This true story reveals the shocking details of a failed robbery carried out by a group of teenagers who were inspired by movies and attempted a daring art heist worth $12 million. What started as a fantasy quickly turned into a real-life crime with devastating consequences.
I've told you many stories about clever robberies on this blogger, but the robbery we're seeing today is completely the opposite. It's one of the stupidest robberies you might ever encounter, and the reason is that it was carried out by a group of teenagers who learned robberies from movies and TV shows. Teenagers whose greed and desire for quick wealth tempted them, so they took a path harder than they imagined. Although they kept planning this operation for a long time, for months, at the time of execution they would face surprises they never expected. Stay with the story and enjoy.
The Beginning of the Story in Lexington, Kentucky: 2003 and the Character of Spencer Reinhart
The events of our story begin in 2003, specifically in the city of Lexington, located in the American state of Kentucky. The story begins with this young man named Spencer Reinhart, who was 18 years old at the time, meaning a young man in his late teens. Spencer finished school and entered the University of Pennsylvania, which was located in his same city, Lexington. This university is an art university specialized in arts, meaning students who enroll in it usually either want to become artists and painters or they study art history and literary matters related to art.
Spencer's Quiet Nature Versus His Friend Warren Lipka: A Contrast in Personalities
So naturally, a person with these interests would most likely be a quiet, polite, gentle person who likes to be by himself and perhaps even a bit isolated. You wouldn't find him to be a troublemaker who likes to do crazy things, and indeed, this was Spencer's general nature. He was a person who liked to mind his own business, contemplate his life, and had some fears and psychological anxieties about ambition and the future, where he was going in life, and these matters. In general, he was a quiet person who didn't like to get involved in things that would take him out of his comfort zone. However, Spencer had a friend, a friend whose actions were completely opposite to his. This friend's name was Warren Lipka, and he was roughly his age. This Warren was crazy; he liked to do bold and adventurous things. He always liked to go against the grain, and his ideas were contrary to society, and anything people considered wrong, he liked to do. He didn't see himself as a troublemaker as much as he saw himself as having a free spirit that loved to embark on life.
Warren's Dangerous Adventures: The Incident of Breaking into a Food Warehouse and Being Threatened with a Gun
It's hard to imagine how these two became friends, especially since their personalities were so opposite, but they met in school and remained friends even after they graduated and went to different universities. Many times, Warren would get Spencer involved in some matters. Sometimes Warren would, for example, think of stealing from a store or a warehouse, not because he needed to, but just for the fun of it. On one occasion, he broke into a food and meat warehouse belonging to one of the restaurants and stole some meat from that warehouse, and Spencer was with him and even made him help. The restaurant owner, when he saw them, immediately yelled at them and then pulled out a gun, and if he had been reckless, he might have shot them. This is just one example of the situations where Warren would get Spencer into trouble.
Discovering the Priceless "Birds of America" Book at the University: A $12 Million Value
And this always happened, but we can also say that Spencer, deep down, enjoyed these things a little; they broke the routine of his boring life. Perhaps this was the reason he remained Warren's friend all these years, even though his father and mother were against this friendship. Anyway, days passed, and Spencer, as we said, entered the art university we mentioned at the beginning of the story, which is the University of Pennsylvania. During orientation week, which is the first week for new students who have just entered the university, they were given guided tours of the university facilities, and among these facilities was the university library. The university librarian was taking the new students on this guided tour and showing them around the library. At the end of the tour, she took them to the special section or room in the library. This room contained some valuable art and historical books, so it was a locked room with doors, and these doors are usually locked with a key. Any person or group who wants to enter this room must make an appointment; one of the library staff must be present with them. So the librarian took the new students, including Spencer, into this section and began explaining the place to them and introducing them to the books available. The most important book in this room was a book titled "Birds of America" by an artist named Audubon. This book is huge, and its pages are artistic paintings drawn by this artist in the nineteenth century. This book is considered the most valuable artwork owned by this university.
Warren's Robbery Plan Takes Shape: The Book's Value Ignites Greed
When the students asked the librarian how much this book was worth, the librarian said, "We usually don't discuss the material value of our books because for us, they are priceless, but this book is considered one of the most valuable books in the world, and if it were offered for sale today, it wouldn't sell for less than 12 million dollars." Spencer was captivated by this book from the beginning, and when he heard its value, he became even more captivated by it, and he kept gazing at the book from behind the glass box as if he were enchanted by it. This book remained stuck in Spencer's mind and never left his thoughts, and when he met his friend Warren, the first thing he did was tell him about this book. Warren, of course, was not comprehending; he said, "Is it possible for a book to be worth 12 million dollars?" Spencer replied, "It's actually a collection of paintings more than just a book; that's what gives it its artistic value." So Warren asked, "And is this book just sitting on a shelf? Is there no guard or security measures on it?" Spencer answered, "No, I mean, it's placed in a special section, a room isolated from the rest of the library, and it has doors, and these doors are usually locked, and no one can enter this room unless the librarian or one of the library staff is with them." Here Warren took a moment to think, so Spencer asked him, "What are you thinking about?" Warren replied, "You know what I'm thinking, and you already told me about this book, and you know where my thoughts are going to go. You're playing the role of the hunter, and I'm like the fish that can't resist the bait."
Learning Robbery from Movies and the Internet: Drawing Detailed Library Floor Plans
Warren was the kind of person who, once an idea gets into their head, it's hard to get out. So, immediately the next day, he went and searched online for how to carry out a robbery operation and started taking notes and writing down the steps he found on websites. For example, that he needed to learn about the security measures, he needed to learn about the employees present in the place, he needed to learn about the entrances and exits. The guy was learning from the internet, and this idea kept developing more and more in his mind. Of course, his friend Spencer wasn't on the same wavelength as him, and even when Warren tried to convince him, Spencer kept telling him that he was crazy and that this wasn't his intention when he told him about the book. But Warren kept insisting and nagging him all the time and even went to his workplace. In the end, after many attempts at persuasion, Spencer relented and said, "Okay, fine, I'm with you." Of course, neither of them had real experience in robbery operations. It's true that Warren sometimes robbed some small stores and warehouses, but they had never carried out a robbery of this level.
Seeking a Buyer for the Stolen Books: Contacting the European Underworld
So the two of them sat watching movies and TV shows about robberies to learn from them. Imagine their sources of learning were the internet and movies. The first thing they learned was that they had to study the crime scene from all angles. So they kept monitoring the library, observed the employees entering and exiting, and saw who worked in the morning and who worked in the evening, and their number, and all these details. The second step was to know the entrances and exits and the distribution of places and sections inside the library, and they did this simply by entering the library. This task was Spencer's task since he was the artist and painter. So Spencer sat drawing all the rooms, halls, sections, entrances, and exits with all their details, and he even entered the special room that contained the book and examined it from the inside more than once. In the end, he was able to draw a complete map of the place. The map showed the path they would take if they actually carried out the operation: they would enter through the main door, then go right and go up to the second floor via the stairs, and then enter the special room where the book was. After stealing the book, there was a back elevator for employees that they could use to go down. This was their initial plan.
Forming the Four-Person Heist Crew: Eric and Chas Join the Quest for Wealth
However, even after reaching this stage, Spencer was still hesitant and said to Warren, "Even if we steal the book, how will we sell it? This isn't just a valuable commodity that anyone on the street would buy from us." Warren told him, "Don't worry, leave this to me, I'll find a buyer." Warren, being the mischievous bad boy, had some bad connections with people who worked in the underworld. He sometimes needed fake IDs and had a forger he always dealt with. So he went to this person who forged for him and asked him, "If I have something valuable, something rare with artistic or historical value, where can I find people who might buy this from me?" After asking him some questions, the forger gave him the number of a person he could contact. This person wasn't the one who would buy the book from them, but this person also had connections who could buy art pieces in the black market. So Warren contacted this person, and this person guided him to another person located in Europe, specifically in the Netherlands. This person in the Netherlands didn't even have a phone number for communication; communication with him was only via email. So Warren and Spencer wrote an email and sent it to this person and asked him about the details and how they could sell him a stolen art piece. This person's reply was that he didn't give any details via email; he only gave details face-to-face and wrote at the end of the email that he welcomed their visit to him in the Netherlands.
Planning the Disguise and Escape: Defining the Final Roles of the Team
Warren immediately got on board and told Spencer, "Let's go to the Netherlands!" Spencer replied, "What's wrong with you, are you crazy? What do you mean go to the Netherlands? First, we don't have money, and second, how do you know who this person is? How do you know you're not going to dangerous people who might rob you or even kill you?" The conversation continued like this, with Spencer hesitant and wanting to cancel the whole thing, and Warren trying to convince him to be brave and let go of his fear. In the end, Spencer told him, "I'll help you save money for one ticket, and you'll go to the Netherlands by yourself." Warren, without hesitation, said, "Done!" Within about two months, they collected some money and were able to buy a plane ticket to the Netherlands. When it was time for the trip, Spencer drove Warren to the airport, and Warren continued his journey alone. Warren went to the Netherlands and had agreed with the mysterious person or the dealer that he would meet him in one of the restaurants. But when Warren arrived at the restaurant, he found two people in front of him, not just one. So he started talking to them about the book. By the way, there was more than one valuable book in the special room in the library, not just the bird book. Spencer and Warren knew this from monitoring the library and doing more research on it. Warren had a paper with the names of the valuable books in the special room in the library, and he gave this paper to the Dutchmen to appraise the books for him. It seemed there was a small misunderstanding because the Dutchmen apparently expected that the books were actually with him and he had come to sell them already, but he only gave them a paper with the names of the books, so signs of dissatisfaction were clear on their faces. He explained to them that these books would be in his possession soon, but he was currently trying to find a buyer. One of the two Dutchmen, it seemed, was the dealer. He told him, "These books are indeed valuable, and we are willing to buy them for a fair price, but you must have proof papers." Warren was surprised and asked him, "Proof papers? What do you mean proof papers?" The Dutch dealer said, "We buy art pieces from different sources and we don't ask where they came from, but it's important that there are proof papers proving that these pieces are original. Papers like these are usually issued by specialized auction experts." To clarify what this man meant: auctions where artworks are sold are usually supervised by famous auction houses. These houses are like institutions where experts work who can appraise art pieces and confirm their authenticity and historical value. So Warren asked the Dutch dealer, "So if I bring you the books with the proof, will you buy them?" The dealer said, "Yes." Warren then asked, "And how much will you pay me for the books?" The dealer said, "I'll pay you 30 to 40% of the appraisal price that the auction house gives you."
The Failed First Robbery Day: Four Employees in the Room and a Retreat Attempt
Of course, here Warren calculated that 30 to 40% of the original value would be a very respectable amount if they could get the bird book and a few other books from the special room. In the end, they might end up with an amount exceeding 10 million dollars. After that, Warren returned to America and met Spencer and told him everything that happened. Spencer was still in the same state of hesitation he was in, and Warren, as usual, had to push him. Here Warren knew that they would need an additional member in the team. He and Spencer were not enough to carry out this operation, especially since Spencer was always in a state of hesitation. Warren told Spencer that he would look for a new member to join them in the team, and Spencer said, "Okay, but choose someone you trust." Warren actually had a specific person in mind. This person was his close friend in the past, but they had drifted apart and hadn't spoken for a while. This friend's name was Eric Borsuk, and he was also close to their age. This Eric was studying accounting at one of the universities in their same city, Lexington. Warren knew that Eric had a calculating mind, a planning mind, who could analyze things, and his perspective would help them in the operation. So Warren sat with his friend Eric and immediately got straight to the point with him. He told him, "I have a job for you that might not be legal, and it might get you into trouble if we're not careful, but at the same time, it could bring us wealth we could only dream of." Eric asked, "Okay, what is this job?" Warren replied, "First, I want to know if you're with us or not." Eric said, "And how can I decide if I'm with you or not when I don't know what the job is?" Warren replied, "At least I want to know if you're willing to do something illegal for a rewarding prize." Eric paused for a moment, thought, and then said, "Okay, consider me in, tell me the story." So Warren explained the matter to him from A to Z, and in the end, Eric agreed to join them. Perhaps one of the things that encouraged Eric to get involved was that he wanted to rekindle his friendship with Warren. They used to be very close friends, but they had been distant for a while, and he felt this was an opportunity to get closer again. So now there were three members of the team: Spencer, Warren, and Eric.
Preparing for the Second Robbery: Changing Disguise and Defining Warren's Role in Control
On the night of the next day, the three of them went by car to take a closer look at the library from the outside. Eric asked them a question: "Are there cameras inside this special room?" Spencer answered him, "According to my investigation, there are no cameras inside the room, but there are motion sensors or detectors. These sensors can trigger the alarm if they detect anyone inside the room." Up to this point, Warren and Spencer had assumed they would carry out the operation at night when the library was closed, but Eric, the new member and the strategic mind, immediately told them, "We won't be able to carry out this operation at night." Warren asked him, "Why?" Eric replied that at night the alarm systems would be on; it would be impossible to enter the building and the room, especially with the sensors, without being detected. "We must find a way to carry out the operation during the day when the alarm systems are not on." Warren immediately agreed with him and said, "I knew I didn't choose you for nothing, but how can we do it during the day when people are around?" To answer this question, the three of them met at Spencer's house, and Spencer, being the artist, made a model of the special room in the library, and the three began to discuss and imagine how they would carry out the plan. Their main goal, of course, was the bird book, which was the most valuable book in the place, but there were other valuable books they would try to take. The way they would enter the room was simply by making an appointment with the library. They would contact the library and request an appointment to enter the room. This was possible, especially for people working in the arts, so they could pretend to be professors, writers, or even students and make an appointment. But the biggest problem would be the librarian, who would be present in the room when they entered, because one of the conditions was that if a person or group made an appointment to visit the room, the librarian would be present with them until they left the room. So the librarian would be the biggest obstacle in front of them, an obstacle they had to get rid of one way or another.
Chaos Takes Over the Operation: Injuring the Librarian and Stealing Valuable Books
Warren began to imagine how the operation would unfold: they would enter the room, and then one of them could, for example, use a taser to stun the librarian and make her lose consciousness. Then they would immediately start taking the small books, and finally, they would go for the big prize, which was the bird book, and take it with them inside a large piece of cloth. After taking their loot, there was a back elevator in the room, an elevator dedicated to employees, that could take them directly to the basement. Of course, to use this elevator, they needed a special card, and this card would most likely be found with the librarian. So they would use it to go down the elevator from the second floor to the basement, and then they could exit outside through the emergency exit. Of course, they knew all these exits and entrances through their research and investigation of the library and the period they spent studying the building and drawing its map. The plan was good so far, but Eric immediately noticed a flaw, which was that their number wasn't enough. They would need at least one person to monitor outside the room, and two people would be inside the room to carry out the robbery. They would also need a fourth person to be the driver so they could escape immediately after leaving with the books. This is where the fourth member of the team came in, named Chas Allen. Chas was also their age. Chas was from a somewhat wealthy family, meaning he had money, so they decided to include him to benefit from his money in buying the car, and he would also be the driver. Their plan was to buy a car with cash and a fake ID so that it would be difficult for anyone to track it. So Warren and Eric went to Chas and presented the matter to him. Chas's initial reaction was that they were crazy. He told them, "Are you serious? You want to steal books?" Warren explained the matter to him further and told him all the details and explained to him that they had planned everything and their prize in the end could reach more than 10 million dollars. All he had to do was support them with a little money to buy a cheap used car, and he would be their driver. Chas was a little hesitant at first, but then he was quickly convinced and joined the team, and thus the four members of the team were complete: Spencer, Warren, Eric, and Chas. All of them were between 18 and 19 years old.
Chaotic Escape and Dropped Books: Darwin's Book Saves the Operation
On the morning of the next day, which was Friday, December 17, 2004, the four arrived at the library in their car. Spencer was going to be the lookout from outside, so he went up to the roof of one of the buildings adjacent to the library. Chas, who was the driver, stayed in the car. The other two, Warren and Eric, entered the library. Eric sat on one of the chairs, and Warren went up to the second floor and headed towards the room. The librarian was alone this time, of course, she was waiting for him because he had an appointment. When he arrived, she went and opened the door for him and welcomed him. Warren's eyes immediately fell on the bird book as soon as he entered the room, the book that was supposed to turn him into a millionaire. Here, Warren was supposed to carry out his task and stun the librarian and get rid of her. Eric was waiting downstairs on pins and needles, and suddenly his phone rang, and when he answered, it was Warren on the other end. Warren told him, "Come on, I've taken care of the librarian." So Eric got up and went up to the second floor and headed to the room, but when he arrived, the surprise was that the librarian was still there and fully conscious.
It was clear that Warren was not up to his word and could not deal with the librarian by himself. Eric at that moment wanted to withdraw; he had told Warren before that if he got him involved with the librarian, he would withdraw from the operation. But quickly, Warren told the librarian that his friend had arrived, so the librarian got up and opened the door for him, and Eric found himself as if he had been dragged into the place against his will. Of course, as soon as anyone enters this room, the librarian records their name and makes them sign. So when the librarian sat down to write his name, Warren surprised her from behind and tased her, and here things turned into chaos. The librarian did not pass out from the shock, but kept screaming and groaning in a broken tone, saying, "You're hurting me, you're hurting me." Imagine, this woman is the age of their mothers, and they're doing this to her. Warren quickly tied her up and was pressing on her, and at the same time, he was apologizing and expressing regret to her and telling her that they just wanted the books and didn't want to harm her. He was trying to make her shut up, but at the same time, he was trying to threaten her, telling her if she didn't shut up, the pain would increase. Eric was nervous from the scene, but he knew that he had reached the point of no return. Warren asked him to tie her legs so she wouldn't move. Eric tried to put on his gloves so he wouldn't leave fingerprints, but due to the tension, he couldn't put them on well, and even Warren was wearing gloves but they fell off with the movement. It seems the group bought poor quality gloves, so their fingerprints were literally everywhere. Warren put duct tape over the librarian's mouth to muffle her voice while Eric was tying her legs, and the poor woman was still groaning and saying, "Have mercy on me, don't tie me, I can't bear it."
Quickly after that, they started looking for the keys that open the drawers and the glass box where the bird book was kept, but they searched all over the room without finding the keys. Both of them were stressed and their minds were racing, adrenaline was at its highest level. Quickly, Warren then realized that the keys were most likely with the librarian, and after searching her, he found the keys on a chain around her neck. Then he pulled her away from the door, and she was still groaning and screaming. Meanwhile, Eric took one of the small valuable books and put it in his bag. Then he went and used the key to open the glass box, and both of them spread out the large piece of cloth and placed the book on it. On the same table, there were other drawers that also contained large books, so they opened one of the drawers and took out a book and placed it on top of the first book. Warren wanted to take more of these large books, but Eric told him, "Are you crazy? We can barely carry these two books." Warren said, "Okay, okay," and immediately relented. They weren't really in a position to argue, but there was a small valuable book called Darwin's book in the room. This was the most valuable book after the bird book, so Warren quickly broke the glass display where the book was kept, took it, and put it in his bag.
The Four's Exposure After the Robbery: Email and Camera Footage as Incriminating Evidence
The two quickly took their bags and carried the two large books and moved directly towards the back elevator. This elevator, as we said, was for employees, so they took the librarian's card to be able to use the elevator. As they entered the elevator, out of tension, Eric accidentally pressed the first-floor button, meaning instead of going down to the basement, the door would open on the first floor. When the door opened, they tried to hide on the sides of the elevator, but some students' eyes were drawn to the elevator, and even a library employee saw them. Warren and Eric waited until the elevator door closed, and then they went down to the basement immediately. But there, another unpleasant surprise awaited them. The basement was not as they expected at all. They thought there was an emergency exit they could use to get out of the building, but the place was isolated; there was no exit. And again, this was somewhat due to their poor planning because they didn't confirm the existence of an emergency exit. Here, Warren and Eric found no solution but to return to the first floor and exit through the emergency exit next to the elevator. So they quickly went up to the first floor and exited the elevator carrying the books and went to the emergency exit.
Here, of course, all eyes were on them, and the employee sitting at the desk immediately noticed them and got up from her place. Warren and Eric were trying to move as fast as they could, but as they were going down the stairs, the large books fell from them. Warren wanted to go back and pick up the books, but Eric immediately pulled him, shouting at him to leave the books. They were now in an escape situation, and they just had to forget the loot. The employee was running after them. Warren and Eric exited through the emergency exit, and Chas quickly saw them and drove the car. After they both got in the car, they immediately drove away from the place. Chas was surprised and kept asking them, "Where are the books?" Eric told him, "We couldn't bring them with us; they fell. We had to escape because there was no exit." Chas said, "So after all this, we left with nothing?" And he and Eric started shouting at each other. Here, Warren told them, "Calm down, calm down, we have Darwin's book. This Darwin's book was the book I broke the glass to take, and it's the most valuable book in the room after the bird book, and it could bring us over a million." Warren told them, "Calm down, we at least got something." And Eric also had a valuable book he managed to take, although it wasn't as valuable as the books they lost, it might bring them half a million or so. So this book, along with Darwin's book, could at least salvage this failed operation.
The Unraveling of the Plot: Email and Camera Footprints as Incriminating Evidence
Warren and Eric quickly changed their clothes inside the car, and Chas decided to drop them off at a random location. He wouldn't drop them off at the agreed-upon drop-off point or at their homes, because if the police started looking for them, they would be looking for a car with three people. So Warren and Eric got out of the car, and Chas drove off immediately. Spencer, of course, had nothing to do with the matter. He literally got off the roof of the building he was on and went home. As for Chas, he went to a remote location to dispose of the car, and Warren and Eric returned to their homes. The news didn't take long to spread in local news channels. The police were looking for them, but all the information they had was their descriptions, the car's shape and color, and its license plate numbers. Their descriptions wouldn't help in finding them, and Chas had disposed of the car, and it would be impossible to track because they had bought it with cash and a fake ID, and the license plate on it was stolen. So the police literally had nothing. Of course, the spread of the news locally or at the state level didn't mean it spread at the national level, and this was important because they had to get proof and documentation for these books from the auction house in New York, so it was important for them to finish this documentation quickly before the news reached New York or spread nationally.
Of course, if you recall, their first failed attempt was on a Thursday, when they disguised themselves as old men, and they were supposed to go to the auction house the next day, which was Friday. However, they were forced to carry out the operation on a Friday, and Saturday and Sunday were the weekend, so the auction house would not open until Monday. So on Monday, December 20, 2004, all four of them headed to the auction house in New York. The ones who went down were Warren and Spencer, and they were dressed smartly to match their description. As we said, Warren informed the auction house that he was a relative of a wealthy person. This wealthy person had inherited art and historical artifacts from his ancestors and had authorized Warren to have these works or art pieces appraised. So Warren and Spencer entered this house and met one of the employees there. This employee was the deputy of the person in charge of the house, and the person in charge is usually the one who appraises art or artifacts. This employee told them that the books they had were very valuable and definitely original copies without a doubt, and she asked them about their source. Warren told her that his relative, the wealthy person who authorized him, had inherited these books from his ancestors and now wanted to have them appraised because he wanted to sell them in a private deal with a secret buyer. Of course, the suspicion was clear in the employee's eyes from the beginning, and their story, I mean, wasn't that logical. In any case, she told them that the person responsible for the appraisal was not currently available and would be coming tomorrow. So until then, they could not give them an authenticated appraisal of these books.
Warren tried with her and told her, "Our client is in a hurry and wants the appraisal quickly. Is there any way we can finish this now?" The employee told him, "Unfortunately, no one can issue the authenticated and sealed appraisal except the person in charge. It's not in my hands. You can leave your number with us, and we will contact you when the person in charge arrives." Warren and Spencer gave them the number of the hotel they were staying at and told the employee that they would return tomorrow. And of course, they took the books with them. When they returned to the car, the discussion between them intensified, especially between Warren and Chas, and turned into an argument. Chas was afraid that if they returned tomorrow, the news might have spread, and they might be caught; perhaps even the FBI would be waiting for them inside. In the end, the four agreed that it would be a huge risk if they returned, so they decided to forget about the appraisal and proof and return to their homes and wait for things to calm down, and then they would think about how they would sell these books. Currently, the risk was not worth it. So the four returned to their homes, and things remained quiet for a while, and the books were still with them. Of course, the FBI took over this case and began its investigations, but there wasn't much evidence that could help them. There were fingerprints they found in the library room, but they didn't know whose fingerprints they belonged to. Warren and Eric had no criminal records, so their fingerprints were not in the system. So days passed, one after another, and things were stable. Our four friends had some anxiety, but at the same time, they felt that they hadn't left a clear trace behind them. After about three weeks, they felt that they were safe and that no one would be able to reach them. However, suddenly, one night, FBI forces raided all their homes at the same time. Spencer, Warren, Eric, and Chas were all arrested that night on charges of stealing the books, and the news immediately spread on TV channels with their real photos. The question now is, how did the FBI find out?
The main evidence that exposed our four friends was the email they used, or more specifically, the one Warren used. Warren used the same email to contact the library and to contact the auction house. Of course, after the news of the book theft spread, the auction house informed the FBI that two people had come to them and asked for an appraisal and documentation of the stolen books. So the FBI, after checking the emails that reached the auction house and the emails that reached the library, found that they were sent from the same email address, and this email was associated with a Yahoo account and linked to a user account, and the account was in Warren Lipka's name. This means that Warren had put his real name on the account he used to email the library and the auction house. On top of that, the FBI got footage of Warren and Spencer from the surveillance cameras at the auction house, and these photos you see are real from the surveillance cameras. The FBI was able to connect the dots and bring in the rest of the team through call records. The four were using their regular numbers registered in their names to communicate with each other. So the FBI was able to connect them quickly, and all the precautions the four had tried to take to avoid being exposed collapsed, and they were exposed in the end. Of course, the news of their arrest was very shocking to their families, who had no idea that their sons could do something like this.
The Aftermath of the Robbery: Seven Years in Prison and Remorse for Harming the Librarian
In the end, these four were tried, and the judge sentenced all of them to seven years in prison. Warren was supposed to receive a longer sentence, as he could be considered the leader of the operation, and the other three would have their sentences slightly reduced. However, the judge gave them all the same sentence, most likely because they refused to cooperate in the investigation. The other three refused to say that Warren was the leader; they didn't want to blame him. And indeed, all four of them served their full sentences in prison. Imagine being imprisoned for seven years when you've just entered your twenties. Roughly the best years of your life were wasted. So they received a severe punishment, and perhaps the biggest factor that contributed to the increase in their sentence was their assault on the librarian. Even now, when they talk about this story, for them, harming her was the biggest thing they regret, especially Warren. And the librarian still holds a grudge against what they did to her to this day, and she has every right to. As for the four, Spencer became an artist and paints, while Warren continued his studies in filmmaking, Eric is trying to become a writer, and Chas works as a fitness trainer. Each of them is trying to forge their own path and forget this dark period of their lives.
References
Transylvania University book heist - Wikipedia
The Untold Story of the “Transy Book Heist” | Vanity Fair
The Real-Life Heist Caper Behind American Animals - Vulture
The true story of 'American Animals:' Coverage of the Transylvania ...