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. We can never go back if we wanted toI would rather have not been busted, but all I can say is it feels right in here, and before, in college, it just never did., I remember talking to Eric and Warren one day and I was like, So what, they're going to put us in jail, says Spencer. When the four boys were arrested the news was met with disbelief, as none of them had been in any serious trouble before. Hes probably thinking I blamed him for [stealing] the money, which I never really did. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Only by committing a felony could they ensure that they would never end up living back in the sterile, suburban world of the subdivisions. Each has a different style of facial hairmuttonchops (Lipka), a Fu Manchu (Borsuk), a Tom Selleck (Reinhard)which Lipka informs me they had carefully trimmed for my visit. Spencer called himself Mr. Stephens. Afraid to Look - Spencer Reinhard Home / Prints / Afraid to Look Afraid to Look $ 789 Full sized print of acrylic on canvas painting. By five P.M., Warrenas Beckmanwas back on the phone with Gooch explaining that he had missed his appointment because he had been out of town on business. Barry described himself as an older man with a long ponytail and said he'd be wearing a green scarf. 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. When Eric let him in on the plan, Chas mocked the three as deluded potheads, he recalls. It had been agreed that Warren, with his smooth talk, and Spencer, with his artistic knowledge, would go to the meeting. 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. A member of the RJRGLEANER Communications Group. That was the point all along. That's what we were doing, kind of living this little Matchstick Men, college kind of life.. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. On the second-floor landing, Chas, in high-end flannel pajamas and thinking they were being robbed, pulled out a derringer, only to drop the weapon at the last moment. 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. I'm expecting when I get up there it's going to be taken care of and I'm just going to start lifting books. A few minutes later, a short, dark-haired young man, also dressed in a winter coat, cap, and gloves, entered the library. a plan to fail spencer reinhard painting Bid on Art by Today's Leading Artists. He was just so unbearable. That night Chas snapped, they say, fearing the Christie's book appraisalthe Jesus bolt holding Warren's entire heist plan togetherwas in danger of falling through. By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Now we can't ever go back there. That night they had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, followed by drinks at the hotel bar, where 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 tourist. She agreed. After the Halloran interview the F.B.I. I get the call on the cell phone. He took a cab to Dam Square, an old hippie hangout in the center of the city he had read about on the Internet. 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 universitys collection, and attacked a librarian in the process. The crew arrived in New York City early Sunday morning. The set was one of fewer than 200 produced. Now the hard partwe have to steal them. I was nervous. Warren introduced himself as Mr. Williams. One evening it occurred to Spencer that they had used the Walter Beckman Yahoo account to contact both Christie's and Gooch. That night they had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, followed by drinks at the hotel bar, where 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 tourist. Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka had grown up together in adjacent subdivisions on Lexingtons south sidefully planned residential tracts wedged in between the city and the gradually receding horse country that rings it. and having to sign a fucking book. By hitting the ball back into Warrens court, Spencer thought he would keep that thrilling flicker of criminality burning for a bit longer, while fully expecting there to be an insurmountable obstacle somewhere down the road. He loved that it had been made the screen saver on the F.B.I. Spencers journey as an aspiring artist may at first appear wholly inimical to achieving that end, though significantly the challenges he faced are far from unique to most aspiring artists. And I pledged a fraternity, but I really didnt get into that too much. With each taking one end of the Audubons, they made their way to the staff-only elevator. from an unsuspecting friend and got his hands on zip ties, a wool cap, electricians tape, and bedsheets. Failure to plan is planning to fail because if you don't plan anything, you might as well not plan at all. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. He was just so unbearable. In the fall of 2004, Warren Lipka moved into the unfinished basement. This is the story you didnt get from the film. They were 20 steps ahead [of the librarian]. Eric dropped the books, and he and Warren made a run for it. Bam. 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. 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. 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. A female detective went undercover as a Transy student, tailing Spencer while a team staked out the yellow bungalow. It was only a tennis final, Eric says, but that final that day was actually harder than I thought it was going to be. Far from being social outcasts, they had been popular athletes, and two were on some form of college scholarship. He feared being restricted in any way. They checked into the Hilton Hotel in Midtown, Warren signing in under the nom de guerre Harry Ballsania name backed up with one of their fake Kentucky driver's licensesand paying in cash. He focused above all on painting, gaining admission into a prestigious Lexington arts program. His clumsy attempt to clear his name, in a no-holds-barred interview with BBC, Gabby Petitos Life WithAnd Death ByBrian Laundrie. They had reserved a room in the same Midtown Hilton that Spencer and Warren had stayed in nearly a year earlier. That was the plan. 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. A painting by Reinhard, a gifted artist, may offer some clues. 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. Photographed by Nan Goldin at the tender age of 19, just about to release his Tony Richardson film. I'm not going to lie. Between studying for his first semester's finals, working out, and painting, Spencer made time to scope out the Special Collections section of the Transy library, reporting back to Warren weeks later that there was zero security other than an old lady librarian named B.J. I know the collection is extensive and anything you think I might be interested in seeing, by all means, share, he wrote. You know, most people look at that painting as if it was a plan destined to fail, but at the same time, we were planning to fail., In a few years we'll be released. 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. Wearing a heavy coat, gloves, and a wool cap, Beckman signed the visitors log. When an agent called, he got a voice-mail recording, This is Spence. Eric dropped the books, and he and Warren made a run for it. The truth is, but for one big mistake, they probably would have gotten away with it, an L.P.D. 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. Even if we wanted to, they wont let us. In terms of the dollar amount involved and the extraordinary circumstances, the theft was one of the most significant in its history. The story behind their motiveand how they got caught. (Through his attorney, Allen declined to be interviewed.) Still shaken from her ordeal, Gooch, in her 50s, told police that shortly after entering the Rare Book Room with the two men she had been struck on the arm with a Taserlike weapon, her hands and feet were bound with zip ties, and a wool cap was pulled over her eyes. In the fall of 2004, Warren Lipka moved into the unfinished basement. 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. The painting, in digital form, would become a popular screen saver on the F.B.I. 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 . as we left we were going to make an anonymous phone call so they knew she was up here, Eric continues. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. 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