fraternity, but I really didn't get into that too much. 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. We spoke about his paintings, especially A Plan to Fail. They climbed onto dorm roofs, where theyd stake out the library for hours at a time, marking down the comings and goings of teachers, students, and security personnel. Chas backs up [the van] and almost hits the woman as Eric comes around to the door. Spencer had underestimated his friends resolve. 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. 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. If we go in there theyre not going to suspect that we stole these. (Spencer had had to do a rush job on them because his art-history final had run long.) 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. Handwriting can be an important piece of evidence in a criminal investigation. Because the boys made the highly unusual decision not to accept the prosecutors offer to testify against one another during sentencing in exchange for leniency, they were each sentenced to identical seven-year terms. And so I see Warren go back. They jump in the van and peel out around the loop.. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to a Lexington Catholic alumnus who was making an easy living in identity theft. He scored a joint before checking into a hole-in-the-wall and falling asleep. Bam. 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. into a perfect parking space and watched as Eric and Warren entered the library. This is my first time on the island, any island for that matter, he said. 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. It gave me an excellent opportunity to learn Spanish. for a second vehicle at a secret location, which, according to Warren's 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 Christie's in New York immediately. 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