1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio Zaren Burnett. 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 2: Hey, Elizabeth Dutton, how are you? I'm doing all right? 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 2: Does my hair look good? 4 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 3: Looks amazing? It looks so good. Oh it's really nice. 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 3: You know, it's ridiculous. 6 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 2: Oh my god, do I MRI scans? You know about 7 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 2: those them? Okay? Yeah, so they're magnetic resonance imagery. They 8 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 2: getting that two the magnets inside. You know, they're really 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 2: strong right there, two hundred times stronger than your average 10 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 2: magnets you have for that size. Now, Americans, you know 11 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 2: how they are, right? They love their guns. So this 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 2: Wisconsin woman she was getting into an MRI and they 13 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 2: asked her, oh, ma'am, do you have any metal you 14 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 2: in your pockets? Because it'll be a problem for the magnet. 15 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,880 Speaker 2: She's like, I do not. Turns out she was lying 16 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: or wrong or forgot, who knows she had metal on 17 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 2: her pockets? Elizabeth, she had a gun. 18 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 3: She had a gun on her and oh yeah, you 19 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 3: know what happened. 20 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 2: The MRI machine It triggered the gun. The gun shot 21 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 2: her in that she got shot her own gun, and 22 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 2: they had the MR right there to watch it happens. 23 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 2: I would love to see the imagery of that a 24 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 2: gun shot recorded that. We found out about this because 25 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 2: a report got submitted to the FDA's Manufacturer and User 26 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 2: Facility Device Experience, a voluntary reporting site for accidents involving 27 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 2: medical devices. That's how we find out about this. Yeah, 28 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 2: so she was fine, only a flesh loan. She had 29 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 2: plenty of butt for the bullet to hit. And no 30 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 2: one else was hurt either. So there you go, boom, 31 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 2: ridiculous bringing a gun into a hospital. I don't care what. 32 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 3: Happens to you. 33 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 2: And the question do you have any gun? Do you 34 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 2: have any metal on you? Nope, no, nope, it should disaswered. 35 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 2: Do you have a gun on you? You're an American? 36 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 2: Do you have a gun on you? That that counts? 37 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 4: Yeah? 38 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 2: Right, I mean like your car keys. 39 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 3: That is ridiculous. 40 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 2: Thank you? 41 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 3: Do you want to know what else is reading? 42 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 2: Oh my god, it came for here, for. 43 00:01:45,959 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 3: Dealing books and not even being from Modesto. What this 44 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 3: is ridiculous crime A podcast about absurd and outrageous caper's 45 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 3: heiss and cons. It's always ninety nine percent murder free 46 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 3: and one hundred percent ridiculous. Right do you do you 47 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 3: remember the book thief from Modesto. Yes, and then the 48 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 3: biblio Dick. 49 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 2: The Bibliadic's my favorite. 50 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 3: Well, you know there are more thieves out there, book thieves. 51 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 3: These are their stories. Yes, dog, so Ed Maggs. He's 52 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 3: a fifth generation co owner of what was Queen Elizabeth's 53 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 3: favorite bookstore. 54 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 2: Wait, there's a bookstore named Ed owner named. 55 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 3: Ed maggsg Mags, and he owns Mags Brothers. 56 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:51,079 Speaker 2: I love this. Yeah. 57 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 3: He once told Vanity Fair that quote, the problem of 58 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 3: the connoisseur book thief is a real one. 59 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 2: Oh it's a real one, real one, Elizabeth. 60 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 3: We're about to see that written largely. I got three 61 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 3: Biggins for you. I love the Let's start in jolly 62 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 3: old England. This one has some oceans, eleven qualities too, 63 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 3: and mission impossible. 64 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 2: You're talking. 65 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 3: I love that. Stuff's very cinematic. They're also Eastern Europeans. 66 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 3: Oh my god, great modern cinematic crime villains. Let's talk 67 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 3: about the Feltham book heist. What book I felt them 68 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 3: Feltham f E L T h A M. It's not Feltem, 69 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 3: Feltem Feltham whatever. 70 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:34,239 Speaker 2: It's in West London. 71 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 5: Oh like felt Ham who felt this Ham, the Feltham 72 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 5: book heist. 73 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 3: Oh my god. People the UK are just like like 74 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 3: they're having a physical response. 75 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 2: Oh I'm so sorry about that. But we're Americans. 76 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 3: They're having like an anal squeeze over it. The Feltham 77 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 3: book heist in West London. So this is this place. 78 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 3: This is the home of Frontier Forwarding Warehouse and it's 79 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 3: a bonded warehouse for secure storage of goods that go 80 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 3: in and out of Heathrow Airport. They had like custom 81 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 3: services there. It's the hub for European air freight shipments. 82 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 3: So February twenty seventeen, the California International Antiquarian Book Fair 83 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 3: was scheduled to take place in California, Oakland, California, at 84 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 3: the Oakland Marriott City Center right there at Broadway in Tenth, Okay. 85 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 3: And it was going to feature collections and like rear 86 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 3: treasures of nearly two hundred booksellers from over twenty different countries, 87 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 3: and it was recognized as one of the world's largest 88 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 3: and most prestigious exhibitions of antiquarian books. 89 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 2: Happened in our backyard. I don't even know about this. 90 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 3: I know in the run up to this book fair, 91 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 3: book dealers prepped to have their finest wares shipped to Oakland, 92 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 3: which like nowadays I think, and at the Frontier Forwarding 93 00:04:54,920 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 3: Warehouse in Feltham crates of books from three dealers. There's 94 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 3: two Italians and a German. They arrived on January twenty eighth, 95 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 3: and these rare valuable tomes. They were only going to 96 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 3: be there for like a little more than twenty four 97 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 3: hours and then off they would fly to the Golden State. 98 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you know about the Italians and Germans. They 99 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 2: loved your team up, so I can see this. 100 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 3: They just came by air. So but crime interrupted these 101 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 3: plants and so January twenty ninth, twenty seventeen, a crew struck. 102 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 3: And when I say struck, they pulled off a heist 103 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 3: with mission impossible levels of precision. Yes, it started. A 104 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 3: car pulls up to the side of the road near 105 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 3: the warehouse. Two men get out, and then the car 106 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 3: drives off. The men cut a hole in the fence 107 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 3: and they head towards the building. And that's all anyone 108 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 3: had of these guys on camera. And after that they're invisible, 109 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 3: like they're. 110 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 2: Just out out camera. 111 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 3: A camera shots somehow they scale the sheer wall, the 112 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 3: blind spots. They scale the sheer wall of the warehouse. 113 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 3: There's like no little outcroppings on which to get a foothold, like, 114 00:05:58,880 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 3: I don't know. 115 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 2: Slither up the side cartoon suction cups. 116 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:06,360 Speaker 3: Yes, And they get onto this steep roof that's on there, 117 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 3: and they pop open the skylight and then like the 118 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 3: warehouse is rigged up with state of the art security. 119 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 3: There's alarms, there's like you know, motion sensors, cameras. They 120 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 3: don't trigger a thing. Wow, nothing, no alarms, no cameras. 121 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 3: They used either ropes or like ladders to descend into 122 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 3: the warehouse, apparently very slowly, so they don't trigger anything. 123 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 3: And they made their way to these crates of books. 124 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 3: Now there's other valuable stuff in the warehouse, you know, 125 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 3: you know, other stuff you don't steal and sell. 126 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 2: It's a bonded warehouse. It's a way. 127 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 3: Station for valuable goods. They ignored everything but the books, 128 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 3: well not everything. There was a shipment of large, heavy 129 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 3: canvas tote bags and they broke that open and took 130 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 3: the tote bags to haul out their loot. 131 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 2: I guess that it was listed on the outside of 132 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 2: the box. Okay, and so. 133 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 3: They go through the books in like a really meticulous man. 134 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 3: It took five hours to pick out the ones they wanted. 135 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 2: I just thought that these books are getting stolen before 136 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 2: they get to Oakland. 137 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 3: You know, don't want to blame us e eccastically, So 138 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 3: the stolen items included more than one hundred and sixty 139 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 3: rare books. Wow, here's some notable ones. Albert Einstein's own 140 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 3: sixteen to twenty one copy of Johannes Kepler's The Cosmic Mystery, 141 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 3: where he lays out his theory of planetary motion. A 142 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 3: seventeen seventy seven edition of Isaac Newton's Mathematical Principles of 143 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 3: Natural Philosophy. A fourteen ninety seven update of the first 144 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 3: book written about women, concerning Famous Women. A fifteen sixty 145 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 3: nine version of Dante's Divine Comedy A Sheath that had 146 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 3: eighty Goya prints in it. A fifteen sixty six Latin 147 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 3: edition of On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by Copernicus. Oh, 148 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 3: and then that one alone is where two hundred and 149 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 3: ninety three thousand. 150 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 2: Dollars has to be. 151 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 3: All said, the missing books are valued at more than 152 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 3: three point four million dollars and they were worth a 153 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 3: lot more than that because a lot of them had 154 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 3: handwritten notes in. 155 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 2: Them Einstein's top these are like adding. 156 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, and most of the books could just irreplaceable. You 157 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 3: could not replace them. The next morning Scotland Yards called 158 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 3: in and they are just blown away. This is like 159 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 3: something out of the movies. In the middle of the 160 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 3: warehouse or the three empty metal cases where the books 161 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 3: had been lesser books kind of strewn on the floor, 162 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 3: skylights still open. So forensic teams they get to work 163 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 3: scouring the scene for clues. And when one of the 164 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,439 Speaker 3: Italian book dealers was called and told about the theft, 165 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 3: he almost fainted. I mean he freaks out. He rushes 166 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 3: to the airport in Padua and catches the next flight 167 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 3: to London. The German dealer couldn't believe what he was hearing. 168 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 3: He told Vanity Fair quote, I had never heard of 169 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 3: so many books being stolen at once. Insurance fraud, somebody 170 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 3: who wanted to harm one of us, a book lover 171 00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 3: who wanted to have one item and threw away the 172 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 3: rest of the books cover his intentions. That was that's 173 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 3: a you know, convoluted way. 174 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 2: They left all this hemingway behind. What the hell. 175 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 3: All three of the dealers were worried that the theft 176 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 3: would just ruin them financially. These are the prize positions, 177 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,839 Speaker 3: the guest items. Meanwhile, the heist crew kept moving and 178 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 3: they have. 179 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 2: To know, like, I mean, this is like an inside 180 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 2: inside job. I mean, this is a place in a warehouse. 181 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 2: You have to know they're going to the warehouse. You 182 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 2: have to know that these books are in there. 183 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 3: I mean this is like, so they get the books 184 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 3: out to a house in London and then to the 185 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 3: chunnel and then to the continent. 186 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 2: Gone. Yeah wow. 187 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 3: And they weren't just moving the books out of the country. 188 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 3: They were striking again and again. Yeah, other warehouses were hit. 189 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 2: On the way. They're like, let's just hit a couple 190 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 2: of more jobs. 191 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's in one they stole a huge number of 192 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 3: Lenovo laptops and like put a pin in the in 193 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 3: the laptops will come back to that. So remember the 194 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 3: footage of the guys cutting into the fence. 195 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, and then they were not seen again. 196 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, police were able to track down the car are 197 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 3: in the video. It was wiped clean, but a forensic 198 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 3: tech was able to find one single hair on the headrest. 199 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:13,439 Speaker 3: It was logged. No matches pop up. Meanwhile, in Romania, 200 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 3: Elena Albu she's the chief prosecutor of organized crime in 201 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 3: Romania and there's there's. 202 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:20,839 Speaker 2: A lot of work for her to Yes, she's a 203 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 2: busy lady. Yeah. 204 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 3: A couple of weeks after the book how she gets 205 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 3: a call and the tipster tells her that the thieves 206 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 3: at the heist were Romanian and here they got names too, Elena, 207 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 3: check it out. Tea Zoo, Blondie and Christi the Bruiser. 208 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 2: I love Christi. So these are the people. 209 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 3: Basically, these are members She hadn't heard of some of these, Yeah, 210 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 3: I bet not. They're members of Clumparu. And this is 211 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 3: an absolutely horrific gang like think coke and human trafficking, 212 00:10:54,240 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 3: run by an absolute monster named i Clumparu aka Pighead aka. 213 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 2: The Godfather pig Head. 214 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, because he's just a big like sick next. 215 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 2: Oh, I get the idea. But your criminal nickname is Pighead. Yeah, like, oh. 216 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 3: MANI he's doing a thirty year stretch for his crimes. 217 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 3: But his protege, Gavrel popin Chiuk, he started his own 218 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 3: crew and he saw all the Pighead's mistakes as like 219 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 3: lessons of what to avoid. 220 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 2: He learned from Pigett. 221 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 3: He learned from Pigott, and so as a result, he 222 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 3: created a criminal network that carried out targeted strikes of 223 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 3: property crime in other areas of Europe. It's like nothing 224 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 3: on Romanian soil, and everything was ever rotating. Crews would 225 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 3: pull off a heist and then hand the goods to 226 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 3: a newly arrived transport crew before immediately leaving the country, 227 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 3: and then the transport crew would move the goods to 228 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 3: another location. Then they'd rotate out of the country while 229 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 3: a new crew got those goods out of the country. 230 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 3: So they're just constantly rotating. Some of the stolen stuff 231 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 3: was fenced, some was us this collateral for things, and 232 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 3: some was stolen especially for like a particular person. 233 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 2: That's what I was thinking. 234 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, I told you about a similar crew of the 235 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:11,599 Speaker 3: Pink Panthers before. Yes, those were Yaks, Yugoslavians, Albanians, Croatians 236 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 3: and Serbians. But these these guys, they're just Romanians. 237 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it. 238 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 3: So people exactly your people. 239 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 2: People. 240 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 3: So Alena Albu and then Tiberius Minea. Tiberius is head 241 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:29,679 Speaker 3: of organized crime investigations for the Romanian National Police. They 242 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:31,679 Speaker 3: get in touch with Scotland Yard because they're like, we 243 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 3: just got this huge tip, this is the break they'd 244 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 3: been hoping for. So papin Chiuk, he's well known to 245 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 3: the Romanian authorities and he was like he was always 246 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 3: he was the mastermind, never a foot soldier. But Romanian 247 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 3: authorities had like a good notion of who he used 248 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,439 Speaker 3: to carry out his dirty work across Europe. In fact, 249 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 3: they had just busted a guy named Narses Popescu and 250 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 3: he was stopped while driving and the cops found a 251 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,719 Speaker 3: ton of electronics in his Van Lenovo laptized. Hey, it 252 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 3: could all be traced back to a warehouse break in 253 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 3: in England. So the cops they ran his DNA against 254 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 3: the hair in the car found ditched in South London 255 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 3: and they got a hit. Whoa yeah. So then DNA 256 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 3: was also recovered from a piece of metal in the warehouse, 257 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 3: like touch DNA. So now that the authorities had the 258 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,839 Speaker 3: identity of the purpse, they were able to backtrack their 259 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 3: movements in the days leading up to the burglary. Eventually 260 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 3: they're able to connect the crew to twelve different warehouse 261 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 3: hes and you know they were good every time they 262 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 3: slipped in and out without detection and adding it all up, 263 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 3: they got like five million dollars in stuff in this 264 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 3: little spree theirs. 265 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,439 Speaker 2: Did they ever find out how these guys were doing 266 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 2: their stuff? 267 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 3: No, no, So Scotland, Yard, Romanians and then Europeol they 268 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 3: they got all together and they were able to identify 269 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 3: all of the various men and then they came up 270 00:13:55,960 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 3: with what they called Z day Xerenday twenty fifth, twenty nineteen. 271 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,239 Speaker 3: So on that day, one hundred and fifty police officers 272 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 3: spread out simultaneously and searched forty five houses in other 273 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:14,719 Speaker 3: kind of locations in England, Italy, Germany, Romania. Thirteen men 274 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 3: were arrested and then sent to England to stand trial. 275 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 3: All of them pleaded innocent. 276 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 2: Of course, good good on them. You kind of got 277 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 2: to Yeah. 278 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 3: The trial started on February twentieth, twenty twenty. Think about 279 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 3: that date. 280 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, we're going right into COVID. 281 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 3: Uh huh. Trial did last long because COVID lockdown kicked 282 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 3: in just a couple of weeks later everything ground to 283 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 3: a halt. This was a huge case and like tons 284 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 3: of witnesses, evidence and hubbub, but you know you got 285 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 3: this global pandemic wreaking habit. Court gets canceled. The defendants 286 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 3: are told to sit in stew and jail until things 287 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 3: open back up. And like remember back in that time, 288 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 3: we were like, oh, it'll be like two weeks, three 289 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 3: weeks for yeah. Oh boy. So the guys they realized 290 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 3: this is going to drag on after a while, and 291 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 3: on the advice of council, all all but one pleaded guilty. 292 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 2: All but one. 293 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 3: Yeah. Judge Jonathan Davies said, quote, each of you joined 294 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 3: and played a part in a criminal enterprise carried out 295 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 3: with skill and determination. You took risks with your eyes open. 296 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 3: This was a carefully planned operation, often carried out with 297 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 3: mission impossible skill. 298 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 2: Bravo. So yeah, I'm gonna wap you guys up, come on, 299 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 2: give it up. 300 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 3: They all got reduction for pandemic conditions. 301 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 2: Oh okay, the release release. 302 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. On their sentences. The foot Soldiers got three to 303 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 3: four years based you know depending Papinciok he got five 304 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 3: years and eight months. And like none of them would 305 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 3: reveal how they knew to hit the warehouse at that 306 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 3: specific time. For those specific books. Everyone's like there had 307 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 3: to be an insider, but they never found out who 308 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 3: could be. 309 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 2: So there's some criminal overlord who is a reader and 310 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 2: he's like, I need my like and also the scientific 311 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 2: book code. 312 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 3: Well here's the thing though, what happened to the books? 313 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 2: Why Neil de grass Tyson pay for this? That's why 314 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 2: I want to know. 315 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 3: Well, okay, so they still they're trying to figure out 316 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 3: what did happen in the books? Was there like a 317 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 3: criminal who's you know, a science guy. 318 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's like, I really wanted my own copy of 319 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 2: Principal mathematic. 320 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 3: Grass Tyson order this hit. Two of the men who 321 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 3: were convicted were brothers, and authorities were aware of the 322 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 3: fact that they had built a really large house very 323 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 3: recently right next to their parents' place out in the 324 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 3: country in Romania, and they figured, you know, we should 325 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 3: check this new construction. 326 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 2: Can I dig guys? 327 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 3: So the cops they go. They busted up a six 328 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 3: inch slab of concrete over the garage floor and underneath 329 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 3: there was a board and Tiberius, right, he's on hand, 330 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 3: He's the one who gets to lift the board. 331 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 2: They made him lift the board. 332 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, he said, quote it was very tense. I was 333 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 3: really worried about damaging the books. We'd work so long 334 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 3: and hard to arrive at that moment. And then so 335 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 3: they lift the board and there's an underground bunker and 336 00:16:57,160 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 3: that's where the books all were. So most of them 337 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 3: are in recycling bins. Some were still in the canvas 338 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 3: totes from the heist. Yeah, the authorities they took the 339 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 3: books and they moved them to a climate controlled room 340 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 3: at the National Library in Bucharest, and the book dealers 341 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 3: they all descend to like claim their precious cargo. Only 342 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 3: a couple of the books were damaged, but it was 343 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 3: all really small stuff that could easily be fixed, like 344 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 3: a little bit of water, Yeah, that kind of stuff. 345 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 3: There were only four books missing, but they weren't like 346 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:34,360 Speaker 3: the big ticket items. Book dealer Biselobado, he's the one 347 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 3: who came from Padua. He said quote, I had given 348 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,640 Speaker 3: up hope. When I saw them, I felt like the 349 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,959 Speaker 3: youngest book dealer in the world. They were fantastic books. 350 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 2: The youngest, whole life of promise of book dealing lay 351 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 2: before me. 352 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 3: So that night, the book dealers and then like the 353 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 3: Romanian cops, the English cops, they all got together for 354 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 3: dinner at a restaurant in Brest. 355 00:17:57,359 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 2: They read from the books. 356 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 3: Well in bizzello, he yells out, tonight we drink like lions. 357 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,880 Speaker 2: Wow, these guys are on boy. 358 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,399 Speaker 3: So that that's we got a happy I like that. 359 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 2: Way to go. 360 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 3: Let's get a glass of water, stretch our legs. Here's 361 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 3: some ads. When we get back, I'll hit you with 362 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:37,360 Speaker 3: another book. Heist zaren a bit. Let's stay in Europe. 363 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 2: I like it there not, I got my passport on me. 364 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:39,919 Speaker 2: Let's do it. 365 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:42,119 Speaker 3: I like Italy, and that's where we're going for this 366 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 3: next book. Heist. 367 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,120 Speaker 2: Okay, I like Yugoslavia, but it's not a country anymore. 368 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 2: It's okay, I can't go there. 369 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 3: Let's try Italy. 370 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 2: Okay. 371 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,879 Speaker 3: My mom's favorite city in Italy is Naples. Really, she 372 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 3: loves place. 373 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 2: I mean nothing against Naples. I'm not like doubting, but. 374 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 3: What it loves everything about it? 375 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 2: Okay. I mean I love Milan, but I really love Bologna, 376 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 2: which is not said a lot of people talk about, 377 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 2: but one of my favorites of all Italy. So Naples 378 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:04,479 Speaker 2: is it? The food? Is that the art? 379 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 3: Culture is the art the culture? She said, it's gritty 380 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:10,920 Speaker 3: that it's that so this. 381 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 2: One goes out to the monis like the edge much 382 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 2: of it. 383 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 3: So the Biblioteca giro Lamini in Naples. It's one of 384 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 3: the oldest and most prestigious libraries in Italy. It's located 385 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 3: inside the sixteenth century church complex right in the middle 386 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 3: of Naples. 387 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 2: All the best libraries are. 388 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 3: Oh, totally, and it looks like you'd imagine like this 389 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 3: isn't some modern glass and steel, climate controlled vault. Totally 390 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 3: Like I'm talking rich dark wooden shelves soaring up to 391 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 3: cathedral ceilings, ornate designs, gilded walls, you know those like 392 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,640 Speaker 3: long ladders that reach the top. 393 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 2: Totally. 394 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,840 Speaker 3: You know how some people have zoom backgrounds with like 395 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 3: lux European libraries. Why have you noted that? But that's 396 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 3: what this looks like. What's your zoom background? 397 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 2: By the way, I just I just make it blurry 398 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,399 Speaker 2: and because I have dreads and makes it constantly interesting 399 00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 2: where it doesn't know how to cut off my hair. 400 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 2: So I'm just moving in out of this weird filter. 401 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 3: Space so you don't raw dog it and just have 402 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:04,359 Speaker 3: I used to do that, but. 403 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 2: People kept commenting on like all the stuff behind me. 404 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 2: I'm like, well, you people are weird not doing that anymore. Blur. 405 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 3: There's too much this detectable in the blur. 406 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 2: I don't care. I'm just like I don't want to 407 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 2: talk about it. 408 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:15,399 Speaker 3: I have like a blaze. 409 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 2: I just like a blue, like a having a solid background. 410 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 2: So do you have like a fixed thing? Wow, look 411 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,840 Speaker 2: at us, solid blue. I don't zoom with you. No, 412 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 2: we don't. And let's keep it that okay. 413 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 3: Hey anyway. Biblioteca giro Lamini. It contains an extensive collection 414 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,160 Speaker 3: of rare books and manuscripts, and like for years people 415 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 3: would visit from all over to marvel at the wonders 416 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 3: with him. 417 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 2: They should. 418 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,800 Speaker 3: They had a fifteen eighteen edition of Thomas Moore's Utopia 419 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:50,400 Speaker 3: yea Galileo's sixteen ten treatise Siderus Nincius, containing more than 420 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 3: seventy drawings of the moon and the stars. 421 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 2: Give it up to my heretics. 422 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 3: Kepler's Study of the Motions of Mars Astrona Mia Nova. 423 00:20:58,080 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 3: It's supposed to be one of the greatest books in 424 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 3: the hit story of astronomy. 425 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 2: It was the new astronomy at the time. Elizabeth, It's 426 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 2: right there. 427 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,200 Speaker 3: But you know, in the eighties, the library fell into disrepair. 428 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 2: Yes to everyone. 429 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 3: I was like that museum in Brazil I told you 430 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 3: about with the dinosaurs. Oh what like, we don't take 431 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 3: enough care of our cultural institutions and. 432 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 2: We can't even blame Reagan for this one. 433 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 3: No, sadly, and so that that's what happened in Naples. 434 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 3: They didn't have the money to restore it or like 435 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 3: fully staff it. So it's it's closed to the public, 436 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,640 Speaker 3: but academics could still act okay cool, and they still had, 437 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 3: you know, librarians working there. Zeren close your eyes. 438 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:34,920 Speaker 2: Whoa okay closed? 439 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 3: I want you to picture it. 440 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:38,720 Speaker 2: It's spring twenty twelve. 441 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,680 Speaker 3: You are an art history graduate student at Universita del 442 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 3: Sturdi de Napoli Fredridue. The university was founded in twelve 443 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,439 Speaker 3: twenty four and is the world's oldest state funded university 444 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 3: in continuous operation. You have the great honor of studying 445 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 3: under famed art historian and academic Professor Tomaso Montenari. The 446 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 3: Florentine scholar is an expert in Baroque art, and he's 447 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 3: written more than one hundred scholarly essays on the topic. 448 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,760 Speaker 3: The bespeckaled professor with a boyish haircut came to you 449 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,880 Speaker 3: a couple of days ago with concerning news. He'd received 450 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 3: a call from a brother and sister who work at 451 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:24,119 Speaker 3: the Biblioteca Girolamini. They'd seen unsettling footage on the library's CCTV. 452 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 3: They wanted Professore to take a look at the library 453 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 3: and see for himself what was happening there. They said 454 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 3: it was bad. You can't imagine what that means. Tamaso 455 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:35,719 Speaker 3: asked you to go with him to the library, as 456 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 3: he wanted both a witness and some muscle. It's only 457 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 3: a ten minute walk or so from the university to 458 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 3: the library. As you walk down via Duomo, moped's whiz 459 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 3: by and diner's chat at cafe tables on the sidewalk, 460 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 3: you crossed via de Tribunali and share comments about Caravaggio's 461 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 3: The Seven Works of Mercy House. Just here left in 462 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 3: the Pio Monte de la Missicordia, you reached the Duomo 463 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 3: di Napoli and you know you've arrived. Just across from 464 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 3: the cathedral, filled with frescoes and candles and the stunning 465 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 3: Baroque high altar, is the library, a once equally impressive 466 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 3: building The library is shabby and has seen better days. 467 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 3: The professor presses a doorbell on the main front door. 468 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 3: As tourists and Vesco's speed by you. There's a buzz 469 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 3: and a door on locks. You push it open and 470 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,920 Speaker 3: escape from the hot sun the din of the bright 471 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,280 Speaker 3: street into the silent tomb. 472 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 2: Of the library entryway. 473 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 3: Your footsteps echo off the marble floors as you cross 474 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 3: through the main library room. It looks dusty, but none 475 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 3: worse for wear. 476 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:37,159 Speaker 2: Bonjana. 477 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,640 Speaker 3: The professor calls out silence. You proceed into the back 478 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 3: of the library, into the rare books area. The professor 479 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 3: lets how to gasp when you round a corner. The 480 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,919 Speaker 3: bookshelves are empty. On tabletops and on the floor, books 481 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 3: and loose papers are piled into random jumbles. You walk 482 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,959 Speaker 3: into the next bookroom, it's the same books everywhere the floor. 483 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 3: On stairs, you hear a weak and papers slide from 484 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 3: a crowded tabletop to the floor. A mouse scurries out 485 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 3: of the pile and ducks under a doorway. As you walk, 486 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 3: you stumble on potato chip bags and accidentally kick an 487 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 3: empty soda can across the room. You hear a tapping sound. 488 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,760 Speaker 3: You and the professor turn you recognize that sound. It's 489 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,200 Speaker 3: the sound of a dog's nails on a tile floor. 490 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:22,919 Speaker 3: A scruffy pup sticks his head around the corner, a 491 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 3: bone in its mouth. You've got to be kidding me. 492 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 3: This is outrageous, the professor yells. The dog knows when 493 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:31,919 Speaker 3: he's not welcome, so he trots off in the direction 494 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 3: of the back of the library. You hear quiet footsteps, 495 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 3: the soft souls of a librarian. A woman enters the room. 496 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 3: Come this way, she tells you. You and the professor 497 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 3: follow her down a hall to an alcove by. 498 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 2: A fire exit. 499 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 3: There are no CCTV cameras here. 500 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 2: She leans in and whispers. 501 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:55,160 Speaker 3: Professor, the director has been looting the library. Well, who 502 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 3: is this director? 503 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 2: One? 504 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 3: Marino Massimo Dico Dacao is a self taught bibliophile. No 505 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 3: college degree. He studied law at the University of Siena, 506 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,120 Speaker 3: but he dropped out before getting a degree. He moved 507 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 3: to Verona in nineteen ninety eight and he took a 508 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 3: job as a communications director at a government office. 509 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:17,200 Speaker 5: Ah, the Ungentleman of run exactly, and then like around 510 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 5: this time, he meets this Argentine book dealer at a 511 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 5: bookfair in Milan, and so he gets that connection, and 512 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 5: then he starts going to Argentina on the regular and 513 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 5: he would like hang out with all the book collectors there. 514 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 3: Eventually he met Cardinal Jorge Mahia, who's from Argentina and 515 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 3: also happened to be the director of the Vatican Library. 516 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and it. 517 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 3: Takaro gets access through him to the Vatican Library's card catalog. 518 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,120 Speaker 3: So he's just like this operator. In February of two 519 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 3: thousand and three, Tacaro gave the Vatican Library sixteen books 520 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:58,640 Speaker 3: printed before fifteen oh one and three fifteenth century manuscripts 521 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 3: in total, all worth about a hundred thousand dollars. 522 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 2: Why do they give them books? 523 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,120 Speaker 3: I don't know, Like, yeah, they're broke. 524 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:06,439 Speaker 2: Like like they don't need Come on now whatever, All right, 525 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 2: get into Heaven. Okay, fine, man. 526 00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:11,960 Speaker 3: Well, in exchange, though, the Vatican gave him six books 527 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 3: valued it more than a million dollars. 528 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 2: Oh, they're just trading books. 529 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,360 Speaker 3: They're trading books like baseball cards. Yeah, including three Galileo 530 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 3: titles that had been owned by relatives of Pope Urban 531 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 3: the Eighth. 532 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 2: What. 533 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,399 Speaker 3: Yeah, the Vatican was like, we got other copies of 534 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 3: the Galileo text, no big like. 535 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 2: We got us. We got a lot of his books. 536 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 2: We'll give you some, right, we confiscated a bunch of stuff. 537 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 3: And like the Pope's secretary totally. 538 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,120 Speaker 2: Authorized the deal. Of course, what do they care it? Right? 539 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 3: So, however, there were people at the library who thought 540 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,480 Speaker 3: it hanky. I'm with them, yes, so much so that 541 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 3: when they tried to broker a second deal, someone put 542 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 3: the brakes on it. 543 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 2: They're like, you need to stop this, Like, bro come on. 544 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 3: Yeah. So twenty ten DeCaro he's named an advisor on 545 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 3: energy issues to the Agriculture minister in the government of 546 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:59,800 Speaker 3: mister Bunga Bunga party himself, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. 547 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,399 Speaker 2: That's all I have to hear. I now know everything 548 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 2: I need to know about this guy, get it. 549 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 3: When that minister moved from agriculture to the Culture portfolio 550 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 3: in twenty eleven, Dakaro went with him, and from there 551 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,399 Speaker 3: Jacaro starts lobbying to become the director of the library 552 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 3: in Naples, and then in that same year they give 553 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 3: him the gig. He's not qualified in any way other 554 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 3: than just being like, I really like books and I 555 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 3: know how to make deals with the Vatican Library. 556 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 2: I hate the lack of respect for how like things 557 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,159 Speaker 2: like this it took a long time to create and 558 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 2: to mag and these long traditions were like, well the 559 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 2: hell once it worked? To you, Bob, we've turned everything 560 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 2: into a commodity and there is nothing that isn't like, 561 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:40,719 Speaker 2: what will you give me for this? 562 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 3: Exactly? So he gets the gig and then not even 563 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 3: nine months later, it all starts to fall apart. Of course, 564 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 3: So after the professor visited the library, he wrote an 565 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 3: article about it in the paper, and then the cops 566 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:54,640 Speaker 3: launched an investigation. 567 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 2: What kind of article do you have to write? The 568 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:58,760 Speaker 2: cops like, well, what is going on? 569 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,280 Speaker 3: Liter was like there was a dog with a bone 570 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 3: in its mouth walking around the library and soda cans 571 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 3: on the floor, like that's in there. So it turns 572 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 3: out that like Tacaro got in and basically started looting 573 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,399 Speaker 3: the place, that sounds like, And eventually he's arrested. Major 574 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 3: Antonio Coppola, the police chief in charge of the operation 575 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:21,360 Speaker 3: to like get all the books back. Copola, yeah, said quote. 576 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,679 Speaker 3: Our investigations found that there was a true criminal system 577 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 3: in action. A group of people carried out a devastating 578 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 3: systematic looting of the library. What strikes you was the 579 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 3: complete lack of respect for these precious works. Many of 580 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 3: them were thrown on the floor, chaos, rained shelves in 581 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 3: which very important books, once rested, were now totally emptied. 582 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 2: So another Coppola understands the respect. We need to pay 583 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 2: a call exactly, So they all understand exactly. Yeah. 584 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 3: In all, it's estimated that Tacarro lifted about four thousand 585 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 3: books from the library Are you kidding me? 586 00:28:59,240 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 2: In nine months? 587 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 3: And it went like this, So at night he would 588 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 3: turn off the library CCTV system, which was like limited anyway. 589 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 3: And in one case there's well there's footage of him 590 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 3: taking something and realizing the cameras there and then covering 591 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 3: it up and then like so he and some associates 592 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 3: they would just totally I forgot that one. They would 593 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 3: just take books right off the shelf, like he had 594 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 3: these little you know, minion. 595 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 4: One. 596 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, the ones that are of particular value they put 597 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 3: into boxes and they loaded those into vans outside. And 598 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 3: sometimes they would just make piles next to the stacks 599 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 3: as they scan through the books of real value. So 600 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 3: they're like toss, keep toss, keep. 601 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 2: I hate to know what they can do it. I 602 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 2: guess it's just all monetary value. 603 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, completely. So he had a bookbinder who worked for him, 604 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 3: and that guy's job was to remove the library stamps 605 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 3: from the books, and in some cases they just ripped 606 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,959 Speaker 3: them out and like seriously damaged the books in doing so. 607 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 3: Coppola said, sometimes they would even remove the binding of 608 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 3: the book. Ah, he said, quote they wanted to make 609 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 3: it impossible to trace them back. But some of the 610 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 3: books had binding from the seventeenth century, which in some 611 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 3: cases made the binding more valuable than the book. 612 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 2: Wow, come on, guys. 613 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,480 Speaker 3: And so the books they made their way all over Europe, 614 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 3: South America, Asia, they ended up with antique sellers, collectors, 615 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 3: auction houses, suspects. Yeah, five hundred books went to a 616 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 3: German auction house who paid a million euro advance on 617 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 3: the lot. Yeah this, Coppola said, quote, this was only 618 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 3: one load of the books. So you could imagine how 619 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 3: much money they could have made from this looting if 620 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,480 Speaker 3: we and the courts hadn't stopped it. Yeah. He said 621 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,160 Speaker 3: that DeCaro was like a well known figure in all 622 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 3: these these bookselling circles, and that quote he had some 623 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 3: kind of political cover that enabled him, over the years 624 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 3: to reach positions of responsibility and institutions more or less 625 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 3: controlled by the Ministry for Culture. 626 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I imagine him in like the mask on parties 627 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 2: or whatever. 628 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 3: Totally, so they're like, you know, he says, yeah, I 629 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 3: took him, but I did it because I was trying 630 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 3: to raise money for the library and then the kids 631 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 3: the library. 632 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 2: Come on, you know, like, if. 633 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 3: That's true, why are you removing all the markings and 634 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 3: doing it not under cover of darkness and trash and. 635 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 2: The joint people come up in lives like that, like, look, 636 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,600 Speaker 2: I'm trying to save it by destroying destroying. I'm not 637 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:20,280 Speaker 2: good at that. 638 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 3: Come on. He wasn't the only one to go down 639 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 3: for this, thank god. Well, the same prosecutors who go 640 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 3: after the mafia in Naples, Yes, guys, they went after 641 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 3: the book gang and the same investigation tactics. So Naples prosecutors, 642 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:41,200 Speaker 3: they focused on rare book dealers and collectors who may 643 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 3: have bought the works. 644 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 2: They created the network, they found it. 645 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, they totally just dismantled the whole thing. The New 646 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 3: York Times reported at the time, quote, they are slowly 647 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 3: exposing the practices of the rare book market, where deception 648 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 3: sometimes rains, prices can reach into the millions of dollars, 649 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 3: and the trail often goes dead at the Swiss border. 650 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 3: The international market absorbed without batting an eye books that 651 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 3: they could not have known came from the Geralamini library. 652 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 3: Giovanni Mililo, the Naples prosecutor who's leading the investigations, said 653 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,600 Speaker 3: in an interview this week the rule don't ask, don't 654 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 3: tell is what governs the rare book market. He added, 655 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 3: prosecutors have requested cooperation from across Europe, as well as 656 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:23,360 Speaker 3: from the United States and Argentina. 657 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 2: It sounds like the rare book market is basically the 658 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 2: art world with less cocaine and more dust. 659 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, it's the bookish modern art world totally. 660 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,120 Speaker 3: One guy arrested was a priest responsible for security at 661 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 3: the library. Like they no one was spared. Then there 662 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:42,720 Speaker 3: was Marcello Delutri. He was a senator and a member 663 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 3: of Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party party. He was 664 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 3: a close aid of Captain Bunga Bunga and was known 665 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 3: to have mob ties, and it was said that he 666 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,720 Speaker 3: received about ten of the stolen books for his personal collection. 667 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 2: Of course. Quote, Bosters love that kind of stingy. 668 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 3: This is what his lawyer told BBC. Quote, he received 669 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 3: some books as a free gift. As soon as he 670 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 3: realized from newspaper reports that they probably came from the 671 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 3: Jerlimini library, he contacted the authorities and gave him back. 672 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, since he realized there may be trouble, He's like, oh, 673 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 2: I guess I can't keep these. 674 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:18,200 Speaker 3: But he didn't return a fifteen eighteen edition of Thomas 675 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 3: Moore's Utopia. Really, and this is what his lawyer said, 676 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,520 Speaker 3: quote regarding the other book, we're speaking about a book 677 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 3: of very little value, and he simply can't fight it 678 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,080 Speaker 3: at the moment. As soon as he does, he'll give 679 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 3: that back as well. 680 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 2: Hey, I just love murdered parishioners. 681 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 3: So in court proceedings, Diccado testified that he had a 682 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:46,160 Speaker 3: bunch of copies of Galileo's Sidarius Nuccius forged in Argentina. 683 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 2: Forged copies now and the world too. 684 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:50,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, and he was like, I'm a really good forger, 685 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 3: including one that he placed in the National Library in Naples. 686 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,560 Speaker 3: When he took the original, he just put his little yeah. 687 00:33:58,400 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 2: He topped it. 688 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 3: According to The New York Times, quote asked outside the 689 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 3: courtroom in Naples, how you go about forging a book 690 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 3: by Galileo let alone, one that was sold at auction 691 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 3: and fooled some of the world's leading experts, mister DeCaro 692 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 3: smiled with excitement. Borhes Inficxioones wrote that when a book 693 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,480 Speaker 3: is false, it is equal to, if not better than, 694 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,480 Speaker 3: the original. He said. Then one of his lawyers quickly 695 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 3: approached and said the conversation was over. 696 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 2: He's quoting Borhees. 697 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 3: He quotes Borhes, I love that that. I hate him. 698 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:32,839 Speaker 4: Now right. 699 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,320 Speaker 3: He gets sentenced to seven years imprisonment but house arrest, 700 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,240 Speaker 3: and then he also had a lifetime exclusion from public office. 701 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 3: And the good news is that eighteen months after the 702 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:47,759 Speaker 3: looting was discovered, police believed that they had managed to 703 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 3: track down most of the books. Copola said, quote, we 704 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 3: think a high percentage, up to eighty percent, has been recovered. 705 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:58,359 Speaker 3: And then in twenty twelve, the authorities recovered more than 706 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 3: a thousand volume in a self storage unit in Verona 707 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:10,920 Speaker 3: that Dacaro had. So he just put it into self storage. 708 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,879 Speaker 2: Like lost track, and didn't pay his bill and He's like, Oh, 709 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,400 Speaker 2: I forgot which one is that in, and all of 710 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 2: a sudden someone buys all these books like four thousand 711 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:16,080 Speaker 2: euro or whatever. 712 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:18,880 Speaker 3: So Copel I will go back to him. Quote. This 713 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:23,560 Speaker 3: is thanks to investigative activities shadowing and wiretapping, for example, 714 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 3: that has enabled us to identify movements in places where 715 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,759 Speaker 3: books were being kept warehouses, underground parking places, houses. We've 716 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:36,280 Speaker 3: had important collaboration with associations of antique booksellers. We've warned 717 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,120 Speaker 3: them to keep an eye open for books that they 718 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:41,200 Speaker 3: might have even the slightest suspicion could be coming from 719 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 3: the library. And he said that, like people all over 720 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 3: the world have contacted him about books. Quote, my personal 721 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:50,319 Speaker 3: email address is spread around the world among those in 722 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 3: this sector, and I'm often reached by people that have 723 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 3: doubts about a book. 724 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,880 Speaker 2: Oh who's a player, right, you can find my email everywhere. 725 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,279 Speaker 3: So he's thinking that, like, you know, when all the 726 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,919 Speaker 3: attention dies down, that like maybe more of the books 727 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:10,959 Speaker 3: will reach Twelve years later, library remains closed. No, let's 728 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,120 Speaker 3: take a break. When we come back. I've got a 729 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 3: state side book heist. 730 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:15,759 Speaker 6: For you, and I got a book you may want 731 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 6: to buy. 732 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,040 Speaker 3: Zaren, Elizabeth Zaren, I got books. 733 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:41,160 Speaker 2: I got books for you too. 734 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,040 Speaker 3: Yes, I told you about books in a warehouse. I 735 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,680 Speaker 3: told you about books in an old, poorly guarded library. 736 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,640 Speaker 3: Are there any places where books are safe submarines? Yes, 737 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,719 Speaker 3: the safest rare book collections. They use what's known as 738 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:58,800 Speaker 3: a defense in depth, So like a series of small 739 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,759 Speaker 3: overlapping measures that like, you know, you have to get 740 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:08,200 Speaker 3: through too many chambers or too many layers of security. 741 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:12,800 Speaker 2: Timed locks, and then into vaults that box sign out. Yeah. 742 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:15,920 Speaker 3: So an example of this is the Oliver Room, which 743 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,360 Speaker 3: is home to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's rare books 744 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 3: and archives. So there's a single point of entry and 745 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,359 Speaker 3: only a few people have keys to it, and all 746 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:30,759 Speaker 3: guests they got to sign in. You have to leave 747 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:33,360 Speaker 3: personal items like your bag or your coat. 748 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,799 Speaker 2: You know, people have to turn different keys at the 749 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:36,399 Speaker 2: same time. 750 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:41,000 Speaker 3: But yeah, so it's extensive CCTV. Why am I telling you? 751 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 2: Why are you telling me this, Elizabeth? 752 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,400 Speaker 3: Oh, surely the books there are safe. 753 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 2: Don't call me, Shirley. 754 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:51,480 Speaker 3: In twenty seventeen, the library's administration discovered something shocking. 755 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:52,520 Speaker 2: What did they discover? 756 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:53,799 Speaker 3: A bunch of stuff was gone. 757 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 2: Those would be like electric outlet. 758 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,279 Speaker 3: No, like a like a lot of stuff is gone? 759 00:37:58,320 --> 00:37:59,320 Speaker 2: How much we're talking. 760 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:04,239 Speaker 3: Eight million dollars worth of real It's like, what are 761 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:05,960 Speaker 3: we talking about? You want me to give you a little. 762 00:38:05,719 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 2: Inventory a whole building? What the hell? 763 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:11,040 Speaker 3: A book signed by Thomas Jefferson. The oldest book in 764 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 3: the collection was gone. It was a collection of sermons 765 00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 3: printed in fourteen seventy three. There was a first edition 766 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 3: of Isaac Newton's ninety eight, A first edition of the 767 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,160 Speaker 3: Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, a letter written by WILLIAMS. 768 00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:29,720 Speaker 3: Jennings Bryant, Oh across the Gold, Yeah, A rare copy 769 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:34,000 Speaker 3: of Elizabeth Katie Stanton's memoir eighteen eight Memoir, A first 770 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:37,240 Speaker 3: edition of a book written by John Adams, the first 771 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 3: English edition of Boccaccio's De Cameron. 772 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 2: Oh I have that book? Yeah? 773 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:44,120 Speaker 3: Well, this one was printed in London in sixteen twenty. 774 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,360 Speaker 2: You got that mine from eighteen hundred. 775 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:47,840 Speaker 3: I thought maybe you had this one. No, no, no, 776 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:52,279 Speaker 3: the first edition of George Elliott Silas Marner. Missing were 777 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,680 Speaker 3: one hundred and eight of the one hundred and fifty 778 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:59,440 Speaker 3: five hand colored lithographs from Audubon's eighteen fifty one Quadrupeds 779 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:00,680 Speaker 3: of North America. 780 00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:04,000 Speaker 2: Damn Audubon's book. Dude, you know the paintings and everything. 781 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:08,880 Speaker 3: Fifty one plates and maps from John Ogilbee's America, one 782 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,720 Speaker 3: of the greatest illustrated works about the New World, sixteen 783 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:16,000 Speaker 3: seventy one. All of the maps from a copy of 784 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:22,040 Speaker 3: Ptolemy's Legiographia printed in fifteen forty eight. Whoa, yeah, Ptolemy's maps. Yeah, 785 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,440 Speaker 3: all two hundred and seventy six hand colored lithograph maps 786 00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:30,359 Speaker 3: in the sixteen forty four Blau Atlas that mapped the 787 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:34,560 Speaker 3: known world in the age of European exploration. Oh, fifteen 788 00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:40,680 Speaker 3: hundred rare photogravure plate prints of Native Americans by Edward Curtis. 789 00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 3: Oh really, yeah, And only two hundred and seventy two 790 00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:48,120 Speaker 3: sets were created, And in twenty twelve Christie sold one 791 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:49,960 Speaker 3: of those sets for two point eight million. 792 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:51,799 Speaker 2: I think I remember hearing about that, and so one 793 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 2: of those is gone totally. 794 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:55,840 Speaker 3: And so while the London heist I told you about 795 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,560 Speaker 3: like that took just a few hours, and the Naples 796 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,080 Speaker 3: looting went on for about nine months, this was a 797 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:02,080 Speaker 3: slow moo heist. 798 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:04,840 Speaker 2: It went on for almost a quarter of a century. 799 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,959 Speaker 2: Are you kidding? I'm not kidding. You first said slow, 800 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:10,560 Speaker 2: like they just did it and they like. 801 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:14,759 Speaker 3: To not set off motions exactly totally. So who was 802 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,040 Speaker 3: in charge there? You must be asking. 803 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:20,319 Speaker 2: Elizabeth who was in charge of this Carnegie Mellon one room. 804 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:24,720 Speaker 3: Library fellow by the name of Greg Priori, not Greg Prior, 805 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:30,400 Speaker 3: Greg greg Priory a Priori. In nineteen ninety one, the 806 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:34,280 Speaker 3: library decided to establish like a true archive of its collection, 807 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,160 Speaker 3: and like, yeah, ninety one. So Greg, he had an 808 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,840 Speaker 3: MA in European history and he was working in the 809 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:44,480 Speaker 3: library's Pennsylvania room while he was getting a library science 810 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:47,319 Speaker 3: degree at University of Pittsburgh, and he had like that 811 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,920 Speaker 3: was with an emphasis on archives management. So he's like 812 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:52,520 Speaker 3: the perfect choice for this. Yeah, and he's a chill 813 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,359 Speaker 3: guy's local boy made good. He's like doing his dream job, 814 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:59,200 Speaker 3: dream location and running a tight ship. Like his desk 815 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:01,000 Speaker 3: was right where people signed in and out of the 816 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:04,319 Speaker 3: archive and he would personally assess each item that was 817 00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:06,759 Speaker 3: removed and returned. It was just a hard ass. Like 818 00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:09,080 Speaker 3: when he set up the archive, he worked with a 819 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:13,040 Speaker 3: preservation specialist to assess the Carnegie Librariy's collection. 820 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:15,400 Speaker 2: A plenty of white gloves good, oh for days. 821 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:19,080 Speaker 3: Then he hired two rare book experts who found that 822 00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:22,360 Speaker 3: the library hadn't really done much to preserve its oldest books. 823 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 2: You know, it's harder to find rare books experts. 824 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:29,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, those are really hard to find. So they created 825 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:33,160 Speaker 3: a climate controlled environment like that followed all the best 826 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:36,640 Speaker 3: practices at the time. It became a prime example of 827 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:41,200 Speaker 3: a spectacular rare book archive. Zaren. It was highlighted on 828 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:43,760 Speaker 3: c SPAN. You know it's book TV. 829 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:45,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know I watched books. 830 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:47,960 Speaker 3: I know you do watch book TV. So, as with 831 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:50,520 Speaker 3: any kind of collection, there came time for an audit, 832 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:54,160 Speaker 3: and in the fall of twenty sixteen, library officials hired 833 00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:56,879 Speaker 3: the Paul mal Art advisors. 834 00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:58,080 Speaker 2: Like the cigarette company, Yeah, to. 835 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:00,880 Speaker 3: Undertake They come in, all smoking cigarettes. 836 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,720 Speaker 2: Come on, you guys are not addiction on stuff? Whoa, whoa, ladies. 837 00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:10,960 Speaker 3: So Carrie Lee, Jeffrey and Christianiskavuzo they come in. They 838 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:14,440 Speaker 3: began their audit on April third, twenty seventeen, and they 839 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:16,800 Speaker 3: were using this is in twenty seventeen. They're using the 840 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,000 Speaker 3: nineteen ninety one inventory as their guide. Oh wow, so 841 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:23,480 Speaker 3: when it was first established and they immediately. 842 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:26,280 Speaker 2: Found problems like yeah. 843 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:31,320 Speaker 3: According to Smithsonian Magazine quote, Jeffrey was looking for Thomas 844 00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:34,360 Speaker 3: McKinney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of 845 00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:38,160 Speaker 3: North America. This landmark work included one hundred and twenty 846 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:41,160 Speaker 3: hand drawn lithographs, the result of a project that began 847 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:44,400 Speaker 3: in eighteen twenty one with McKinney's attempt to document in 848 00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:48,160 Speaker 3: full color the dress and spiritual practices of Native Americans 849 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:51,279 Speaker 3: who had visited Washington, d c. To arrange treaties with 850 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,920 Speaker 3: the government. The three volume set of folios, produced between 851 00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:58,279 Speaker 3: eighteen thirty six and eighteen forty four, is large and 852 00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:01,319 Speaker 3: gorgeous and would be a highlight in collection. But the 853 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:04,520 Speaker 3: Carnegie Libraries version had been hidden on a top shelf 854 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,400 Speaker 3: at the end of a row. When Jeffrey discovered why, 855 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:11,000 Speaker 3: her stomach dropped once a plump book filled with plates, 856 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:14,160 Speaker 3: she would recall the sides had carved in on themselves. 857 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:17,560 Speaker 3: All those stunning illustrations had been cut from the binding. 858 00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:20,160 Speaker 3: Oh God, so just just cut it all out. 859 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:24,360 Speaker 2: The book predates Andrew Jackson's Like Indian Removal Act stuff. 860 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 2: We're talking like American history. 861 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:26,560 Speaker 4: You can't. 862 00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:29,280 Speaker 3: It's just like pure documentation. 863 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,080 Speaker 2: Goes in there with like an exact knife and just 864 00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:34,520 Speaker 2: like I can get seventy bucks for this. 865 00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:43,120 Speaker 3: Domino's falling after that, like things missing, pieces or items, 866 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:47,080 Speaker 3: every everything's missing. And then she she sees it and 867 00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:49,160 Speaker 3: it's like the world is spinning out from underneath her. 868 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:51,279 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, her stomach shopping cried. 869 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,759 Speaker 3: Like she wonder officers just started crying when she learned 870 00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:56,719 Speaker 3: the extent of the thievery and the damage. 871 00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:59,080 Speaker 2: Some people get upset when they see, like animals hurt. 872 00:43:59,080 --> 00:43:59,960 Speaker 2: I'm sure she've had that. 873 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:04,680 Speaker 3: Visceral reach exactly exactly. So five days after the start 874 00:44:04,719 --> 00:44:09,200 Speaker 3: of the audit, five days Jeffrey and Skuvuzzo they met 875 00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:12,439 Speaker 3: with the library's director, Mary Francis Cooper, and then two 876 00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:16,240 Speaker 3: other administrators, and they detailed their findings up until that point. 877 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:20,520 Speaker 3: Four days later, Cooper has the lock to the Oliver 878 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:24,000 Speaker 3: room changed and they didn't give Greg Priori a key. 879 00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:27,719 Speaker 3: They kind of figured, you know, this all went down 880 00:44:27,719 --> 00:44:28,120 Speaker 3: on his. 881 00:44:28,080 --> 00:44:30,440 Speaker 2: Watch, and he's the only one with the watching everything. 882 00:44:30,719 --> 00:44:33,280 Speaker 3: And it's also because he was the one taking everything. 883 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,480 Speaker 3: And the thing is he wasn't living large off the 884 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:40,160 Speaker 3: sales of these books and prints. You know, he was married, 885 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,360 Speaker 3: he had four kids. They lived in like a you know, 886 00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:46,840 Speaker 3: little apartment, but he was like running up debt. His 887 00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:48,440 Speaker 3: kids all went to posh. 888 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:51,640 Speaker 2: Private schools, so the books are paying for that pretty much. 889 00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:54,080 Speaker 3: And between his place and work there was there was 890 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:58,960 Speaker 3: a bookstore, Caliban Bookshop, and the owner, John Shulman, he 891 00:44:59,080 --> 00:45:01,760 Speaker 3: started his business in like the eighties and he worked 892 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:04,400 Speaker 3: out of his apartment and then he opened Caliban Bookshops. 893 00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:08,200 Speaker 3: He was he was a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers 894 00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:12,520 Speaker 3: Association of America RIAA. That's the this should all be 895 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:15,920 Speaker 3: an affront to Biblio Dicks. That was Biblio Dick's group exactly. 896 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:20,520 Speaker 3: So this dude he even served. Shulman he was on 897 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,880 Speaker 3: the board of governors for the mid Atlantic Chapter of 898 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,560 Speaker 3: He served as an appraiser for the University of Pittsburgh, 899 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:34,080 Speaker 3: Carnegie Mellon University, and Penn State. And he was even 900 00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,000 Speaker 3: on PBS Antiques road Show. 901 00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:38,520 Speaker 2: I don't trust those people. We've talked about it, it's 902 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:41,360 Speaker 2: happened before. I just don't trust him. Just generally. I'm like, 903 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:43,359 Speaker 2: you want to be on TV too much. I don't 904 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:45,960 Speaker 2: trust ANTIQ people shouldn't want to be on TV like this. No, 905 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:46,760 Speaker 2: he should be private. 906 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:51,080 Speaker 3: So Priori he would bring the books that he stole 907 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:54,239 Speaker 3: to Shulman. Shulman would inspect the item and then he 908 00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:57,040 Speaker 3: would list it for sale on his website. And here's 909 00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,560 Speaker 3: the thing though, remember how it enables their partners, their 910 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:03,000 Speaker 3: total partners. The guy in Naples hired the bookbinder to 911 00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:05,320 Speaker 3: remove any marks or stamps from the books. 912 00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:06,680 Speaker 2: They didn't do this. 913 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:09,920 Speaker 3: All of the items in the library had this special 914 00:46:09,960 --> 00:46:11,520 Speaker 3: book plate inside the front cover. 915 00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:12,960 Speaker 2: No problem. 916 00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:16,360 Speaker 3: Shulman had a small red stamp in his store that 917 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:20,359 Speaker 3: read withdrawn from library. And when he had something from 918 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:23,080 Speaker 3: the Oliver collection, he'd used the stamp to mark the 919 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,239 Speaker 3: bottom of the book plate and apparently that was enough 920 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,600 Speaker 3: to override the book plate. Like the library got rid 921 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:30,360 Speaker 3: of this one. 922 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:32,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, you see, it wouldn't question it. 923 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,920 Speaker 3: So Priori he had sort of seen the audit coming. 924 00:46:36,719 --> 00:46:38,759 Speaker 3: He knew and he was a little nervous about it. 925 00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:41,200 Speaker 3: And his coworkers thought that he was acting that way 926 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:45,759 Speaker 3: because he's just very territorial. But like they didn't know 927 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,080 Speaker 3: that he had liquidated most of the stuff in there. 928 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:51,399 Speaker 3: And like now the walls are closing in, and so 929 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:54,160 Speaker 3: Priori and Shulman had they came up with a bunch 930 00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:56,719 Speaker 3: of explanations as to why stuff was gone, Like they 931 00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:01,440 Speaker 3: just workshopped ideas. So they doctored paperwork saying that some 932 00:47:01,520 --> 00:47:03,719 Speaker 3: of it was out for repair or like loaned to 933 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:07,040 Speaker 3: another institution. And then they're like, oh, maybe we could 934 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:09,160 Speaker 3: blame the former director of the library. 935 00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:09,720 Speaker 2: He's dead. 936 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:11,279 Speaker 3: Let's just blame him. 937 00:47:11,320 --> 00:47:12,200 Speaker 2: Let's blame the dead guy. 938 00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:14,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, or like, oh, let's just blame the staff, like 939 00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:16,239 Speaker 3: you know whatever, Oh no, even better. 940 00:47:16,120 --> 00:47:18,560 Speaker 2: Maintenance workers them like that. 941 00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:20,399 Speaker 7: Yeah. 942 00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:23,719 Speaker 3: So this was in no way a one off though, right, 943 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:25,760 Speaker 3: It's not like, oh there's just one big thing missing 944 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:27,279 Speaker 3: or like five items suddenly gone. 945 00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:29,120 Speaker 2: You're going for so long, and all. 946 00:47:28,840 --> 00:47:32,840 Speaker 3: Signs point to Priori, and so first he gets fired obviously. 947 00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:35,799 Speaker 3: Then the cops raided his house, and they raided the 948 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:39,280 Speaker 3: bookstore and the warehouse for the bookstore, and at the warehouse, 949 00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:42,160 Speaker 3: the auditors rode along with the cops, and they were 950 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:45,640 Speaker 3: able to identify ninety one of the Edward Curtis Prince 951 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:50,120 Speaker 3: and seven maps from that atlas, and then plus they 952 00:47:50,239 --> 00:47:54,359 Speaker 3: found the withdrawn from library stamp just sitting right there, 953 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:58,560 Speaker 3: and then upon questioning, Priori cracked. Of course, he pleaded 954 00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:02,439 Speaker 3: guilty to theft and receiving stolen property the partner. Yeah, 955 00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:05,000 Speaker 3: well yeah, he gets sentenced to three years of house 956 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:06,520 Speaker 3: arrest and twelve years probation. 957 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:07,399 Speaker 2: And people were mad. 958 00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:08,520 Speaker 3: They didn't think that was enough. 959 00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:09,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, I could see that. 960 00:48:09,480 --> 00:48:13,240 Speaker 3: Shulman pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property, theft by deception 961 00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:16,400 Speaker 3: and forgery, and he got four years of house arrest 962 00:48:16,440 --> 00:48:18,880 Speaker 3: and twelve years of probation. But he also had to 963 00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:23,520 Speaker 3: pay fifty five grand in restitution. That's not a lot. 964 00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:25,759 Speaker 3: And so like these days, people lived so well in 965 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:30,319 Speaker 3: their homes, right, you got everything, Oh totally, Look, we 966 00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:34,040 Speaker 3: just survived a couple of years a half exactly. And 967 00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:37,200 Speaker 3: so like those who'd bought the books, they had to 968 00:48:37,239 --> 00:48:39,600 Speaker 3: surrender them, either at their own volition or the order 969 00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:42,640 Speaker 3: of the police. Bill Clasby is he's a head of 970 00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:46,520 Speaker 3: special collections for Case Western Reserve University's main library. Okay, 971 00:48:47,200 --> 00:48:50,000 Speaker 3: August of twenty eighteen, he gets called by someone from 972 00:48:50,040 --> 00:48:55,200 Speaker 3: the DA's office in the Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, asking about 973 00:48:55,239 --> 00:48:57,799 Speaker 3: a book of early modern astronomy that he bought from 974 00:48:57,840 --> 00:49:01,040 Speaker 3: Caliban Books and like right there on the book plate 975 00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:04,520 Speaker 3: was the telltale red stamp, so clasp he sent the 976 00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:09,520 Speaker 3: book back. Another guy, Michael Kaisel, private collector, he bought 977 00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:12,239 Speaker 3: a book from a rare book dealer in England and 978 00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:15,480 Speaker 3: the same detective reaches out to him and let him 979 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:17,880 Speaker 3: know that Shulman had sold the stolen book to the 980 00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:20,400 Speaker 3: English dealer, which meant his book was hot and he 981 00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:23,280 Speaker 3: had to return it. So he did, and the detective 982 00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:25,520 Speaker 3: he just continues to reach out to the duped and 983 00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:26,400 Speaker 3: they all sent. 984 00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:27,560 Speaker 2: Everything back, good for them. 985 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:30,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, And there's some debate about Shulman's involvement in all 986 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:31,160 Speaker 3: of this. 987 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:31,920 Speaker 2: I don't have. 988 00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:34,560 Speaker 3: Any yeah, something that he was unaware that the books 989 00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:37,520 Speaker 3: were stolen, and others think that there's no way that 990 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:38,560 Speaker 3: he was that naive. 991 00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:41,200 Speaker 2: Yes, I mean, come on, he's got the stamp to 992 00:49:41,239 --> 00:49:44,240 Speaker 2: be like falsifying things, and even he's being told by somebody, 993 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:45,400 Speaker 2: then he's just really dumb. 994 00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:50,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. Smithsonian Magazine pointed out, quote the Ethics Code 995 00:49:50,880 --> 00:49:54,360 Speaker 3: of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America states that members 996 00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:58,239 Speaker 3: quote shall make all reasonable efforts to ascertain that materials 997 00:49:58,280 --> 00:50:00,520 Speaker 3: offered to him or her are the property that sellers 998 00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:03,160 Speaker 3: and members shall make every effort to prevent the theft 999 00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:07,320 Speaker 3: or distribution of stolen antiquarian books and related materials. Shulman 1000 00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:09,759 Speaker 3: was not only a member of the ABAA, he had 1001 00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:12,920 Speaker 3: served on its Ethics and Standards Committee. 1002 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:14,680 Speaker 2: I mean, come on, man, we all know this. Your 1003 00:50:14,719 --> 00:50:16,799 Speaker 2: whole job is to be suspicious. Yeah, that's it. 1004 00:50:16,920 --> 00:50:18,840 Speaker 3: You're supposed to be suspicious exactly. 1005 00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:20,759 Speaker 2: You're selling an item we all know is going to 1006 00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:23,759 Speaker 2: be likely either stolen or like possibly hinky right. 1007 00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:28,080 Speaker 3: And Patrick Dowd, board chair of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 1008 00:50:28,120 --> 00:50:31,440 Speaker 3: said the thefts quote will forever raise doubts about the 1009 00:50:31,480 --> 00:50:36,560 Speaker 3: security of all future charitable donations, particularly to the Carnegie Library. 1010 00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:41,400 Speaker 3: The damage wrought by John Shulman and Greg Priori is unfathomable. 1011 00:50:42,239 --> 00:50:45,560 Speaker 3: The true depths of their betrayal of trust, their vandalism, 1012 00:50:45,640 --> 00:50:49,759 Speaker 3: destruction of public property, and theft from our community is unquantifiable. 1013 00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:54,120 Speaker 2: People don't value trust enough once it's gone, right. 1014 00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:57,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, Priori, he was eager to throw Shulman under the bus. 1015 00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:01,520 Speaker 3: According to the New York Times quote, mister Priori told 1016 00:51:01,560 --> 00:51:03,919 Speaker 3: the authorities that he had stolen the items for money 1017 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:07,040 Speaker 3: to stay afloat and help pay tuition for his four children. 1018 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:09,600 Speaker 3: I should have never done this, he said. I loved 1019 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,560 Speaker 3: that room my whole working life, and greed came over me. 1020 00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:15,560 Speaker 3: I did it, he said, but Shulman spurred me on. 1021 00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:17,840 Speaker 2: It's okay. That was gonna be my question to you, Elizabeth. 1022 00:51:17,840 --> 00:51:21,040 Speaker 2: You've read about these guys, do you think? Shulman said, Hey, man, 1023 00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:22,239 Speaker 2: you work at the book store. You know, can you 1024 00:51:22,280 --> 00:51:24,880 Speaker 2: ever get me something? The guy came in and said, hey, Shulman, 1025 00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:26,879 Speaker 2: I got some stuff, like is it a Priori telling 1026 00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:28,000 Speaker 2: Shulman I got the idea? 1027 00:51:29,640 --> 00:51:33,160 Speaker 3: Because I'm thinking that, like, I don't know, it's sort 1028 00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:34,160 Speaker 3: of this chicken egg. 1029 00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:36,040 Speaker 2: I think it was Shulman. I think the guy who 1030 00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:37,440 Speaker 2: sells is gonna be the one who comes up with 1031 00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:39,439 Speaker 2: the idea I can sell some books at the post 1032 00:51:39,480 --> 00:51:41,160 Speaker 2: of the guy who's like, hey, will you be my fence, 1033 00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:42,760 Speaker 2: because that's a harder question to ask. 1034 00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:48,920 Speaker 3: Or maybe there was one that like was legitimately removed 1035 00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:49,719 Speaker 3: from the I. 1036 00:51:49,640 --> 00:51:52,440 Speaker 2: Figure I started telling me about he goes and I 1037 00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:52,919 Speaker 2: could do. 1038 00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:55,160 Speaker 3: This again, you know, if you don't find another way 1039 00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:55,279 Speaker 3: to go. 1040 00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:58,320 Speaker 2: I got this stamp on me I keep this thing ready. 1041 00:51:58,400 --> 00:51:59,880 Speaker 2: It's inked up right now. 1042 00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:02,120 Speaker 3: Saren, what's your ridiculous takeaway? 1043 00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:06,719 Speaker 2: Oh? Man, I don't mean to be you know me, 1044 00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:10,640 Speaker 2: I am naturally suspicious, and when I see people who 1045 00:52:10,719 --> 00:52:14,880 Speaker 2: act smug, I start questioning them more so like antique stealers, 1046 00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:18,840 Speaker 2: these these rare books people, they immediately make the hairs 1047 00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:21,279 Speaker 2: on my next stand up where I'm like mmmm, And 1048 00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:23,560 Speaker 2: I just want them to do that for their customers. 1049 00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:25,319 Speaker 2: And these people are coming up we go, I got 1050 00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:26,800 Speaker 2: some books I want to sell you or whatever. I 1051 00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:29,040 Speaker 2: got this fake bnett or you know it's real monet, 1052 00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:31,759 Speaker 2: yeah whatever. I want them to be as suspicious of 1053 00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:34,279 Speaker 2: their customers and possible clients as I am of them. 1054 00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:37,320 Speaker 3: Well, I think many are biblio dah, of course, exactly. 1055 00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:40,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, but it's I find that attitude is less and 1056 00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:41,480 Speaker 2: less common. 1057 00:52:41,560 --> 00:52:43,280 Speaker 3: That's very true in a lot of things. 1058 00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:45,799 Speaker 2: Yes, just generally everybody's falling into the whole like what 1059 00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:47,879 Speaker 2: can I get for this? I'm like, doesn't anybody think 1060 00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:49,799 Speaker 2: that something has a value outside of what can I 1061 00:52:49,840 --> 00:52:50,319 Speaker 2: get for this? 1062 00:52:50,480 --> 00:52:51,360 Speaker 3: Yeah? Exactly. 1063 00:52:52,239 --> 00:52:55,120 Speaker 2: We're losing your whole culture, Elizabeth, thousands of years of 1064 00:52:55,160 --> 00:52:57,640 Speaker 2: history and people are willing to just forsake it, and 1065 00:52:57,719 --> 00:52:59,719 Speaker 2: I'm not even you should have me be the one 1066 00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:02,560 Speaker 2: to ending Western civilization. You got me to the boy 1067 00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:05,160 Speaker 2: going what about Plato? Yeah we are lost? 1068 00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:08,560 Speaker 3: You know what we need? 1069 00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:12,480 Speaker 2: What I talked that? Yeah, Calmus down, he hit me, Daves, 1070 00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:22,080 Speaker 2: Oh my god, super I love cheek. 1071 00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:28,200 Speaker 7: So I'm listening to your Big Boy episode and I 1072 00:53:28,239 --> 00:53:31,400 Speaker 7: had to stop when you said sigmoid flexure. Uh so, 1073 00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:33,920 Speaker 7: I have a degree in animal science, and a sigmoid 1074 00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:37,440 Speaker 7: flexer refers to two different things. One is an S 1075 00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:42,640 Speaker 7: shaped curve sigmoid flexure in the human colon right before 1076 00:53:42,680 --> 00:53:46,920 Speaker 7: the rectum, or an S shaped curved in a bowl penis. 1077 00:53:46,960 --> 00:53:50,560 Speaker 7: They have a fibro elastic penis instead of an erectile penis, 1078 00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:53,720 Speaker 7: so it has to fold up inside of them. You're welcome. 1079 00:53:54,239 --> 00:53:59,000 Speaker 2: No, take it back. That got retractable bull penis in 1080 00:53:59,040 --> 00:53:59,279 Speaker 2: my head. 1081 00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:01,560 Speaker 3: I've heard it like sigmoid colonoscopy. 1082 00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:04,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, the folding. I know it was a fake name. 1083 00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:06,160 Speaker 2: I didn't know anything would do with bullpeness. I didn't 1084 00:54:06,160 --> 00:54:12,840 Speaker 2: see that is Spanish inquisition. Elizabeth Howe is a bullpen 1085 00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:14,320 Speaker 2: It's like the Spanish inquisition. 1086 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:19,120 Speaker 3: That's all that's all we have for today. You can 1087 00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:23,040 Speaker 3: find us online at ridiculous crime dot com. We're also 1088 00:54:23,280 --> 00:54:27,080 Speaker 3: on social media. Email us at ridiculous Crime at gmail 1089 00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:31,000 Speaker 3: dot com and then also most importantly, leave a talk 1090 00:54:31,080 --> 00:54:39,080 Speaker 3: back on the iHeart app reach out. Ridiculous Crime is 1091 00:54:39,120 --> 00:54:42,360 Speaker 3: hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Burnette, produced and edited 1092 00:54:42,360 --> 00:54:47,880 Speaker 3: by Biblio Dick, Biblio Dix, Dave Cousten, starring Emilis Rutger 1093 00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:51,840 Speaker 3: as Judas. Research is by book plate specialist MRSA. Brown 1094 00:54:51,960 --> 00:54:55,919 Speaker 3: and Rubber Stamp enthusiast Andrea Song Sharpen Tear. The theme 1095 00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:59,480 Speaker 3: song is by Warehouse, Third Shift Security Thomas Lee and 1096 00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:04,000 Speaker 3: Italian Library Dog Travis Dutton. Post wardrobe is provided by 1097 00:55:04,080 --> 00:55:08,040 Speaker 3: Botany five hundred guests, hair and makeup by Sparkleshot and 1098 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:12,799 Speaker 3: mister Andre. Executive producers are lifetime members of the A BAA, 1099 00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:14,400 Speaker 3: Ben Bowen and Noah Brown. 1100 00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:16,080 Speaker 2: You hear the interns of there. 1101 00:55:16,280 --> 00:55:27,000 Speaker 4: Shdus Crime say it one more times. 1102 00:55:28,600 --> 00:55:31,960 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. Four more podcasts 1103 00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:35,239 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 1104 00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:37,080 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.