Throw the Book at 'Em!: The Transy Library Book Heist

really a mash up. Did you know between nineteen twelve and you could win a gold medal in competitive art at the Olympics? Why how do you know this? I know everything? How do you know that? Every? Well, then that just kills it because I had never known this. I never heard that. I never knew it. They don't even have to patronize me, Elizabeth, but just you know, for the sake of my own edification, I thought it was amazing that there was is it was the original desire,

original goal of the Olympics. Like when they came up with the Olympics, the modern Olympics, it was like, oh, this is really important. We have to have competitive art, like it was like a big part of it. And then they like started coming up with the competition nineteen twelve. They're like, Okay, we're gonna do it because the first ones were like not competitive, and then so they let's make it competitive. Sweden's like, we're hosting. We don't want

to do that. They're like we're doing it. They're like okay, fine, So Sweden kicks it off first time. Not many artists show up. It's mostly the French, you know, It's like some Italians. Yeah, exactly. The first medal count the Italians won two golds, the French won two golds, the Swiss won won gold, in the US won one gold. There were five gold medals given out, no silver, no bronze, apparently,

just all gold medals. Yeah, and then later on they figured out how to like give out medals to everybody. And there were two people who won medals as athletes and artists that I thought was really kind of cool. There was Walter Winens. He was an American. He won as a marksman in the nineteen o eight Summer Olympics, and then he won another one in nineteen twelve, and then many years later he won for art for his sculpture in American trotter. And then there was also Alfred

Hajos of Hungary. He won as a swimmer at the first Olympics in Athens, and then twenty eight years later he comes back and he wins a silver medal in architecture stadium design. So he won a medal. So it's not like speed painting right there, It's not that they enter it in Okay, So there you golous. That's excellent, thank you for playing. You know what else is ridiculous? Yes I do, Elizabeth. You want me to tell you yours? Please go? Please tell me Dressing like old men to

steal a very old book. Yeah, yeah, this is a ridiculous crime. A podcast about absurd and outrageous capers, heists and cons. It's always murder free and one percent ridiculous. Saren, Elizabeth. Have you ever heard of Transylvania University? Uh? Is that Dr Frankenstein got his degree? Yes? What are you looking like? It's in Kentucky, Olexington. To be exactly, I've never heard of it. It's a small liberal arts I do know

that the Transylvania, Kentucky, I'm aware of it. Yeah, well, I had never heard of it either, Um, but I'm amazed by its impact on on things. Anyway, what do you mean? Well, like I said, it's a small liberal arts college. Everyone calls it Transy. In fact, that's their their college U R L Transy dot E d U. Okay, it's like ris dy Transy. There's only nine d seventy one UM students at the last count. It's a small school. Yeah, that's smaller than my high school tuitions almost forty dollars

a year. WHOA, Yeah, I don't know the inflation. Who knows. It was started in seventeen eighty, and that makes it the oldest university west of the Allegheny Mountains. Oh so, like only like Harvard and Yale or older pretty much

or William and Mary College. Yeah, it's also the largest producer of US statesman So to US vice presidents went there, Richard Mentor Johnson, who was the vice president to Martin Van Buren and John C. Breckenridge VPET James Buchanan, your favorite, the tiny terror to U S Supreme Court justices went there, Samuel Freeman, Miller, Wizzer White, and and John Marshall Harlan a k a. The Great dissenter. He was the one. He dissented on Plessy versus Ferguson. He's considered one of

the greatest justices of his era. His grandson also became a Supreme Court justice. So he came right out of Transylvania University. Fifty U S senators, a hundred and one U S representatives, thirty six governors, thirty four US ambassadors, and the President of the Confederacy Jeff So, wait a minute, this place, Transylvania University, Transy, give it up. What's their secret to statesmanship is? I don't know. Is that like their thing? They're just like, hey, come here, we'll get

you enrolled. I think that, you know, I think that they have deep connections and you know, they don't know Kentucky. That's where I would expect this from Virginia. Yeah, no, Kentucky coming coming through. So it sounds amazing. It has an endowment of two hundred and forty million dollars, so that's not on par with the billions in the ivy leagues, but that's a lot of money university to be able to be secure. And so that brings us to the crime that I want to where there's money there's crime.

The library is sitting on a collection of rare books worth millions and millions of dollars. Oh yeah, old as they are. But they got some beauties. Oh yeah, well, and they're they were able to kind of amass them and get donations, and it sounds like they've got yeah. So in two thousand four, there were some young men who were determined to liberate those dollars and take them for their own. Let me give me some background on these young man. Four dudes in total, Spencer Reinhardt, Warren Lipka,

Eric Borsuk and Chas Allen. Will there be a quiz later, Yes. All four of them were raised in well off neighborhoods Lexington. I'm guessing this is a school where you you're probably welcomed. I mean, yeah, yeah, exactly. And so but they're like coming from the local area. All of these guys college students. Some of them went to University of Kentucky, which is like a mile down the road. Others went to Transylvania University Transy. So Warren and Spencer they grew up together,

best friends. They went to different high schools, but they had this really tight bond that was based on soccer pretty much um. In two thousand three, Warren, who was like tall, lanky and rascally, he went off to University of Kentucky on a scholar soccer scholarship. UH. Spencer, small and artsy. He got an art scholarship to Transylvania University Transy, just a mile up the road. He wanted to be

a graphic designer and a passion for graphic design. Both of these guys had a tough time their first year in college. Spencer he wasn't into the pressure that came with collegiate soccer um, and he thought all the other art majors were talentless morons. He was like, I could draw better than that when I was an elementary school dude, And so he wasn't into it. Warren, He's not faring much better. His family was like slowly imploding due to his father's gambling debts. His dad was the coach of

the UK women's soccer University Kentucky women's soccer team. So then he's like on a soccer scholarship, but the dad's like blowing all the money gambling. He looks around him at all the privilege and like inane worries of his peers and he's just disgusted. He's like, you guys, are you know you're concerned about this idiotic stuff? You have everything. I mean he came from that same privilege. But whatever, So he's just like moping and brewing. He's mad because

he's losing it because his dad's gambling it away. He's going through that like freshman eye opening of like wait, I've read camel I See the World, but instead of getting more international or more cultured, he's getting more bitter. Yeah, exactly. So like he's just like I said, he's like moping around smoking weed. Um. He quits the soccer team and that meant no scholarship of course. So he's just like bumming around and feeling disenchanted. He's hanging out with what

he probably felt was like a super edgy crowd. Um. And he meets this guy who's making a killing and fake ideas. And the guy tells Warren, look, you're in the perfect position to sell fake driver's licenses at the dorms. Like come on, you're you're like, you know, popular guy. Whatever. Warren loves this. For Warren, He's like, this is for me. Fake I d S is the way to go. So then he gets his friend and fellow soccer guy, Eric Borsok in on the venture and they start selling ideas

at a hundred dollars apiece. Okay, so it's like a little bit more than market rate, making good money. They also are like fancying themselves little petty criminals, like these guys are, Hey, we're bad boys now the mean, mean streets of the University of Kentucky. So, um, do they have a name from them their gang? No? I wish maybe they didn't, the Bad Boys Club. And so they're doing other petty crimes. I don't know what those were, but you know, just bad stuff, littering. Um. So Warren

and Eric they eventually get into this fight. It's not physical, but they were like squabbling over money. So Eric dips out on the little Yeah, they have a beef going on. There's beef involved. Uh. Eric leaves the criminal empire. The only problem was that he was the design and computer guy who put the ideas together. Oh, they're faking it that way, So war and he thinks about, like, who else do I know that has an artistic streak and a passion for graphic design. Oh, my high school bestie

Spencer Spencer. Remember Spencer's already sort of over the whole art student thing. So he's in He's like, yeah, whatever, I'll do it. So now he's running with a cutthroat gang and he decides to share with them one of his criminal fantasies. He's like, I feel like this is a safe space you guys. Um, here's what I've been thinking about. He had been on a tour of the

library as part of his art school orientation. I like picturing this gang having like a Robert's Rules of Order lead meeting where he's like a new business point in to business. I've got an idea I'd like to bring up, guys, So can we put Can I get a second on? There are documenting this? That's pretty much yea. So he'd been on this tour of the library as part of his art school orientation, and um, they took him through

all the special collections. They got to see the absolute treasures of archive and right, so they go to the Rare Books room and that's when they get to see the Crown Jewels, bring out the White Gloves Birds of America. It's a first edition of John James Audubon's Rare master work containing huge hand painted engravings of the aforementioned huge their breathtaking, they're so incredible, sot there maintains the color still.

Oh yeah, they're vibrant. And there are only like two of these things made, so they have one of them. The woman leading the library tour mentioned that their value of this four volume set twelve million dollars. So Spencer starts thinking that, like, maybe the group could graduate from selling fake ideas and bags of weed to lifting twelve million dollars worth of rare art and somehow selling it on the black you can baby steps, Well, he wanted together le did it take his freshman pipe dream and

go full fledged criminal enterprise. The thing that they skip past is who are they going to sell this book? Too? Well, you'll see they think about these really okay good. So he starts watching like he's been thinking about this. He's watched the set up at the Special Collections room, and he sees that the security there consists of two things. One a sign in sheet and to a librarian named Betty gene Gooch, like a sign that says don't take

things Betty. That's a great Her friends and colleagues call her b J. So it's not it's a sign in sheet and b J Gooch look out bros that security. So that's a great nickname, the Gooch. You were asking if they okay? So they steal them, then what how are they going to move them? You don't count Warren out. Warren's a bad boy, Zarin, remember that he was part of the criminal underbelly of Lexington. Kentuck's right, okay, So

he asks around, he runs in the shadowy streets. He said, look, I need a contact who can help me move some artwork. A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend connect him with a guy in New York named Barry. Oh this sounds promising. Oh yeah. So Warren and Barry they chat on the phone, one crook to another, crimer to crimer um and then they set up a meeting and Barry's like, look, I gotta

know that you're for real. Man. He's like, I am for real, dude, I sell I D send you a picture of my I D. He's like, well, this is what Barry wants. Barry's like, how about you give me like a five deposits so I know you're for real? How does that make you know, so Warren and Spencer they hop in the car and they drive to Manhattan from Kentucky seven miles. They check into a hotel under the name Harry Balsani and they have a fake ID to back it up. They have a Harry Harry Balsani.

I d I want a Harry bals Harry Balls's Harry Balls. Any yeah, uh so they pay cash for the room. They meet up with Barry the next day in Central Park. This is like something out of Law and Order Juicy Booty edition, Like they are just in Central Park. There's like pigeons, yes exactly, jogging berries. An old man with a long ponytail, and he's like irritated because he sees it's these two like frat bros rolling up on him

played by Bruce Dern in the movie. Yes. And then Elliott Stabler a k A. Juicy Booty comes charging out, bald headed gleaming. I don't know, I've just heard that that's what happens on the ship. So anyway, he they Berry's irritated, but you know what, money's money, and so he takes five dollars off of him in exchange for an email address. He slides him a little slip of paper, and he said, when you email this this address, say your name is Terry. So Terry, Harry and Barry. Okay, yeah, okay,

just keep over here. So they're like sweet, yes, and they like high five, and then they skip off, going back to Spencer's Accura head back home. Now they create their own email address and they send a message to the one that they got Harry, what's up Terry. Here, I got rare books. I'm looking to move them. So then they get a reply, guess what, Terry, you got to go to Amsterdam if you want to sell these rare books. This is getting exciting, Serin, but it's also

getting complicated. So Warren reaches out to one of his fellow crimers and he gets a line on a fake passport, and for he paid for it. So now he has fake papers, take them all the way to Amsterdam. He flew out there alone, March two thousand four. I was about to ask what years this and fake passport and easy no, because we're remembers after the Towers. Yeah, and this means that you're getting the holograms, you got all

this stuff, So he gets it. He meets up with these four shady guys in a coffee shop in Amsterdam. He didn't bring any stolen books with him because he hadn't stolen them yet, so he can't. He also didn't bring any photos of them, no documentation, no proof whatsoever. He couldn't even talk about because he didn't know like anything. He's like, yeah, they're just like old Hey, guys want to talk about crime, right, So he's just Terry now out in the world, like not knowing anything fresh, Terry.

So the guys tell Warren Slash Terry something important. Listen, you have to have an accurate, honest appraisal of the books if you're going to sell them. And if you get that, then yeah, we're interested whatever books you feel you have. If you get them appraised and you have provenance for us with that appraisal, good. So he gets back to the States, he tells Spencer everything. He's like, oh my god, amstery, I was amazing. Why aren't all

cities bikeable? And so they figure out You're like, okay, you know what, Let's go big. Let's reach out to Christie's auction house in New York. I mean, come on, that's the first name in auction to bring in experts Warren then also goes in men's fences with his old pal Eric, so they smooth things over. They had some pizza and bruise. I'm not kidding. That's how it all got fixed. It's all good. So then he brings me and he's like, Eric, since we're cool, now let me

pour you another point. Uh, do you want to come in on our rare book heist? And Eric okay. So yeah, So now they've got three guys. Summer's coming. The bros had plans, though, you know, so non criminal plan. They're going to brow down, go down to the coast. Warren was a camp counselor, so he had he had. I guess Kucky would be different. Spencer got a gig painting murals at a school. Eric had a lawnmowing business with

a buddy named Chaz. And so then so they're like, guess what, we're going to put the active plans on ice. But let's never stop dreaming about it, guys, keeping in your mind, like imagine all your wild expenditures while you're you know, mowing lawns, organizing capture the flag. It's all good. So when we come back, I'm going to tell you what happened at the start of the new academic year. Zaren,

we're back. Hey, you just got done planing beer pall I was telling you about Warren, Spencer and Eric and their plans to steal a first edition of Audubon's Birds of America. Yeah, the Bad Boys Bros, the Bad Boys Club. It's an audacious plan, is Yeah, daring and new. It's one that involves Christie's auction as a trip to Amsterdam and then also crossing paths with b J Gooch. Yeah, and a bunch of federal crimes about getting out of

the country, huge, huge crimings. Um I mentioned that Eric was cutting grass over the summer with a pale named Chairs. Chaz came from a pretty well off family. His dad was in real estate, like big money guy. Um. One of the properties is dad owned was right by the UK campus and his son was also on the deed to that home. Chas who was living in the house. Well Chas of course house the Chairs house. Eric lives

there and then Warren. Warren was living in the unfinished basement for next to nothing in rent, so it's like an amateur frat house completely uh. He Warren like he'd had enough for a nicer place before. But back when he was slinging, I d s um that was like four months ago. But that business was over now and he's moved on. Is it totally different? Oh? Yeah? He Now he spends every waking moment either planning the heist, playing video games or smoking weed. Those are his things.

Was he wheezing on chicks too? Who's who knows? Maybe he's a young man. He was a UK student. That's one of his agreements to his fellow brothers. Yes, exactly, I will smoke weed, I will wheeze on girls, and I'll plan a heist. Guys. One day, Warren calls a heist meeting in the in his basement abode. He's like, gentlemen, come on down. So they they dropped down, he Spencer and Eric. They get down to business. They're getting closer to making this heist reality. But they need one more person.

I don't know why. Yeah, they need a thief. I think they needed someone, I don't know what. So Eric was like, hey, how about my friends slash Landlord Chas Allen And he comes so chas they tell him about it. He's not into it. He laughs, he laughs hard. He's like, you guys are more on, but like the boys wear him down right to like, come on, bros, be super sweet Chaz. He later talked about how money was really important to him then and then it was an indicator

of his value as a person. I feel like his household may have not been like the most well rounded or healthiest emotional talking about. So he's just like, all right, if there's money, fine, I'm in. So they get this line. Let me break this down for a second. Selling something like the books, they're worth like twelve million, right, if they sell them on the black market, they're only going to get market value best, right, So let's say that gets it down to six million. So then you have

that money, but you gotta wash it. So take away for that. That's about ten if you've got somebody you know, twenty if you don't. They don't know anybody. So now they have four point eight million dollars. You divide that by four, you get one point too. That's not bad, but that's a long way from twelve million. Well one point two million, I mean that would change your life, but I'm not guessing that that Like that means everything

went right. They got all their maximum payouts, they got all their They're talking about these dreams of like going to the Mediterranean and getting yachts and like reason on Mediterranean babes, and it's like you can't really do that with you, Like you can't afford Lebron James's life. You don't get that. So like whatever one point to that'll do you. So they start really leaning hard into the logistics of everything. They watched heist movies like Ocean's Eleven

and Snatch. It's really where you get your what we've been learning, that's where people do it. Yes, so Spencer he scoped out the library and the special collections, especially the Rare books room, Michael Mann movies. He carefully monitored the sentry to that sanctum old Betty Jean Gooch. He even made some appointments with her to see her in action, like I like the way you move. He wanted to see what it would be like to get access to the books and you know, get a little get a

little look at the bj um the others. They mapped out transit and escape plans. They tailed campus police to try and get a sense of their schedules. They monitored the library inside and out. They took note of like who was where and when? Then they made the following internet searches, auction house appraisals, stun guns, Swiss bank accounts. They're like, how to heist to fake passport? Spencer goes out and he spends three on materials for their disguises.

So then Warren reaches out to Christie's and he makes an appointment to have some rare books appraised. He emails them from the email Walter dot Beckman at yahoo dot com. Walter beck Is that anybody, No, they came up with this alias as homage to their soccer hero David Beckham. I was wondering, okay, But when they're asked about it, they're like, I don't know where the Walter came from

and it's just kind of like adjacent whatever. Warren used that same email address to get in touch with b J. Gooch. He's like, what's my Name's Walter Beckman. I love books. He makes an appointment to see the Audubon collection in the Rare Book room on December sixteenth, two thousand four. Hey, b J love the books. Let's do this some time to show and then he's like, I want to see the Audubons but also like, hey, b J, anything else you think might be like cool for us to look at,

Let's do it. I just love books, lady, And she's like BJ's accommentating. She's like, I want people to share my love for these books. Let me show you all the cool stuff I have. Let me show you the b J way. So December sixteenth, chat As borrows a relative's minivan and the boys headed to the library. Warren bleached his hair blonde for the occasion. That doesn't stand out. They had on them a black Cobra stun pen like

a junior stun gun. Don't worry. They tested it out on each other ahead on their forehead, like, y'all, zapp you is that? Did you die? He tries back in my neck, trying my chest. Put it right on. Okay, I know this, I've tried this. So it's the last day of finals and Spencer's running a little late coming from one of his so he didn't have all the time that he needed to do use his artistic talents to apply the disguises, but you know, they went with it.

He did it. They had to drive around a while because they couldn't find a parking space, but then Eventually they make their way to the library. Zaren closure. I want you to picture it. You're a senior. You're a senior at Transylvania University. You're majoring in theater with a minor in computer science. You're hedging your beds, you're cramming for your last final of the semester this afternoon. And throw four, which is magic, Witchcraft and Religion. It's the

last elective. Unique. The class has been fascinating and it really lines up with your love of sorcery. Yeah, so the library is quiet. All you hear is the occasional shuffle of papers and a muffled cough here and there. You need to get some air and stretch your legs, so you push your chair back and you head out the front doors. Take this warlock on a walk. It's mid morning and there's a scattering of people sitting on

the benches walking by. You hear snippets of conversations, and you just think how fortunate you are to go to this storied university, to be surrounded by other curious minds looking to expand their capabilities for critical thinking and assessment. Just being in college makes you part of an elite few in the world, the globe being at this tony small liberal arts college even more so, and people all over the world dream of this opportunity. You are blessed, Zaren.

You've got your Phillis sunshine in front of the library, see head back in. You open the door and when you look behind you, you see three guys headed your way. They're limping and hunched over. They sport newsboy caps and windbreakers, scarves, gloves. They all have gray hair and weird mustaches. You're a polite citizen of the world, so you hold the door open for these older gentlemen. You can't quite tell. As you hold the door and they shuffle past, you see

that they aren't old men at all. There are a bunch of young bros dressed up as old men. It's very sabotage era, you know how, Like in the Spike Jones BC Boys book there's all the pictures of them, and old man drag m c A has like a bushy Van Dyke beard that morphs later into the Nathaniel hornblower. Yeah, so it's like that. It's bizarre. Everyone's staring at these guys as they do their old man routines like grab it, oh, my back, and they shuffled through the entryway of the library.

Like you think, it's like maybe a fraternity prank, something to do with the end of the semester. People are giggling, pointing one guy's mustaches like loose and flopping around. Here's the thing, Like they decided to dress as old men because they thought that old people were invisible, That's what they said, and then come to find out they were. No one notices them. Yeah, so these three be costumed men. They look at each other and then they turn and

hustle right out the door. So like everyone's pointing and laughing, Oh, college hijinks. They just drop the whole charade. Us there, and you walk back to your spot at the table and start going back to highlighting sections of a spell bookwork exactly so the plan is foiled by the ridiculous disguises. They head back to their house, to the Chaz house,

Warren calls b J. Gooch. He tells her, look, I'm so sorry, but I have to move my appointment with you, like I got stuck do in business stuff with eleven o'clock tomorrow morning. Work Look, b J Gooch, she's there to serve the public She's like, okay, she agrees. They decide that the old man costumes are in no go and then this time Eric and Warren they'd be the

ones to go inside. Eric would keep watch on the first floor, Warren would go up and zap the gooch tire up, and then Warren would give the signal and Eric would come help and move the books outside to the waiting minivan. Would it work this time? That's a good question. When we come back from this break, I'm gonna let you know how heist two point Oh went nice. I'm gonna be sitting here thinking about the goach Zaren.

What's up Quade? Nothing much. When we left off the four college criminals, they're gearing up for a second shot at stealing rare books from the transy library. Yes, I can't wait here with their next costumes, so the more. After the first venture, everything starts running smoothly. They parked the minivan, Eric and Warren. They head in again. Oh, I think they parked it like we're not No, no, no, They got back in the mini van. They did it all over this time. There's a barking spot. They got

good parking karma. Uh. Eric and Warren. They go in this time, they're disguising themselves with winter cold weather gear, so like hats, gloves, a heavy coat. That's what people aren't going to pay attention. It is December. People always leave those on into places like library because it's never warm in the library. Um so Warren he heads up to the Rare Books room for his appointment with the Gooch.

But they should have warned it is just like transity sweatshirts and blue jeans and just been likeall cat and look every other yep, yep whatever. So Warren goes up to meet with the Gooch, Eric he goes back. He's in his lookout spot in the lobby, and so there's Betty Jean Gooch. She's prepping with her appointment for Walter Beckman.

She pulls out Birds of America and then she also pulls out a first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species some other like really cool old illuminated texts. Um Beckman. A. K. Warren arrives and by the way, would she to do this for anybody who's at an appointment? Isn't that incredible? So he gets there and he asked her if it's okay to have a friend of his come up and see the books too. So Gooch is

like a little skeptical. She's like, I don't I thought this guy was going to be a lot older and he's a young guy. Um, but you know what, Fine, have your friend come up. Eric gets the call on his cell phone from Warren. He's down in the lobby. He thought he had to go upstairs and help carry the books. He was not expecting like he he thought that Warren would already have gotten in there and subdued. Warren's calling an audible because he doesn't have the backbone

to take the Gooch out right. Yeah, So Eric rolls up. He's shocked, but then he kind of plays it off. He introduces himself as John, and then they go with this new plan on the fly. So the two of them follow BJ into the viewing room and Warren used the taser pen on BJ's arm. On her arms, sir, it wasn't a big shock, but it was enough voltage to send her like slumping to the ground because is this older woman, and she gets I think that she

felt like a tingling in her heart. So then the pair of zip tie her and put a ski cap over her face. So Warren says, we're quit struggling, BJ, or do you want to feel more pain? And up until this point they hadn't anticipated doing physical harm to anyone. They said that they intended to just scare BJ Gooch with the taser, but not actually use it. So then they crossed that line. But then they just kept going. So Gooch is out of commission. The fellas they start

piling the giant folio manuscripts. I was really hoping the good would mess them up. You did what, just like punch hit him with a book. So they they they put a bedsheet on the floor and then they start piling these folios on the on it. So there were seven of them Birds of America plus three other They're putting them in a bed sheet. They're laying them on a bed sheet and then we're gonna bundle them up.

They're just gonna throw them over their bag like a sack and just try to get out of there like they're going to ride the rails um. So they brought the bed sheet as part of their heisht kit. They grabbed smaller books from the table and just shoved them in their backpacks. They're just like grabbing everything they can it's like when you're by like the cash register, the impulse purchases. The problem was that the Audubon books were heavy,

like really really heavy. So Eric and Warren they struggled with them as they were trying to figure out how to get out of the back of the library. They've done all this recon but they got all confused. They couldn't find the fire exit. They tried to get in the elevator. They went up and down. They opened up like closing door, close the door, people out there. They went back up, so they finally find a backstairwell. They

slowly made their way downstairs. They were fumbling with this crazy heavy cargo slung in a bed sheet between the two of them. Meanwhile, another librarian went to check on b J in the bookroom and found her hog tied muzzle. Oh yeah, she flips out. She raised b J calls the cops, and then she gave chase like, you do not mess with librarians. People, Damn a librarian will message yes. So she knew the building inside it out, so she knew exactly what exit they'd have to totally. She's just

like parkour her way down the stairwell. So Eric and Warren. They get to the bottom of the stairwell, the door at the top swings open. It's the other librarian. She is piste. She's just like yelling and like, oh man, she's coming down that steam coming out of her nose. Her biceps have grown and like ripped open her her cute twin set. She's just like so. Eric and Warren they just basically like kick open the back door to the building, dropped the books, oh my god, and like

start they start running right. Chaz is all startled at the wheel of the minivan. He's all of a sudden he sees them just bursting out of the out of the building. At this point, they just don't want to get caught, know so they didn't have the folios. They're running as fast as they can. They jump in the minivan. Librarian. Yeah. The chads like backs up to pick them up, almost hits the librarian and they're like drive, drive, drive and drive. He did. She was doing like a terminator to so

he's driving like a maniac. Chas he's running red lights, he's nearly hitting pedestrians in like an astro van or in the rear view for a librarian. Yeah, yeah, They're all in an absolute panic. So they wind up. They switched cars. They pulled the They had fake plates on the minivan, they pull those off and set fire to them. Getting the other car, they dropped Eric off at his tennis final. It's like, apparently it wasn't just like rallies

in a surf clinic like they had. There was a written test about tennis trivia and you couldn't miss that. So your final, I thought, like tennis, like he was in the finals, I took tennis in high school as like a point five credit thing, just as a way to play tennis during the whatever. It was like, it was like it was like a pe class, and that's

what I thought. But no, it turns out he said like he had tough questions about tennis trivia instead of just going and playing your last liberal schools that are training our states. So he goes off to take his final. The rest of them go to shay Chaz and they watched coverage of their pseudo heist on TV. So don't forget though, that while they didn't get the million dollar manuscripts, they did have backpacks full of other rare books. They

filled those backpacks. They heard on the news that there were no leads and a witness had taken down the license plate, but it was the fake one, so what does it matter. And they burned that so no one's going to find it. It looks like the cops had nothing and all their cinematic practice had paid off. They broke out some special occasions celebratory joints, and they felt a sense of relief. They may have just gotten away

with it, Saron. The next day, the four of them piled into Eric's car and they drove to New York for their appointment at Christie's to sell the books that they didn't steal. Yes, so just like what about these what about these smaller ones? So they arrive on Sunday morning and they check into the same hotel they'd used on that last trip to meet the black market art contact. The appointment isn't until Tuesday, so they hung out and they went to dinner, and then they tied one on

at the hotel part Badway show. According to an article in Vanity Fair Quote, Warren chummed up to an Iraq veteran spencer almost started a brawl after knocking a table full of drinks over, and Eric picked up a middle aged Brazilian tourists Warren, Warren and Chaz left the other two and staggered to the nearby China Club Attackie Westside Nightclub, which they knew about from the famous Rick James episode of Chappelle's show God Is Amazing. So on Monday they

did some tourists. They're taking the Chris Murphy or Charlie Murphy rather Murphy tour of New York. Murphy mentioned, I will go there, So that was There's Sunday Monday they did some touristy things. They made a swing by Christie's to check it out, just look at it. Then they went to bed. Early Tuesday morning, Warren and Spencer they go to Christie's Chas and Eric. They wait in the car down the street with the books in the back.

Warren he wore his special occasion big boy suit and Spencer put together a look that sounds very Richie Tannenbaum meets once again Spike Jones era Beastie Boys. A vintage yellow Pierre Carden blazer, large collar dress shirt and a gold silk scarf. Well, I like the Pierre card Empire.

Well it was also like two sizes too big, huge, so an employee named Melanie Hallerin agreed to meet with Mr Beckman, but was informed by Warren and Spencer that they were actually Mr Williams and Mr Stevens, representatives of Walter Beckman, of course from and so he told them that Beckman was a very private man, a very careful man, and he just inherited some rare books and he wanted to get them appraised. How Lareen said, can I see him? Spencer has to run out to the car to get them.

He comes back with like a wheelie bag. No, he comes back with a wheelie bag. He opens it up. Hallerin looks them all over. She asked some questions and like write stuff down and then she's like, you know what, I'll be in touch. Spencer's like, great, here's my number. They leave. Meanwhile, the cops in the FBI and Lexington they're pouring over CCTV footage from the library. Lexington p D assigns this detective to the case. Detective Shannon Garner.

She had just been transferred over from the mounted unit, like she was a horse cop and this was her first detective case. She's like a little overwhelmed to be leading such a high profile case, but she never let that show. She was just cool the whole time. Yeah. The police trace the Yahoo email addressed to the UK Computer Lab and then they pulled the tapes from there too, so they can see who was using the computer at

that time. They have a face. Then they get a federal subpoena ordering Yahoo to turn over all the records about the Welter Beckman email address. They found the correspondence with Melanie hallerin at Christie's and then they contact her. She tells the police, Yeah, these two guys who came in, super weird, super suspicious. They were young, they're wearing she described them thrift store clothes. She knew something was off,

so she decided not to do business with them. Hey, did you have the CCTV tapes from when she they came in? Sure? She's like, you know what, I also have one guy's phone number. So she gives them the number. Right, this is the police. They're expecting this to be a burner phone, but when they look up the registration, it's a legit cell phone owned by Gary Reinhardt. Gary lives in Lexington, Kentucky. They call the number, they give voicemail.

This is Spence leave a message? So like, oh yeah, okay Spencer right, Okay, so this had given Christie's his real phone number, one paid for by his dad Gary. So they pulled a picture of Spencer from the newspaper. Okay, you have this name. It's a soccer thing, and like, Warren's also in a picture but not named. They compared the image to the footage from Christie's. Oh yeah, it's those two guys. So they have the one name they

needed to get the name for Warren. So the sergeant Pat Murray of Lexington p D. He shows his kid, who's about the same age, right, He's like, do you know these guys? Like He's like, oh yeah, that's Warren Lipka like new right away. So they start right exactly, So they start following Warren and Spencer, and soon enough they can figure out okay, yeah, Eric and Chas are they're part of it too, right, So the guys, they all tried to just go about their daily routines as

if nothing had happened. There's this excellent passage from the Vanity Fair article by John Falk, like this quote. With the pressure mounting. However, Warren was caught shoplifting a TV dinner from a local supermarket. Eric was arrested and charged with a d u I. Police pulled him over not only for running red lights, but also because Warren was on top of the car, hanging onto the roof wreck

and Spencer crashed his accurate legend. Just days before they are us, the three even took in a movie Oceans twelve. Oh my goodness, So like they're they're supposed to be lying low. They got Warren hanging on to the top of the car. Well wait a minute, I got to defend that. That's a really fun way to ride in a car or on a car. I have done that. That is amazing. So he gets a d life of that.

On the morning of February eleven, two thousand five, Lexington p D Sent swat to raid Chaz's house Sha Chaz. Under the gun, cops searched the basement a k a. Warren's disgusting layer and they found the books. They found other heist accessories like everything everything. So during the interrogation all of them confessed, of course, and they all pleaded guilty the theft of cultural artifacts from a public museum and interstate transportation of stolen property and there were other

charges on top of that as well. They got a weapon's enhancement for using the stunt pen and they all got sentenced to seven years in a federal facility with no chance of parole. Right years, seven years not what I thought they would get. Well, there was some like wrangling about because they were going to charge Warren with more. They were gonna put more time on his because he was yeah, and they thought he was like the ringleader

she directed the others. But then um, all these librarians did a right in of like throw the book at him. Oh my god. These are people who are like so sincere and dedicated to knowledge and admitted so Um. Anyway, they wound up just making it across the board. Seven years. Wow, do you know how they get those buns so tight practice. In subsequent interviews, they all said that they're sorry, but they say they pulled the heist because they wanted to

escape the oppression of their comfortable suburban lifestyle. One characterized his quote a way out, honey, the mean streets of wealthfare all over the world are looking for a way in and to being able to send their kids to a private university, have a lovely family home, take vacations, never have to worry about the price of groceries, like having regular food and having to run from your neighbors.

Not bagging on middle or upper middle class folks, because that's how I grew up, right, But I am ever thankful now and back then growing up how lucky I was, Like how hard my mom my grandma had to work so that I could have such a comfortable life. Well, it's a word to gets thrown around now a lot,

but you really were very lucky and privileged. Yeah, completely completely, But you have to recognize that these guys seem mad that they came from that, from such comfort that the same people people turned to crime because they want that comfort. So anyway that it was, there's a documentary about them. It's really irritating anyway, I can see it. It's so they all serve their time. They got out of prison. Warren says he's a prison reform advocate, and they think

he works as an electrician. That's what it says in his Twitter bio bio. But I don't know if he's being cheeky whatever. Anyway, Eric, he wrote a book about their caper. Of course, it's called American Animal. The book was made into a movie, and then he's also yeah, so the casting. Yeah, he's also a prison reform advocate and he writes about his time inside, so he's you know, good for him by the way that movie came out.

But Warren and Eric are like currently actively promoting it on social media, which I think a little bit weird. Is anybody in it? Oh? I don't like there are people in it? Get that, But I mean, like, does it have anybody whose name I may recognize? I don't think so it's like young stars that I don't know who. Anyway, you'd have to watch TV to know that I would. I probably would, you know what, I live in a cave. Um So Spencer Reinhard. He keeps continuing with his art,

which was his passion. He paints while he's in prison, and he's now a working artist. He has a website where you can buy his paintings of surfing flamingos. Did you say surfing just like hanging ten being wicked? Do you know that they don't You can't bend at the knee. They only bend at the ankle. Very difficult to surf that. I'm just saying. Chaz Chas is now a life coach,

and he wrote a book called Evolution Becoming a Criminal. Well, he did a Reddit a m a asked me anything when the movie came out, and he got roasted in the comments because he would only answer questions about like the logistical details of the heist. He ignored all the interesting questions, and then they went hard at him about being a life coach. They're like, why in the world would I take just like, don't do this, do this, don't do this. It's so entertaining, this whole threat in

the way that only read it can be. That's very The people are absolutely hilarious and clever. Okay, so b J. Gooch. She retired from the library in after twenty six years of service. She didn't like talking about the robbery at all, but eventually she caved when the publicity around the movie put her back in the spotlight, and she said that talking about the effect the effected hat on her was

cathartic um. She got all bruised up at the time, and then she was anxious for a long time in the library after the attack, but she was able to recover and thrive. She's my hero in this story. I'd like I really was hoping for her to do violence to them. She has her own larger tastes. Give him

the goo, Szaren. What's her ridiculous takeaway? Oh man, that the UK students in Transylvania University students are pretty much exactly what I expected of the future statesmen of America and the privileged few who go to University of Kentucky. I was like, Wow, there are no surprises in this, but I do love the Gooch. So my ridiculous take away is b J Gooch, Celebrate the Gooch. That's my take By the way, is that the name of a

character from Popeye? And do I have that right? There's like a hazy memory of the Gooch being a cartoon character. Like maybe I'm wrong about that. I don't know. It doesn't matter either way. Uh. That's all that's all I have today. Um. You can find us online at Ridiculous Crime on both Twitter for the talking and Instagram for the cokin. Email us if you want it Ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com, download the I Heart app and leave us a talk back thirty second voicemail. Other than that,

tune in next time. Also, we take telegrams, so if you can get down to Western Union. Yes up, and I'm Szaron Burnett and that's Elizabeth Dutton. Damn right. Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zarin Burnett, produced and edited by Professor Dave Kusten, author of the Origin of These Nuts. Researches by Special Teams Librarian Unit members Marissa Brown and Andrea Song Sharpenedier. The theme song is

by Amsterdam's Finest Fences. Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton. Executive producers are Ben don't use the taser ball in and No, no, really do don't use the taser Brown, dis say it one more time? We dequeous c. Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts to my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.