They think we have [the books]. Spencer believed it was an insurmountable problem. notified all the airports in the area, dispatched officers to surrounding neighborhoods, and called the F.B.I. Phase 2 ends when the loot is loaded into the G.T.A.V. as we left we were going to make an anonymous phone call so they knew she was up here, Eric continues. In all my art classes I was the only guyin with a bunch of girls who didnt have any idea what they wanted to do. 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. I love that my kids will grow up seeing both worlds and experiencing both cultures. So we get the passport from the dude, plane tickets. They had reserved a room in the same Midtown Hilton that Spencer and Warren had stayed in nearly a year earlier. Spencer assembled a small wardrobe of fake beards, gray wigs, and costume glue. 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. 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. agents were sitting behind them the whole time, listening to their every word. Boom. American Animals, the 2018 biopic, written and directed by The Tinder Swindlers Bart Layton, is an acclaimed cinematic account of a younger Reinhard, a then Transylvania University junior whose plot to steal one of the rarest of US art history titles naturalist icon John James Audubons 1827 tome Birds of America as well as a first-edition Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin - led to guilty pleas from Reinhard and three chums, who paid the price: seven-year convictions across the board. Back at Warrens that afternoon, the boys were transfixed by local coverage of the Transy Book Heist.. 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 next day, they worked off their hangovers by checking out Ground Zero before strolling into the bustle of Chinatown for lunch. With a long, thin face and bleached-blond hair and sideburns, he appeared younger than Gooch had expected. Reinhards works will be exhibited at his residencys final exhibition on May 8, culminating in May 16s big reveal. This story was recently documented in the feature film American Animals. 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. Even if we wanted to, they wont let us. Among them was the 2002 photo from the Lexington Herald-Leader of Spencer and Warren playing soccer. The plan for the actual robbery sets out three distinct phases. 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. 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. Ad Choices. With a long, thin face and bleached-blond hair and sideburns, he appeared younger than Gooch had expected. Reinhard mentioned a collection of lightly guarded rare books and art at the university library, and the two, while watching Hollywood heist movies, started kicking around the idea of stealing from the $20 million collection. . (Having seen their fair share of heist movies, they knew how dangerous it was to leave a paper trail.) "It's often considered a mistake in the art world to have multiple styles, but I have to go wherever my inspiration takes me. 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. Spencer was born in 1984 in Lexington Kentucky. Copyright 2023 The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited. Among them was the 2002 photo from the Lexington Herald-Leader of Spencer and Warren playing soccer. My world view actually expanded. 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 . With each taking one end of the Audubons, they made their way to the staff-only elevator. This ultimately led to the life changing events chronicled in the 2018 film American Animals. 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. Choose your favorite reinhard art prints from 2,323 available designs. The L.P.D. Churchill's statement can be agreed with. Eric and Chas dropped Warren and Spencer off around the corner from Christies. 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, feeling increasingly disaffected with school life himself, readily accepted the offer. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. He said his name was John. Spencer believed it was an insurmountable problem. Once Warren had pulled the cap over Goochs 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). I've met with them, Eric continues. As they scooted down the stairs their arms gave out and they stopped to catch their breath. Whilst Spencers life path may have been unorthodox at times one can only but admire what it has led him to. They jump in the van and peel out around the loop.. 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. It immediately had kind of sparked my imagination, like a fantasy., O.K., so were sitting in the car, smoking weed, Warren recalls, and then Spencer said, I just took a tour in that library, and theres shit sitting there you wouldnt believe. Cops entered the basement, a dank pit reeking of marijuana, and found Warren sprawled out on a mattress. Gooch agreed to reschedule for 11 the next morning. By one o'clock that afternoon, the 227-year-old liberal-arts college was swarming with campus police, uniformed Lexington Police, plainclothes detectives, and forensic teams, as well as local news crews covering the developing Transy Book Heist, a crime that would one day be listed among the F.B.I. Aside from harming B. J. Gooch, Spencer, Warren, and Eric maintain that they have no regrets. They said that this set, Birds of America, sold for $12 million. I said, Twelve million dollars, just sitting there? I think we all knew that we wanted something different, and we had to break away from where we were living. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. His malaise was likely exacerbated by his parents' impending divorce amid his mother's allegations that his father, Big Warren, the celebrated coach of the university's women's soccer team, had gambled the family into bankruptcy. a plan to fail painting reinhard. 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). They simply ignored him, and the four returned to Lexington. Warren introduced himself as Mr. Williams. Meanwhile, Eric lined up the G.T.A.V. The plan will continue to grow and mature as the leader goes forward. and Lexington police put the pair under surveillance. He focused above all on painting, gaining admission into a prestigious Lexington arts program. 5 The British Bank Robber Foiled By His Own Handwriting. Suddenly without Eric's mock-ups, software, and equipment, Warren thought of Spencer. a plan to fail spencer reinhard painting Bid on Art by Today's Leading Artists. Warren went up to the third floor to meet Gooch, while Eric waited downstairs for him to call. 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Eric would stay on the main floor while Warren subdued Gooch in the Rare Book Room. As a precautionary measure, they left the books in the car. Spencer received a commission to paint murals at a local school and kept up his soccer training, Eric started a lawn-care business with his friend Chas Allen, and Warren landed a job at a local day camp. sent a team to interview Melanie Halloran, who told the agents about her meeting with Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. Late one Thursday afternoon in mid-February, the two friends bought a bag of weed and drove the 700 miles to Manhattan in Spencers Acura Legend. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. Even if they did steal the books, for example, how would they ever sell them? That's what we were doing, kind of living this little Matchstick Men, college kind of life.. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. When she asked for contact information, Spencer gave her his cell-phone number. 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. part of a series on Honesty 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. This is my first time on the island, any island for that matter, he said. opens the door for me and Im just like, Holy shit. I quickly came up with some fake name and started walking in and Im like, Oh, shit, this is gonna happen at any moment. So while Im shutting the doors I look back and Warren took her to the ground. Buried in the files was a series of e-mails to Christie's in New York. 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. (Having seen their fair share of heist movies, they knew how dangerous it was to leave a paper trail.) (Through his attorney, Allen declined to be interviewed.) It Was Catastrophic: Inside Prince Andrews Misguided Bid to Explain Away Epstein, In the wake of Jeffrey Epsteins arrest and apparent suicide, Prince Andrew moved from the fringe of a swirling underage-sex scandal toward its white-hot center. (Because Spencer was a Transy student, he risked being recognized in the library.) (Spencer had had to do a rush job on them because his art-history final had run long.) When summer break began, the three returned home to the subdivisions of South Lexington. Chas promised to return to pick them up in another car after dropping the minivan off at his mom's house. And the woman there says, We had a set just like this that we sold four years ago for like $12 million. It could have been eight. 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. I was surprised he didn't.. Wearing a heavy coat, gloves, and a wool cap, Beckman signed the visitors' log. In the early evening, they say they smoked some celebratory Kentucky Bluegrass weed they had stashed away for the occasion. Spencer elected not to consider his consequent incarceration as the loss of his best years, but rather sought to salvage his fledgling artist career by utilising his time to develop his practice and to consider new methods and media. He loved that it had been made the screen saver on the F.B.I.s computers. She also said that she was so suspicious and put off by the young mens youth and demeanor that she had recommended to her boss that they not pursue the business. 2023 Cond Nast. agents were sitting behind them the whole time, listening to their every word. Across town at U.K., in a towering cinder-block dorm, Warrens world was spinning apart at a much faster clip. In a duffel bag by his bed an F.B.I. After four years in New Jersey I was released back to Lexington where I lived with my parents and continued to paint. We felt bad., Warren and Eric rode the elevator to the basement, but they couldn't find the fire exit. Faced with overwhelming evidence, they all eventually confessed. 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. Slattery was arrested and convicted of one successful and two attempted robberies. 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