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. Warren jumped at the opportunity and recruited another adrift freshman, his old high-school soccer teammate Eric Borsuk, as a partner. Afterward, he was to call Eric up to haul the books in two trips to the G.T.A.V., which was to be driven by Chas. After the Halloran interview the F.B.I. He also didn't have photos, photocopies, documentation, or even the slightest ability to intelligently discuss the books. Spencer assembled a small wardrobe of fake beards, gray wigs, and costume glue. He was still enrolled, but only nominally, and remained on the fringes of campus life. I know the collection is extensive and anything you think I might be interested in seeing, by all means, share, he wrote. They simply ignored him, and the four returned to Lexington. See, we have no choice now but to create something new, someplace else. a plan to fail spencer reinhard painting Bid on Art by Today's Leading Artists. The truth is, but for one big mistake, they probably would have gotten away with it, an L.P.D. 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.. At 11 the next morning, Chas slipped the G.T.A.V. All four were brought to Lexington police headquarters and individually interrogated by F.B.I. Spencer, feeling increasingly disaffected with school life himself, readily accepted the offer. The reality however was rather more mundane, he sensed that his studies were little more than a continuation of his high school. The meeting ended after 30 minutes, and Ms. Halloran escorted the two out, assuring them that she'd be in touch after conferring with her superiors on the best way forward. It had some tennis trivia in there that I wasn't expecting.. Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk and Charles Allen II were all between the ages of 19 and 20 at the time of the robbery. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. But before long they were put to chase once again, this time by two local thugs. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. A painting by Reinhard, a gifted artist, may offer some clues. He took a cab to Dam Square, an old hippie hangout in the center of the city he had read about on the Internet. All four were brought to Lexington police headquarters and individually interrogated by F.B.I. 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. Eric rented a proper bedroom upstairs, while Spencer moved back into the dorms at Transylvania. Shift + Tab to replay. part of a series on Honesty Theyre 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. 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. The next day, they worked off their hangovers by checking out Ground Zero before strolling into the bustle of Chinatown for lunch. They got security around that? Nonchalantly, very nonchalantly, I mean, just kind of shooting it between us. Im not going to lie. 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. As she was heading toward a display case, Gooch felt a tingling on her right arm and collapsed to the floor. 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. 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. 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. 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. Indeed one might consider these years to be a catalyst with which he could find his unique vision. More important, the basement was secluded. Though she couldnt recall much else about her assailants, one odd detail stood out. The other was short and quiet, wearing a yellow jacket two sizes too large and a matching scarf. 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. In terms of the dollar amount involved and the extraordinary circumstances, the theft was one of the most significant in its history. The two boys sought cover from the cops in the sprawling grounds of the housing projects. When not at practice, Warren spent his time smoking pot, watching Comedy Central, and reading German philosophy. because she wanted a new Range Rover, like, what? Only cannabis-smoking goalkeeper Warren Lipka . He feared being restricted in any way. 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). Warren made an appraisal appointment at Christies in New York for Walter Beckman, a pseudonym inspired by the soccer star David Beckham. Ad Choices, The untold story of the Transy Book Heist is one part, Donald Trump to Evangelicals: You Cant Break Up With Me Because Im Breaking Up With You First, Reality Is Submerged in Fantasy: The Villages Is a Boomers UtopiaAnd Demographic Time Bomb, Maybe instead of being one among many, [this film] will make me the one, a fresh-faced Rob Lowe told us in 1984. 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. The day of the heist was to be Thursday, December 16, one of the last days of final examsthe library would be nearly empty. Afterward, they returned to the Hilton for an early night. 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. [This librarian] doesn't know what we're carrying, but she's like, Where did these kids come from? Eric says. 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. 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. What they would tell me, then, is their version of eventsand the only complete account of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the heist. Warren had been convinced after spotting a suspicious man loitering near the yellow bungalowwhen he stepped outside, the man disappeared into an unmarked white van with tinted windows and sped off. It didn't take long to tie in Eric and Chas. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to a Lexington Catholic alumnus who was making an easy living in identity theft. Spencer would communicate with Warren from a cell phone, which Warren would steal from a student in the morning. 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. They were skeptical, Warren recalls. The boys readily agreed, and she escorted them through the offices to a small conference room. So we go back down to the bottom floor just to get away from her. It was just funny because weve been in a lot of places that theyve been, Eric says. Who do we trust?. We werent, 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. Like Barry, the men were immediately put off by Warren's youth, and even more so by the fact that he hadn't brought any of the books with him to Amsterdam. Eric had propped the folios on the steps with his foot when the librarian appeared at the top of the stairs, beside herself with rage after finding Gooch hog-tied in the Rare Book Room. He said his name was John. In his talk, Spencer speaks to how he found a unique, unexpected sense of freedom and honesty in his art, not constrained by societal influences or monetary pressures. 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. The untold story of the Transy Book Heist is one part Ocean's 11, one part Harold & Kumar: four Kentucky college kids who had millions to gain and nothing to lose. 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. We had a few pitchers, feeling each other out. 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. He focused above all on painting, gaining admission into a prestigious Lexington arts program. No response. you know, it's. it was. In the case of 67-year-old Alan Slattery of the U.K., it prevented a robbery from even happening. Pink, in this case to Chas. When she asked for contact information, Spencer gave her his cell-phone number. 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. In fact, they all tell me that as the planning picked up in the months before the heist, the three of them came to believe that it was their best and perhaps last chance to create a viable life for themselves after college. So we get the passport from the dude, plane tickets. We spoke about his paintings, especially A Plan to Fail. 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 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. Both boys were spitting images of Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. The next day, they worked off their hangovers by checking out Ground Zero before strolling into the bustle of Chinatown for lunch. 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 . So I kind of go, That would be pretty crazy, wouldn't it? He said, Yeah, that would be kind of crazy. I then said, You know, why don't you look into it more and we'll go from there? Just like very unofficial.. 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. Frightened and alone in an unfriendly neighborhood and weighed down with priceless books, Warren and Eric barreled down the street, frantically trying to hail a police cruiser to rescue them. So we go back down to the bottom floor just to get away from her. After researching auction houses online, Warren singled out Christies in New York. He scored a joint before checking into a hole-in-the-wall and falling asleep. Mass Market Paperback. 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. [Warrens] like, Come on up, Eric remembers. Chas turned the G.T.A.V. They also noticed a group of people lingering in the Rare Book Room. It was during his studies at Transylvania University that Spencer became aware of John James Audubons work, The Birds of America. It gave me an excellent opportunity to learn Spanish. He covered his tracks by using public phones and campus computers. 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. Eric Borsuk, Spencer Reinhard, Charles 'Chas' Allen IIand Warren Lipka hatched a grand plan to steal rare books from their uni library Credit: KKYT. Hes probably thinking I blamed him for [stealing] the money, which I never really did. 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. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. 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. For added anonymity, Warren bleached his hair blond that night. 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. 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. We live in 10 months of the year in Colombia and spend two in the States. A few minutes later, a short, dark-haired young man, also dressed in a winter coat, cap, and gloves, entered the library. Ad Choices. The boys readily agreed, and she escorted them through the offices to a small conference room. Can't have any of this documented. Back at Warren's 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. Even if they did steal the books, for example, how would they ever sell them? The painting, in digital form, would become a popular screen saver on the F.B.I. 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. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. Eric and Chas dropped Warren and Spencer off around the corner from Christie's. He's probably thinking I blamed him for [stealing] the money, which I never really did. 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. 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. 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. The other two would wait around the block in the S.U.V. 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. Warren and Spencer readied themselves early without waking the others, silently showering, shaving, and putting the finishing touches on their outfits. After a short wait, a young Christie's employee, Melanie Halloran, came out to apologize, as Mr. Leckey, due to an impending public auction, would be unable to see them. [Beckman] said, B.J., a nickname her friends and colleagues used for her, she told officers. See also He loved that it had been made the screen saver on the F.B.I. He took a cab to Dam Square, an old hippie hangout in the center of the city he had read about on the Internet. 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. 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. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. It was definitely a terrifying thing. In early 2006, they began serving their sentences in federal prison, with no possibility for parole. 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.. 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. 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. Now we cant ever go back there. and local detectives. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. The Lexington Police Departments commercial-burglary squad was assigned to the case. Warren had been convinced after spotting a suspicious man loitering near the yellow bungalowwhen he stepped outside, the man disappeared into an unmarked white van with tinted windows and sped off. This story was recently documented in the feature film American Animals. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. 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. He was told to look for a bearded, heavyset man in a solid-blue sweater. (Having seen their fair share of heist movies, they knew how dangerous it was to leave a paper trail.) is parked in front of the library and the four are in 1st Position at bottom of stairs of library.. 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. 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. 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. Spencer drives me out to Lexington [Blue Grass Airport] on a Friday. Spencer, feeling increasingly disaffected with school life himself, readily accepted the offer. Spencer assembled his outfit with even greater care. He looked like he was dressed from a thrift store, Halloran told the agents. 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. from an unsuspecting friend and got his hands on zip ties, a wool cap, electricians tape, and bedsheets. 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. 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. All four, now 22, children of privilege, products of elite Lexington high schools, are serving seven-year sentences for their parts in the crime. Us three, we were much thicker than he was.) And what Chas likely didnt know was that, for Warren, Eric, and Spencer, the actual appraisal and sale of the stolen books had become irrelevant to the mission. If we go in there theyre not going to suspect that we stole these. His work and practice demonstrates not only the redemptive power of art but the struggle of all artists to articulate and convey their voice and message in an increasingly noisy and distracted world. Eric dropped the books, and he and Warren made a run for it. Choose your favorite reinhard art prints from 2,323 available designs. Like, they were doing something serious, talking about the heist, going over the plan, and somebody would make a joke. . Churchill's statement can be agreed with. April 20, 2022. 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. I guess when we did that she went upstairs to check on B.J.. Despite the differing temperamentsand the disapproval of Spencer's parentsthe two were best friends from the age of eight, a friendship that revolved largely around soccer. (Throughout the interviews with the three, it became clear that Chas was the odd man out among the group. 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. All these girls I could draw better than when I was in sixth grade.. When summer break began, the three returned home to the subdivisions of South Lexington. Among them was the 2002 photo from the Lexington Herald-Leader of Spencer and Warren playing soccer. Barry described himself as an older man with a long ponytail and said he'd be wearing a green scarf. That afternoon they worked their way back uptown, to scope out Christie's steel-and-glass headquarters before their Tuesday appointment. So I walk off happy, come back to the States, and blow Spencer's mind.. The four men. In a duffel bag by his bed an F.B.I. 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. When I get up there, B.J. He was just so unbearable. 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. 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. By early November the boys were selling fake IDs at a hundred dollars apiece, and had apparently branched out into more lucrative identity manipulations. Waiting for the law to snatch them was nerve-racking, but they went on with their lives as if nothing had been amiss. 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. They all pled guilty to federal charges of robbery and. The thieves left no fingerprints behind, and there were almost no witnesses. Believe me, you havent heard the last of us yet.. 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?. Wearing a heavy coat, gloves, and a wool cap, Beckman signed the visitors' log. and Lexington police put the pair under surveillance. Cops entered the basement, a dank pit reeking of marijuana, and found Warren sprawled out on a mattress. believing that they had escaped with next to nothing. When the four boys were arrested the news was met with disbelief, as none of them had been in any serious trouble before. We did the robbery as a way to escape, Eric says. Remembering Distinguished Jamaicans Cabinet ministers of 1955 and 1959, Tricia Nicholas makes a mark in corporate governance , Brazil reckons with artistic treasures ruined in riot, A reporter at a dying paper solves a serial murder, ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and collapse of creative process, Set goals and appropriate their manifestation, Looted ancient sarcophagus returned to Egypt, Heres how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change, Digital Archives: Online editions 2006-Now.
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