The set was one of fewer than 200 produced. The reality however was rather more mundane, he sensed that his studies were little more than a continuation of his high school. Because no one would go to Christies with stolen books to get them appraisedthats how we did a lot of stuff, like, we would smoke weed directly under the [security] camera on the Transy campus, park a car right underneath it and then smoke for like an hour. 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. Spencer believed it was an insurmountable problem. 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. (Throughout the interviews with the three, it became clear that Chas was the odd man out among the group. American Animals brings to the silver screen the story of the Transy Book Heist of 2004, where four students tried to steal $12 million worth of arts and books from the Special Collections Library . Not what I expected, not what I wanted it to be, Warren says. (Because Spencer was a Transy student, he risked being recognized in the library.) (Throughout the interviews with the three, it became clear that Chas was the odd man out among the group. The author knocks on the doors bearing the darkest symbols, behind which lie guns, ammo, antisemitism, antiabortion dogmaand a belief in the coming civil war. The press invariably described them as good boys from good familiesupper-middle-class kids afforded every opportunity, the ones with the most to lose. That was the point all along. As they ran, they stumbled again into Chas, who had returned in another car as promised, just in time to save them and drive Eric to U.K. for his tennis-class exam. I know the collection is extensive and anything you think I might be interested in seeing, by all means, share, he wrote. They surveyed the offices of the campus police. Spencer, meanwhile, was short, wiry, distant, and in many ways Warren's opposite: an over-scheduled, over-achieving, diamond-tipped drill of a kid who excelled at whatever he set himself to. 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. opens the door for me and I'm just like, Holy shit. I quickly came up with some fake name and started walking in and I'm like, Oh, shit, this is gonna happen at any moment. So while I'm shutting the doors I look back and Warren took her to the ground. In the fall of 2004, Warren Lipka moved into the unfinished basement. The three then take the staff-only elevator down to the bottom floor and escape out the west fire exit. The meeting was scheduled for the next morning on the southern edge of Central Park near the Plaza Hotel. She offered to take his place. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. Warren had run up the side of the hill and frantically ran off. Im expecting when I get up there its going to be taken care of and Im just going to start lifting books. The plan will continue to grow and mature as the leader goes forward. Spencer assembled a small wardrobe of fake beards, gray wigs, and costume glue. (Having seen their fair share of heist movies, they knew how dangerous it was to leave a paper trail.) After four years in New Jersey I was released back to Lexington where I lived with my parents and continued to paint. After a short wait, a young Christies employee, Melanie Halloran, came out to apologize, as Mr. Leckey, due to an impending public auction, would be unable to see them. These people's perspectives, because they have money, they're tweaked., In October of his freshman year, Warren quit the U.K. soccer team, forfeiting his scholarship. Near the boiler he also jerry-rigged a greenhouse for growing marijuana. Choose your favorite reinhard art prints from 2,323 available designs. In high school, Warren, a lanky six-footer with a mop of brown hair, was a popular jock and a class clown who delighted his classmates by bear-hugging his nemesis, the dean of students, at graduation. Because the boys pleaded guilty, many of the case's crucial details remain unknown even to law enforcement. Like, they were doing something serious, talking about the heist, going over the plan, and somebody would make a joke. It didn't take long to tie in Eric and Chas. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie. 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. So I kind of go, That would be pretty crazy, wouldnt it? He said, Yeah, that would be kind of crazy. I then said, You know, why dont you look into it more and well go from there? Just like . If we got away with it, wed be in Europe living this crazy life thinking we were Oceans 11 types. In seeking to find a voice of ones own the obstacles are myriad, and often many succumb to the inevitable pressures of life and abandon their practice. If we got away with it, we'd be in Europe living this crazy life thinking we were Ocean's 11 types. After the Halloran interview the F.B.I. 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. They also noticed a group of people lingering in the Rare Book Room. Spencer, feeling increasingly disaffected with school life himself, readily accepted the offer. Afraid to Look - Spencer Reinhard Home / Prints / Afraid to Look Afraid to Look $ 789 Full sized print of acrylic on canvas painting. He focused above all on painting, gaining admission into a prestigious Lexington arts program. He feared being restricted in any way. 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 investigation of the Transy Book Heist came to an explosive end on the morning of February 11, 2005, as a SWAT unit broke down the front door of the yellow bungalow with a battering ram, blasting stun grenades throughout the building. The reaction to the plan was generally positiveshortly after Thanksgiving, they moved forward. The story behind their motiveand how they got caught. We figured, All right, well, now we just got what we thought would be impossible possibly taken care of, Spencer tells me. 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. In the fall of 2004, Warren Lipka moved into the unfinished basement. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. The books were much heavier than the boys had projected, and the pair could handle only three at a time. Warren also ordered four stun guns over the Internet. The take could be more than $5 million. 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. 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 boys readily agreed, and she escorted them through the offices to a small conference room. Phase 1 ends when the G.T.A.V. Realizing that the only way out was through the main floor, they took the elevator up once again and carried the books into a back stairwell that led to another exit. I think we all knew that we wanted something different, and we had to break away from where we were living. None the less, still super stoked Lex Art League accepted 3 of my artworks. See, we have no choice now but to create something new, someplace else. If you were referring only to my paintings featuring birds, I would say its my ability to render the birds accurately, but in a way that gives them personality.. Warren was like, Ive talked to these guys. 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. That afternoon they worked their way back uptown, to scope out Christie's steel-and-glass headquarters before their Tuesday appointment. Indeed one might consider these years to be a catalyst with which he could find his unique vision. 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 well be released. Phase 1 ends when the G.T.A.V. (Through his attorney, Allen declined to be interviewed.) 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, theyre going to put us in jail, says Spencer. I love that my kids will grow up seeing both worlds and experiencing both cultures. On the morning of December 17, 2004, Betty Jean Gooch, a librarian in the Special Collections Library at Transylvania University, in Lexington, Kentucky, was preparing for her 11 oclock appointment with Walter Beckman, a man she had never met. 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. 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. agents were sitting behind them the whole time, listening to their every word. 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. Abstraction allows me to explore multiple paths of my creative desire. My son was born in January, so its been a busy time and I plan to take full advantage of the freedom I will have in Jamaica, Reinhard stated. 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. 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. Opposite him there is another young man, fully fleshed and with a neat haircut, resting in a chair, staring into space. 2021 Spencer Reinhard all rights reserved. The next morning, all nerves, he left for the meeting site, a caf within walking distance. Oh, yeah, he almost got shot, says Eric, laughing. 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. And then they came up with the issue of getting these appraised. Spencer was born in 1984 in Lexington Kentucky. The phone number was registered to a Gary Reinhard of Lexington, Kentucky. Warren was like, I've talked to these guys. Phase 2 involves the actual theft, and begins when Spencer takes his position at an upper-floor window of the nearby athletic center, where he will be on lookout. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. . and Lexington police put the pair under surveillance. This is the story you didnt get from the film. 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. 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. Warren and Spencer readied themselves early without waking the others, silently showering, shaving, and putting the finishing touches on their outfits. 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. Chas promised to return to pick them up in another car after dropping the minivan off at his moms house. The first call went out to the National Crime Information Center, alerting law enforcement to be on the lookout for a gray minivan with temporary plates, the description of a vehicle seen screeching away from the library. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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 . 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. sent a team to interview Melanie Halloran, who told the agents about her meeting with Mr. Stephens and Mr. Williams. A uniformed doorman cheerily welcomed both boys into the lobby, where they informed reception that they were there for Mr. Walter Beckmans appointment with Thomas Leckey, Christies rare-book specialist. Undeterred, Warren introduced himself as Terry, firmly shaking hands before sitting down. 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. Faced with overwhelming evidence, they all eventually confessed. Yet he did allow and encourage the interpretation of his art as an abrogation of space and time and, above all, history. 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. In their senior year the two became local celebrities after a dramatic photo appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader showing Lexington Catholic star goalkeeper Lipka and Tates Creek forward Reinhard battling midair during a playoff game. It was very punishing, that first couple of months in college. 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. Meanwhile, Eric lined up the G.T.A.V. 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. Barry described himself as an older man with a long ponytail and said he'd be wearing a green scarf. We'll all be still young, Warren says. They all pled guilty to federal charges of robbery and. The meeting was scheduled for the next morning on the southern edge of Central Park near the Plaza Hotel. 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. A uniformed doorman cheerily welcomed both boys into the lobby, where they informed reception that they were there for Mr. Walter Beckman's appointment with Thomas Leckey, Christie's rare-book specialist. They also noticed a group of people lingering in the Rare Book Room. They stopped talking entirely and disbanded. We did the robbery as a way to escape, Eric says. When summer break began, the three returned home to the subdivisions of South Lexington. from an unsuspecting friend and got his hands on zip ties, a wool cap, electrician's tape, and bedsheets. But before long they were put to chase once again, this time by two local thugs. An American Animals coloring book, as well as original drawings Skip to content Spencer Reinhard Home After Audubon Prison Period Abstract Abstract color series Post prison Abstract About Shop Commissions Contact Menu Home After Audubon Prison Period It had been agreed that Warren, with his smooth talk, and Spencer, with his artistic knowledge, would go to the meeting. They take you in the Special Collections and show you these books, Spencer remembers, including Transy's 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. He said, You do that and you are free then to give them to us when you can. O.K., great. Like, they were doing something serious, talking about the heist, going over the plan, and somebody would make a joke. When summer break began, the three returned home to the subdivisions of South Lexington. Warren went up to the third floor to meet Gooch, while Eric waited downstairs for him to call. a plan to fail painting reinhard. 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. 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