1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: April two thousand eleven a warehouse in Simi Valley, California. 2 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Stephen Fishler, a comic book dealer, is standing outside. Next 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: to him is Los Angeles Police Detective Donald Harrisick. The 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: two are about to go inside the warehouse, where both 5 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: men think there's an ending to this story, the story 6 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: of four stolen comic books from the home of Nicholas Cage, 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: including the world's most valuable title action comics. No one 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: that comic might be just a few feet away after 9 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: eleven years of searching. It's tantalizingly close. But while they 10 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: suspect the comic is inside, they don't know who might 11 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: be with it, so hurry. Sick shares some words of caution. 12 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: Here's what Stephen remembers. And they gave me sort of 13 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: the lay of the land, the how they wanted this 14 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: to go down. Detective Horristic would poses my partner, And 15 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: they said to me, yeah, because I'm I'm trying to 16 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: do a comic deal. Obviously this is not a normal 17 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: comic deal because it's a stolen book. But he says, 18 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: if there's trouble, anybody brings out a gun, hit the 19 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: floor and I went golden I said, if somebody brings 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: out a gun, don't worry. I can do that. That 21 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: sounds well intense, but there are a few reasons why 22 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: Donald Horresi is giving the warning. The first is that 23 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: this isn't his first flirtation with people who are knowingly 24 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: or not in possession of stolen art, and people in 25 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: possession of stolen art can be dangerous. The second reason 26 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: is that Donald Harrisk doesn't plan on letting the men 27 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: inside know he's a cop, or that several cops are 28 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: hiding nearby, at least not just yet. So there's risk, 29 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: but the risk is worth it for both of them. 30 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: Harrisik has an opportunity to add another recovery to his 31 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:17,119 Speaker 1: storied career as an art detective, and Fishler can put 32 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 1: to bed a mystery that's been eating at him since 33 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: two thousand, the mystery of how Nick Cage's comics were 34 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: ripped off his wall during a party in a brazen 35 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: and so far successful attempt to relieve him of his 36 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: prized possessions. Anything could have happened to the comics. They 37 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:43,239 Speaker 1: could have been lost, or destroyed or damaged. But if 38 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: the picture sent to Stephen just a couple of days prior, 39 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: was any hint the most important comic had survived the 40 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: past decade in one piece. To confirm it, all the 41 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: two of them had to do was walked through the door. 42 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: That was it. The two walk inside, then Stephen notices 43 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: something out of the corner of his eye. We get 44 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: out and we go into an office and there was 45 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: an individual standing outside, and as soon as we went 46 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: in he must have realized who I was. He went 47 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: into the office fifteen seconds after the tective and I 48 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: went in, and I went kind of weird. He was 49 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: waiting outside and then I looked at his hand. He's 50 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: holding the Manila folder and I go that book was 51 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: pictured in the Manila folder, but I can't see what's 52 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: in it. And the individual with the Manila folder is 53 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: pulled into an inner office is now sitting in this office, 54 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: and the Minila folder is now open, and there's the 55 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: book on like a little aprolic pedestal and we sit down. 56 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's an original action one where I heart radio. 57 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: This is Stealing Superman. I'm your host, Dana Schwartz, and 58 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: this is episode seven. Strange Visitor two thousand eleven was 59 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: turning out to be a tumultuous year for Cage. It 60 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: was a time when, approaching his fifties, he was on 61 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: shaky ground as a leading man. He was drifting away 62 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: from his action star Heyday and many years removed from 63 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: his last Oscar nomination. A major Disney movie, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, 64 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: had disappointed a year earlier. Cages two thousand and eleven 65 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,799 Speaker 1: slate of films weren't much better, with little remembered titles 66 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: like Season of the Witch and Drive Angry Another turn 67 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: as more All's ghost Rider character debuted at the quote 68 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:08,840 Speaker 1: Butt Namathon to a reportedly poor reception. This was the 69 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: beginning of a decade spent largely in the direct to 70 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: television market, where the movies were often undeserving of Cage's talents. 71 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: It had happened to John Travolta and to Bruce Willis. 72 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: Cage like to say, making a lot of low budget 73 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: movies was kind of like the old studio system where 74 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: stars churned out movies. But there was no denying his 75 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: career had stalled. Professionally, it wasn't his best year, But 76 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: for our story, there was one bright spot. Art crime, 77 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: as any good art crime detective will tell you, is 78 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: a game of Patients extreme Patients. Art thieves may try 79 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: to convert their illicit goods to money quickly, or they 80 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: may decide they're far better off sitting on something for years, 81 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: even decades. The general rule is, if a piece of 82 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: stolen art doesn't service immediately, you may not see it 83 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 1: for say, ten years, long enough for cops to lose 84 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: interest and the trail of ownership to grow cold. In 85 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: the case of Cages Action number one, it was eleven 86 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 1: years close enough. In an earlier episode, we Told You. 87 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,600 Speaker 1: Art thefts are often preceded by media coverage of lavish 88 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: auctions or high dollar sales, something to make the thief 89 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,479 Speaker 1: think about the value of something they could steal. The 90 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: same can also hold true for art recovery. Someone in 91 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: possession of a stolen item may see news of its 92 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: value and how much it's increased since it was taken, 93 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 1: and that can be the motivation to finally try and 94 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: return it to the legitimate market. So what happened in 95 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: two thousand eleven A few things. In February, Joanne Siegel, 96 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: the widow of the late Superman co creator Jerry Siegel, 97 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: passed away. It was covered in the media, often with 98 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: a mention of how rare and valuable Action Comics Number 99 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: one was, And in March of that year, Stephen Fishler 100 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: made some history. His company, Comic Connect, an online marketplace 101 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: for comics, sold a copy of Amazing Fantasy Number fifteen. 102 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: That nineteen sixty two comic introduced Spider Man, and it's 103 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: sold for an astounding one point one million, a new 104 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: record for the wall Crawler. So what does that have 105 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: to do with Action number one. In all of the 106 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: ensuing media articles about the sale of Amazing Fantasy Number fifteen, 107 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: reporters had to make a clarifying remark that while the 108 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: sale was a record for Spider Man, it wasn't a 109 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: comic book record. That honor still longed to Action number one. 110 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: In two thousand ten, Fishler sold two copies of the comic, 111 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: one for a million dollars and another for one point 112 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: five million. The latter was the most expensive comic ever sold. 113 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: So whoever was holding onto the comic taken from Nick 114 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: Cage's home may have felt a new sense of urgency. 115 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,559 Speaker 1: And if someone happened to find that comic around that time, 116 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: well they'd know it was worth quite a bit. Just 117 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: a couple of weeks after news of that sale broke, 118 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 1: Dan Dotson and his wife Laura were approached by two men. 119 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: Dan and Laura run American Auctioneers, a storage locker liquidation 120 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,079 Speaker 1: business in California. If you've seen the A and E 121 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: show Storage Wars, you've seen Dan. The premise of what 122 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: Dan and Laura do is pretty simple to understand, although 123 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: it's real not an easy job. American Auctioneers is hired 124 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: by storage unit companies to auction off storage units that 125 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: aren't up to date on their payments. Say someone rents 126 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: the storage locker, stuffs it full of their belongings, then 127 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: stops paying the monthly bill. The storage company is stuck 128 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: with a bunch of stuff they don't want, so to 129 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: recoup what they can, they auction off the contents to 130 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: buyers who hope to profit from what's inside. The buyers 131 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: can't really see any of it beforehand, just a glimpse, 132 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:35,079 Speaker 1: so it's kind of a crapshoot. You might get something 133 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: valuable or you might get some old clothes. Either way, 134 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: it makes for really good reality television. American Auctioneers, like 135 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: every liquidator, gives the owners of the lockers every chance 136 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: to come and collect their things before it's too late. 137 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: They're required by law to print a public notice in 138 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: newspapers with the names of the people who are past 139 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: do on their bills. Those people can swooped back in 140 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,079 Speaker 1: even at the last minute. If they can pay up, 141 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: they get to keep their stuff. If not, it's open season. 142 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:11,719 Speaker 1: That's what Dan was doing in March when he was 143 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 1: approached by someone he recognized, a man about forty years old. 144 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: The man whom he knew only as Sylvester, had recently 145 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: arrived on the storage unit scene. Like a lot of people. 146 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: He may have been compelled to get into it based 147 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: on the popularity of storage wars. Either way, he was 148 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: a new but familiar face. Originally, he had approached Dan's wife, Laura, 149 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: who's the co owner of their company. Here's Laura. I 150 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: just remember his name being Sylvester, and he had a 151 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: friend with him, and they were they were shorter guys. 152 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: I just know that. When I'm doing my auction and 153 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: stuff like that, I try to remember the whole crowd, 154 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: and I try to make you look at everybody's face 155 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: so I don't miss anybody's bid and so forth. And 156 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: I just remember they were maybe five ft three each 157 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:03,200 Speaker 1: of them and smaller guys. Laura thought Sylvester and his 158 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,719 Speaker 1: friend had a question about the auction she and Dan 159 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 1: were holding. That was typically why people approached them to 160 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: ask questions about how it all works. But Sylvester had 161 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: something else on his mind. He wanted to invite her 162 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: to his home. Well, here I am in this auction 163 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: place and I'm doing an auction and I'm on my 164 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 1: like last unit, and a guy comes up with a 165 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: friend and asked me. I said, okay, you're here for 166 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: the auction. Everything is. I gave him the terms real 167 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: quick because I realized, oh, he's just showing up. And 168 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: he said to me, do you have comic books you 169 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: find in units? And so do you guys have buyers 170 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: and stuff like that? And could you appraise a comic 171 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: book for me? Sylvester was looking for guidance, and you know, 172 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: when it's really kind of local over here, you could 173 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: just come on over to my house. And I said, no, 174 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,080 Speaker 1: I wouldn't be the one that would just come to 175 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 1: your house because I had never seen this guy before. 176 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: And he said, well, my name is Sylvester, and he 177 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: had a another guy with him, and I recalled that 178 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: they were new to the auction, and they were interested 179 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: in looking at units, is what I thought. And I said, 180 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: last unit, last unit, happening right now. And he wants 181 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: me to please come to his house, and okay, let 182 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: me look at this last unit. But if you could 183 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: just come before your next sale. And it seems like 184 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: you know about comic books, I said, listen, I wouldn't 185 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: be the one to come. Let me give you my 186 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: husband's information. He will be doing an auction on Saturday, 187 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: was the nearest time. And he said to me, okay, 188 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,439 Speaker 1: well great, then I'm gonna come and see your husband. 189 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: And I figured, you know what my husband and I 190 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: do is we will look for provenance and we will 191 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: look for through a fem roun paper stuff if we 192 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: can find anything online. And I hadn't put it. I 193 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:44,320 Speaker 1: put it into my head and kind of out of 194 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: my head. So Sylvester came back that Saturday and he 195 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: brought something with him, and this time he approached Laura's husband. 196 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: Here's Dan. So he brought it down to our auction 197 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: on Saturday, and I was looking at it. You know, 198 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,679 Speaker 1: I was coming through that comic book and it just 199 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: looked so nice and Prestine, I just you know, it 200 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: was pretty sure that it was probably reproduction, but it wasn't. 201 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: Sylvester explained to Dan that he had just bought a 202 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: storage locker from American auctioneers. After cleaning it out and 203 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: sorting through its contents, he made the discovery of the Century, 204 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 1: a nearly flawless copy of Action Comics Number one tucked 205 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: inside of a large hardcover book. Dan knows a lot 206 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 1: about a lot when it comes to stuff people find 207 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: in storage lockers, from antiques to guns, but he's not 208 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: an expert in comic books. He didn't know exactly what 209 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: he was looking at. Not not really, No, I didn't. 210 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: I saw that it was June comic, but I didn't 211 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: realize it was I didn't realize how special it was 212 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,199 Speaker 1: at the time. For Dan, there wasn't any thought to 213 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: trying to get involved. No, no, I didn't even realize 214 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: the value of it. Um. You know, I and I 215 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: don't really have connections to by, you know, comic books. 216 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: So while he figured this could be something, he decided 217 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: to pass Sylvester along to someone else. Lalo was, you know, 218 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: hitting up our auctions at the time, and I just 219 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: introduced them. I think the guy's name was Sylvester, and 220 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: I said, Sylvester, Mark, Mark, Sylvester, you know, knock yourselves out. 221 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: And then I, you know, I didn't really think anything 222 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: else of it. Balalo is Mark Balalo, another storage unit liquidator. 223 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: Mark was relatively new to the scene too. He would 224 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 1: make appearances on Storage Wars, flashing a lot of money 225 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: to scoop up storage units, wearing sunglasses indoors, and generally 226 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: being provocative enough to make an impression on reality television. 227 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 1: You know, Balalo at the time, I think really wanted 228 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: to be on Storage Wars. And and he pretended that 229 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: we knew each other like forever, and we didn't know 230 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: each other, you know, forever. But Mark did know about 231 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: comics more than Dan and Laura at any rate. So 232 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: he and Sylvester got to talking, and Mark said enough 233 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: to convince Sylvester that he could find a proper buyer 234 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 1: for his discovery. He took the comics, put it in 235 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: the safe of his warehouse in Simi Valley, and then 236 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: he made a phone call. He called the one person 237 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: whose name had been in hundreds of newspapers as the 238 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: man who was earning record prices for rare comic books, 239 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: including amazing Fantasy number fifteen and the very comic Mark 240 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: was holding in his hands. Of all the dealers he 241 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: could have called, Mark called Stephen Fishler. Stephen Fishler couldn't 242 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: believe it. The Action number one he sold to Cage, 243 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: the one he had been searching for, just material realized 244 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: in front of his face. An employee of Minds is 245 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: the individual contacted him with an Action one, and I 246 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: go to the person's word station. They look at their 247 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: computer and I see in this email a picture of 248 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: an Action one. It's not in a bag. It appears 249 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: to be in photograph while it's sitting in a Manila 250 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: four They're on screen. Was the comic unceremoniously tucked into 251 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: a Manila folder and resting on a car seat. But 252 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: how could Stephen tell it was the comic? Rare comics 253 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: have markings, certain distinguishable markings that distanced them from the 254 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: hundreds of similar copies. Stephen felt he knew what cages 255 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: Action number one looked like, the way a parent can 256 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: tell the difference between identical twins. The secret was in 257 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: the blue banner. Just over the tight a logo. There 258 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:06,400 Speaker 1: were white markings. Stephen knew about markings other collectors or 259 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: a thief may not even be aware of. And the 260 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: markings were there exactly as Stephen remembered that. And I 261 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: do a double tape, and I will say it probably 262 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: took me five seconds to realize it was next book. 263 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,960 Speaker 1: But I found a copy of a picture of the book, 264 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: just to be double short. And my employee emailed me, 265 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:34,440 Speaker 1: forwarding me the original email. I called this individual up. 266 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 1: His name was Mark. He was in Semi Valley, and 267 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:45,240 Speaker 1: I thanked him for contacting me. And it looks like 268 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:50,120 Speaker 1: a wonderful book, and they wanted to sell it. And 269 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:54,360 Speaker 1: he indicated that he was friends with the owner. He's 270 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,399 Speaker 1: representing the owner. And they said that the book was 271 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:03,919 Speaker 1: purchased in an aukstion like a storage unit auction. The 272 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: question was what exactly did Mark Ballelo want Stephen to do. 273 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: According to Stephen, it was to authenticate the comic, to 274 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: make sure it was the genuine article and not a 275 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: reproduction or a phony like the one that had turned 276 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: up in Memphis back in two thousand and two, or 277 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: the ones unscrupulous ebayers sometimes tried to pass off as 278 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: the real thing. If it was the real thing, then 279 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: Mark would go looking for a buyer, one who would 280 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,719 Speaker 1: pay him at least a million dollars for the comic. 281 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: And who better to ask for help than the man 282 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 1: who was just in the news for setting seven figure 283 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 1: records for comic sales. I had the first million dollar 284 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: sale of a comic book. It was another Action one. 285 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:56,400 Speaker 1: It was before this, and I believe that they heard 286 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: about this million dollars sale because it was mine. Mine 287 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: aim was well over it, and that's where they connected 288 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,680 Speaker 1: the figure of a million, and I think that that's 289 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: why New Contact. So what happened was I sold See 290 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: an Action one for a million, then I sold an 291 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: Action one in for one point five. So that was 292 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: all before and that was publicized. So that was all 293 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:33,159 Speaker 1: before Mark Contact. But Mark didn't seem to acknowledge that 294 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: it could be Nicholas Cage's copy, and Stephen didn't mention 295 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,400 Speaker 1: it either. If Mark knew it could be Cages, why 296 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: go to Cages comic dealer. Isn't that launching yourself directly 297 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: in the line of fire? Not exactly. I don't think 298 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:54,439 Speaker 1: he did, And my feeling is he just knew that 299 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: I dealt in Action once and I was prominent dealer. 300 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: He found a lot of information about out me, but 301 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: not that connection. And I also said to myself, if 302 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,360 Speaker 1: they know it was stolen from California, let's not get 303 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: a California deal over here, because he might really know 304 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: that this is stolen book. Let's get a New York guy, 305 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: because if if it's New York, well maybe this is 306 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 1: a smaller chance that'll know it's stolen. Stephen did two things, 307 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,119 Speaker 1: and I said, oh, that's great. And I'm knowing the 308 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: entire time that this story might not be real, but 309 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,679 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter because they have the book. And I 310 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: called the detective horrific after I got off the phone, 311 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,439 Speaker 1: saying that the main book, the Action One, is in 312 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: l A. And I said, I'm being contacted. I have 313 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,480 Speaker 1: a picture of it. This is the individual's name. I 314 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: sent him the email. That's it. That's the book, um, 315 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: and he wants me to come and look at it. 316 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: And I booked a ticket. So the coordination happened where 317 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: I came out the next day, met the detective at 318 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:06,600 Speaker 1: the local police station that was near Simi Valley. Harrisick 319 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,639 Speaker 1: you'll remember is Donald Harresik, the l A. P. D 320 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: Art detective whom Stephen had sparred with a handful of 321 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,680 Speaker 1: times over the years. To Stephen, Donald hadn't been overly 322 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,879 Speaker 1: aggressive in hunting down the cage. Comics art theft was 323 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: rampant in Los Angeles, and in fairness to Donald, there 324 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: was always a lot going on with virtually no manpower 325 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: devoted to it. Donald had one partner. If that still, 326 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 1: Donald agreed that Steven should go and meet with the 327 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: two of them, with Mark and Sylvester. Donald would accompany 328 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: him as an associate. It would be a sting operation, 329 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: one where the contraband wasn't drugs or guns, but a 330 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 1: comic book. The next day, Stephen found himself outside Mark 331 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: Balelo's warehouse in Simi Valley, California, a massive struck sure 332 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: where Mark housed his inventory of items he bought and sold. 333 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:09,199 Speaker 1: He dealt in electronics, a thriving eBay business, live auctions, 334 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:14,120 Speaker 1: and business was apparently booming. Stephen got the pep talk 335 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: from Donald, the one where he should duck if someone 336 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:22,199 Speaker 1: brought out a gun, but Donald wasn't taking chances. He 337 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: stationed a number of officers around the warehouse in case 338 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 1: backup was needed. The situation may have seemed funny on 339 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 1: the surface, it was after all a comic, but one 340 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: worth potentially millions of dollars, and when that kind of 341 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:42,400 Speaker 1: money is involved, people can be unpredictable. Stephen and Donald 342 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: walked into the warehouse before anyone could say anything. Stephen 343 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: caught sight of the man with a Manila folder. It 344 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 1: was a light yellow office folder, the kind of stationary 345 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: you tuck and earnings report in. Not a valuable comic. 346 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: It's a great way for the book to get damaged, 347 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: wrinkled pages torn. Suddenly, Stephen was thinking that even if 348 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: this was the comic, who knew what kind of damage 349 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: it had sustained in the past eleven years. Anything from 350 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: humidity to sunlight could have damaged it beyond repair. Comics 351 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: can't be restored without someone noticing it, and collectors have 352 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: very definitive opinions about restored comics. They're often seen as 353 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: something less valuable. This comic was from night. It needed 354 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: to be treated kindly, and here was a man carrying 355 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: it like he was a waiter with a menu. Stephen's 356 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: attention was diverted when Mark Ballelo appeared. Stephen hadn't seen 357 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:48,639 Speaker 1: Storage Wars, had never met Ballelo, knew virtually nothing of 358 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: the storage unit scene. But Mark was easy enough to profile. 359 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: He wore shiny shirts, he talked a lot, He acted 360 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: like the car salesman he used to be. He invited 361 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: Stephen and Donald into an office. The four of them 362 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: sat down. Mark seemed loose, easy going, excited. A seven 363 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: figure pay day had practically dropped itself into his lap. 364 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,159 Speaker 1: If he knew about Cage or that Stephen's friend was 365 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: a cop, he showed no signs of it at all. 366 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: He was here to be told he was about to 367 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 1: come into a windfall, or at least half of it. 368 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: That was what he and Sylvester had agreed to. Stephen 369 00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: picked up the comic. Anything could have happened prior to 370 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,160 Speaker 1: this point. Mark and Sylvester could have gotten cold feet 371 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 1: for whatever reason and disappeared. They could have decided to 372 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,919 Speaker 1: sell it to someone else. They could have sent a 373 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: picture they had found online. Or Stephen could have been 374 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: mistaken about the markings. There was no way for him 375 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: to know for sure until he had the comic in 376 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,600 Speaker 1: his hands. An original action one beautiful me. I really 377 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 1: appreciate contacting me about it. And this individual who seemed 378 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 1: to think his name told me his name was Arthur 379 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: just off the top of my head, Arthur was Sylvester. 380 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,159 Speaker 1: He reiterated the story about how he got the book, 381 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,199 Speaker 1: and they bought a store of JUnit and it was 382 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 1: found inside another book. I think I might have asked, 383 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: was there anything else in there? Any other comic books? 384 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 1: They said no, And there's a little ooing and eyeing 385 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: over the book. They wanted a million dollars for it. 386 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: As the men talked, Stephen examined the comic, and right 387 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: away he knew this was Nicolas Cage's Action number one. 388 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: A tiny white splotch inside one of the blue banners 389 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: confirmed it. Like a fingerprint missing eleven years, found today, 390 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:03,119 Speaker 1: and not only that, in virtually the same condition it 391 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,360 Speaker 1: was when it was taken from Cage's house on purpose 392 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,679 Speaker 1: or by accident. Whoever had been in possession of it 393 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: all this time had managed not to ruin it. For 394 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,200 Speaker 1: a comic that had been purportedly stuffed inside a storage unit, 395 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 1: one that may not have even had a climate controlled environment, 396 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 1: it was pristine. Stephen wanted to exhale, but couldn't really 397 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: couldn't tip them off. He scanned the two men in 398 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: front of him, Mark and Sylvester. Stephen remembers. Sylvester kept 399 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: saying his name was Arthur. They were both hard to read. 400 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: They didn't seem nervous, so maybe they didn't know the 401 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: comics history. Maybe they both believed they were two of 402 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: the luckiest people on the planet. Stephen started talking to 403 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: them to try to understand how they wound up with 404 00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 1: the comic in their hands. It is Arthur a little 405 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: bit of Mark, because Mark was really really not a 406 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: comic deal or so he's he's just trying to put 407 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: from what he said, parties together to do a deal. 408 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure he was getting a cut for his work. 409 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 1: I asked Arthur, who obviously walked in with the book. 410 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 1: You know, I'm trying to get some more details. Wanted 411 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: to see what other information, and he had his story 412 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,640 Speaker 1: and he was sticking to it about where it came from. 413 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,120 Speaker 1: So I would think that if somebody bought a storage 414 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,359 Speaker 1: unit would be very clear on where they got it from. 415 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 1: To see if there's anything more in there. Stephen wasn't 416 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 1: getting much more detail from either man. They were simply 417 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,160 Speaker 1: two people who wanted to know if the rare comics 418 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,199 Speaker 1: Sylvester found was the real deal, and it was, but 419 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: that wasn't necessarily a good thing for them. Stephen and 420 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:59,120 Speaker 1: Donald had made an arrangement. Once Stephen was sure this 421 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 1: was the book, he'd not at Donald, and then Donald, 422 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: who was mostly quiet up until now, would start doing 423 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: all of the talking. And then Detective Horristic, who I 424 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:17,720 Speaker 1: introduces my partner when we walked in, grabbed his business 425 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 1: card and handed it to the two gentlemen, and just 426 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: not a business card from a comic dealer, but a 427 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 1: business card from a police officer. Police Detective Donald announced 428 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: he was a cop, and suddenly the air seemed to 429 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,439 Speaker 1: go out of the room. He may as well have 430 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: just set the comic book on fire. And he explains 431 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: who he is, and he brings out a copy of 432 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 1: the original police report from two thousands, and I literally 433 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: saw the individual I remember as Arthur turned gray. All 434 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: the blood ansom. Everybody thought they had a million dollar 435 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,360 Speaker 1: paid day person flew out to buy the book. And 436 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: here's a cop, here's a police detective. As Mark and 437 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: Sylvester winced, Donald announced he was taking possession of the 438 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: comic and did just that, collecting it in its manila folder. 439 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: The officers outside rushed in, making sure no one left. 440 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: It was now up to Donald to determine the veracity 441 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,440 Speaker 1: of Sylvester's story how he had gotten his hands on 442 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 1: the comic. The two spoke for maybe thirty minutes behind 443 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: closed doors. Stephen paced back and forth, the curiosity of 444 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:47,200 Speaker 1: a collector eating at him. Some art investigations are about 445 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: finding the art, and strictly about finding the art. The 446 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,959 Speaker 1: how of it all can get lost amid the investigator's caseload. 447 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: But here was a direct line between the comic and 448 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: the and who claimed to have found it. Donald Harrisik 449 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: was a seasoned detective. If there was truth to be found, 450 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 1: Stephen figured he'd be able to find it. When Donald 451 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: finished with Sylvester and walked out, Stephen went up to him, 452 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: eager to get the details, eager to share them with Cage, 453 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: who was about to get some very good news. Stephen 454 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: half expected to see Sylvester being hustled away by officers, 455 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: dragged back to the station for further questionings, but Sylvester 456 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: just strolled out unescorted. At that point, Detective Horristic takes 457 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: the individual who remembers Arthur into another room. They probably 458 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: spend about half an hour talking, and they talked to 459 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: Mark Allelo and Detective Horristic says, yeah, we're really not 460 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:56,800 Speaker 1: able to get any more useful information. I said, I 461 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,120 Speaker 1: think this is a story that they can talk that 462 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:04,440 Speaker 1: he says doable is, but they're not giving you any 463 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: more information about where they the Detective one or technically seven. 464 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: I believe that they knew it was stolen and they 465 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: had a cover story already in case it gets found out. 466 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 1: Stephen wasn't sure he was hearing Donald correctly, and why 467 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: did Sylvester just get up and walk out? Pretty soon 468 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: everyone was clearing out of the warehouse. Donald returned to 469 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 1: the L a p. D. Comic into Stephen immediately phone Cage, 470 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 1: who was enthusiastic about the news outside. I called Nick 471 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: and I told him that the Action One is now back, 472 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: and he was very very happy. It was a very 473 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,800 Speaker 1: defeating feeling having his best book stolen out of his house, 474 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: and it was a bit of a victory getting the 475 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,480 Speaker 1: Action One back, But even though the comic had been recovered, 476 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 1: things felt incomplete. While the comic belonged to Cage, he 477 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,720 Speaker 1: had been paid by his insurance company, so really it 478 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: belonged to them. And then and that was assuming Donald 479 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: was prepared to return it. He had an investigation to 480 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:21,600 Speaker 1: finish to see whether sylvester story held up. Donald still 481 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: needed to do one other thing. He phoned William Hughes, 482 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: the man who had bought Action number one from Southebes 483 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 1: back in and asked for the catalog. Remember back in 484 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 1: episode four we mentioned southe Bees took a very precise 485 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,080 Speaker 1: series of photos of this very comic book, and it 486 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 1: would make all the difference later in the story, well 487 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:50,240 Speaker 1: my friends later is now. Donald wanted to use those 488 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:54,680 Speaker 1: photos for comparison. In all, there were fifteen tiny but 489 00:32:54,840 --> 00:33:00,120 Speaker 1: distinct markings or irregularities unique to this copy, all of 490 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:05,080 Speaker 1: them painstakingly documented by the auction house. It was, as 491 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:10,440 Speaker 1: Stephen said, a perfect match. Beyond all doubt. This was 492 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:15,200 Speaker 1: Cages comic. But how did a man named Sylvester find it? 493 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: A better question nagged at Stephen. Had he really found 494 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: it at all? The story Sylvester told Donald Harresik was 495 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 1: a fascinating one. He said he had discovered the Action 496 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: number one in an abandoned storage unit he bought at auction. 497 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 1: This seems pretty straightforward. If he bought it at auction, 498 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: then you just try to locate the original owner. Of 499 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:52,720 Speaker 1: the locker to see what information they might have. After all, 500 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: the comic was in their possession, right, the storage facility 501 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 1: would have those names, so would Dan Dotson. And even 502 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: if they didn't remember that, Dan had to print the 503 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 1: names of the locker owners in the paper as a 504 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 1: legal requirement. So all Donald would have had to do 505 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:13,520 Speaker 1: is go to the library to grab some back issues. 506 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 1: But here's the problem, the biggest problem. Sylvester said he 507 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: bought multiple storage units in March, and he simply didn't 508 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:27,400 Speaker 1: know which storage unit the comic had come from. Somehow 509 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,560 Speaker 1: the contents of all of the units had gotten all 510 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:34,560 Speaker 1: mixed up. Here's Dan Dotson, That's what he had said. 511 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: And he had been coming around for a for a minute, 512 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: and you know, bought a lot of units from a 513 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: lot of different facilities, so it was pretty impossible for 514 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,000 Speaker 1: that time to figure out what or where I really 515 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:49,799 Speaker 1: was motivated to dig into it, figure anything out. To 516 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,080 Speaker 1: be honest with you, I don't know which facility he 517 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 1: may have bought it from, and he said that he 518 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:56,640 Speaker 1: bought it from one of ours, so I didn't have 519 00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,560 Speaker 1: any reason to doubt that. Here's Laura, because I've been 520 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:02,960 Speaker 1: buying units and I put everything together because I was like, Wow, 521 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,560 Speaker 1: where did you buying it from? What did you get 522 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:06,720 Speaker 1: this from? What unit? And stuff from them? So excited 523 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: we like to put providence and put a story together, 524 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,000 Speaker 1: you know, because I just can't really tell you. I 525 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:13,840 Speaker 1: just know that it was a bunch of units, and 526 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 1: I got a bunch of stuff, and and he was 527 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:22,440 Speaker 1: buying a lot of stuff from my husband. Yeah, and 528 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,719 Speaker 1: my husband said, I've been selling until Sylvester has been 529 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:28,640 Speaker 1: buying the heck out of units. So I just think, Wow, 530 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:34,920 Speaker 1: he scored. Sylvester had bought a lot of ship, so 531 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:38,560 Speaker 1: much ship that it co mingled, making pinpointing where the 532 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 1: comic came from impossible. But if Sylvester didn't know which 533 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,640 Speaker 1: storage unit the comic had come from, then Donald couldn't 534 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,120 Speaker 1: have any assurance. The people who owned the lockers, if 535 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,480 Speaker 1: they could be found at all, wouldn't simply deny the 536 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: comic had been in their particular one. It was kind 537 00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:59,960 Speaker 1: of like saying that the comic had just been found 538 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: in the street. The providence, the ability to gauge where 539 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:08,320 Speaker 1: the comic came from it was lost. It was either 540 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: an incredible stroke of luck for the thief or one 541 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:15,440 Speaker 1: of the better cover stories the detective had ever heard. 542 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:21,880 Speaker 1: Here's Stephen Fishler. I don't believe that these guys gave 543 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:26,720 Speaker 1: the detective any specific information about any storage unit. I 544 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:31,839 Speaker 1: can't remember if they even indicated what facility they think 545 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: the storage unit was. I don't remember that. But there 546 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:42,840 Speaker 1: was definitely pretty much a dead end in terms of 547 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 1: investigating the storage unit. If you're if you're a police detective, 548 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: and you believe that this is a cover story and 549 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,240 Speaker 1: it really was never in a storage facility or storage unit, 550 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 1: you're not going to spend a bunch of time, you know, 551 00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 1: dealing with the storage units. This isn't as unusual a 552 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 1: situation as it may seem. A lot of art has 553 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:10,600 Speaker 1: been discovered over the years stolen art original art inside 554 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,799 Speaker 1: storage units. If you are in possession of a rare 555 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 1: item that's been liberated from its owner, you may not 556 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: want to keep it on your property. So it's entirely 557 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:25,400 Speaker 1: possible someone decided the safest place for cages stolen action 558 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:29,479 Speaker 1: comics number one was in a storage unit. But would 559 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:32,880 Speaker 1: they simply then forget to pay the bill? Would you 560 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:35,560 Speaker 1: forget to pay the bill on the unit that had 561 00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:40,160 Speaker 1: a million dollars or more inside of it. Donald Herresik 562 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:44,360 Speaker 1: was prepared to dig into this more, but then Mark Blelow, 563 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:48,120 Speaker 1: the man whom Sylvester turned to for help with the comic, 564 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:52,880 Speaker 1: made a move of his own. Mark recognized the value 565 00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:56,319 Speaker 1: of publicity in his line of work, and being the 566 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,080 Speaker 1: co finder of Action Comics Number one was worth the 567 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:04,160 Speaker 1: of headlines. Before Donald could blink, Mark was talking to 568 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:09,240 Speaker 1: the press. This made Donald very unhappy. In an interview 569 00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:12,000 Speaker 1: of his own, he said he wished that Mark hadn't 570 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: opened his big mouth. The problem was if anyone else 571 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,520 Speaker 1: happened to be involved or knew where cages. Two remaining 572 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:23,040 Speaker 1: comics were the Detective Number twenty seven and the Detective 573 00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:26,800 Speaker 1: Number one. They now knew the police were chasing a lead, 574 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,720 Speaker 1: but Mark was pretty happy to talk about it. In fact, 575 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:33,440 Speaker 1: he ran up to Laura Dotson not long after to 576 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 1: tell her the news. And then Ballelo comes to one 577 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,960 Speaker 1: of my sales and he says, we'll never believe what happened. 578 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:41,840 Speaker 1: He says, you know, we're looking at that book and 579 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:43,759 Speaker 1: we're all inside the room, and then all of a 580 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:47,319 Speaker 1: sudden he's telling us, yes, this is something great, and 581 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:49,920 Speaker 1: I think, okay, the exchange is going to happen. We're 582 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,280 Speaker 1: gonna make money. And you know, I had your husband 583 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,319 Speaker 1: in and you guys for a hundred thousand dollars. I 584 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,160 Speaker 1: was like, what like a commission and we had no clue. 585 00:38:57,280 --> 00:38:59,560 Speaker 1: I didn't know. You know, usually I think, and well, 586 00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:01,520 Speaker 1: I guess this is how this game works. He goes, 587 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: but it all fell apart, like go really And he goes, well, 588 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 1: that turned out that I thought he was going to 589 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:08,600 Speaker 1: say it was a fake. And he says, all of 590 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 1: a sudden, the doors bust open and it was the 591 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,840 Speaker 1: FBI or the police, and they said this was stolen. 592 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,319 Speaker 1: And he goes, oh my god. And I'm looking at 593 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,319 Speaker 1: the guy going, oh god, I'm so glad I didn't 594 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,480 Speaker 1: buy this comic book from him. If this was a 595 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:25,680 Speaker 1: big scheme, Mark was pretty happy to talk about it. 596 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,360 Speaker 1: He took a photo he had taken of the Action 597 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,760 Speaker 1: Number one surrounded by antiques and used it to announce 598 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:35,759 Speaker 1: an upcoming sale on Facebook, and then he dressed up 599 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,080 Speaker 1: as Superman, Cape and all for one of his live auctions. 600 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:46,360 Speaker 1: As much as Donald hated the attention, Mark was loving it. 601 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,080 Speaker 1: It wasn't more than a few weeks before Donald ran 602 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:53,320 Speaker 1: out of reasons to keep the comic. Sylvester story wasn't 603 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:57,560 Speaker 1: something that could be proven or disproven, and the law 604 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,160 Speaker 1: says that you're only in trouble for possession and of 605 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:03,720 Speaker 1: stolen material if you know it was stolen, you should 606 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:07,200 Speaker 1: have known it was stolen, or you admit to stealing it. 607 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 1: Donald couldn't prove Mark or Sylvester knew it was Cages 608 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,480 Speaker 1: comic or a stolen comic, and there was nothing linking 609 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:17,799 Speaker 1: the two back to the Night of Cages party in 610 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:22,840 Speaker 1: two thousand. For Stephen, the news was bitter sweet. The 611 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,120 Speaker 1: comic was back, but it came without much of an 612 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 1: explanation and whether the reason was Mark Ballelo talking or 613 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:35,800 Speaker 1: something else, Stephen felt Donald wasn't that interested in chasing 614 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 1: the only lead they had, very frustrating. And then when 615 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:43,279 Speaker 1: I finally called him up, the only reason he paid 616 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:46,799 Speaker 1: attention was because I said, here's the name of the 617 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:50,360 Speaker 1: person who has here's the address there at they're offering 618 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:53,080 Speaker 1: it to me. I'm flying out, I have a flight. 619 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:55,799 Speaker 1: You can't spell it out more than that. I think 620 00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,759 Speaker 1: who was stolen from? I think he took it seriously. 621 00:40:59,719 --> 00:41:02,920 Speaker 1: I think you know they might be overwhelmed, and unless 622 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:06,439 Speaker 1: they're given something super concrete, they don't have the time 623 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:10,799 Speaker 1: to track everything down. Cage, for his part, declared the 624 00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:15,600 Speaker 1: discovery divine providence and hoped the heirloom his words would 625 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,719 Speaker 1: be returned to his family. Reports indicated Cage had the 626 00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:22,759 Speaker 1: option of returning the money the insurance company had given 627 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:26,479 Speaker 1: him for the comic, possibly with inflation. If he did, 628 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:29,480 Speaker 1: the comic would be handed back to him. In the 629 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,839 Speaker 1: fourteen years since Cage first purchased it, Action Number one 630 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:39,360 Speaker 1: had appreciated in value by a lot. Remember that Stephen 631 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:44,480 Speaker 1: Fishler sold two Action Number one for over a million 632 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:48,279 Speaker 1: dollars each, neither in as good a condition as the 633 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:52,600 Speaker 1: Cage copy. Cage wanted the book back, but he didn't 634 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:58,240 Speaker 1: want to keep it, and the police had investigation for 635 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:03,520 Speaker 1: a number of and kept it in a safe at 636 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:09,800 Speaker 1: a secure police location. And then I eventually, in another 637 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:12,879 Speaker 1: trip to California, I came and picked up the book 638 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:15,279 Speaker 1: when the police released it, and brought it back to 639 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:19,560 Speaker 1: New York, and we eventually sold it for Nick. The 640 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:23,480 Speaker 1: sentimental value of the comic was probably still there for Cage. 641 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,800 Speaker 1: Once someone falls for Superman, they tend to admire him. Forever, 642 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 1: But by this point Cage's unusual approach to financial planning 643 00:42:33,239 --> 00:42:38,840 Speaker 1: was well known. It involved spending. He admitted he loved 644 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:43,799 Speaker 1: spending money on homes and cars and rarities. There were 645 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:47,439 Speaker 1: reports he owned an island or two in the Bahamas. 646 00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:52,680 Speaker 1: He owned a gulf Stream Jet, four yachts, at one point, 647 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:57,799 Speaker 1: fifty cars, and his own mechanic. A Tyrannosaurus skull was 648 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:01,719 Speaker 1: procured for two hundred and seven. The six thousand dollars 649 00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:05,160 Speaker 1: then returned when it was found to have been stolen 650 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:10,000 Speaker 1: from Mongolia. Cage, of course, had no idea it was illicit. 651 00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:15,160 Speaker 1: Buying hot dino bones was certainly expensive, but what really 652 00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:20,239 Speaker 1: dampened cages spending was real estate. The market took a 653 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:24,080 Speaker 1: bad turn, and the many properties he had became difficult 654 00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:28,360 Speaker 1: to maintain or sell off. Even the bell Air mansion 655 00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:31,520 Speaker 1: where the comic was originally stolen went up for sale. 656 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,480 Speaker 1: Cage didn't have much of a choice. He had eighteen 657 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:39,800 Speaker 1: million dollars in loans against it. It did eventually sell 658 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:44,040 Speaker 1: for only a fraction of cages thirty five million dollar 659 00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:48,879 Speaker 1: asking price, so Superman would have to be a savior. 660 00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:53,480 Speaker 1: In another way, Cage returned the money to the insurance company, 661 00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,359 Speaker 1: and then he put the comic up for auction with 662 00:43:56,440 --> 00:44:00,360 Speaker 1: Stephen Fishler. They submitted the book to the c g 663 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:04,240 Speaker 1: C The Last Word in third Party Comic Book Grading, 664 00:44:04,719 --> 00:44:08,360 Speaker 1: where it received a nine out of ten at the time, 665 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:12,799 Speaker 1: the highest ever awarded an action number one. In November 666 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:16,960 Speaker 1: of two thousand eleven, the book fetched an incredible two 667 00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:21,680 Speaker 1: point one six one million dollars, a new record for 668 00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:25,680 Speaker 1: a comic book sale, which undoubtedly helped Cage attend to 669 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,480 Speaker 1: at least a portion of his debt. This truly was 670 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:33,879 Speaker 1: divine providence. The comic found a new home with an 671 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:39,719 Speaker 1: undisclosed buyer, one who would presumably take more precautions than 672 00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:43,919 Speaker 1: Cage had in safe keeping it. Mark and Sylvester were 673 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:47,560 Speaker 1: off the hook. Sylvester had seemed to materialize on the 674 00:44:47,600 --> 00:44:51,960 Speaker 1: auction scene suddenly, and after the comic deal turned sour, 675 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:57,200 Speaker 1: he seemed to disappear just as quickly. Here's Laura Dotson. 676 00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:02,320 Speaker 1: Yet it was something like, how often does this happen? 677 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,640 Speaker 1: And we came across this and we just don't know 678 00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:08,160 Speaker 1: how to sell it or get it appraised, And this 679 00:45:08,320 --> 00:45:11,200 Speaker 1: just fell into our lap from these units we've been 680 00:45:11,239 --> 00:45:14,840 Speaker 1: buying and I'm thinking, well, here comes another fantastic treasure 681 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:18,480 Speaker 1: hunt story. And as quick as he came onto the 682 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:20,600 Speaker 1: picture in the scene, I had never seen him again either. 683 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:26,360 Speaker 1: There are questions left dangling. Did Mark really happen to 684 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:31,759 Speaker 1: call Stephen Fishler by pappenstance? Did Sylvester really find the 685 00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:36,239 Speaker 1: comic in a storage locker? If he did, who did 686 00:45:36,239 --> 00:45:40,239 Speaker 1: the locker belong to? Stephen doesn't think there is an 687 00:45:40,239 --> 00:45:45,879 Speaker 1: original owner. I believe that they concocted the story as 688 00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:50,040 Speaker 1: a plausible cover, so they went all right, usual, I've 689 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,440 Speaker 1: got this book. I'll just say it came from a 690 00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:55,719 Speaker 1: storage unit. That'll be it. But I don't I don't 691 00:45:55,719 --> 00:45:59,160 Speaker 1: really believe that that was the case. But where the 692 00:45:59,239 --> 00:46:03,960 Speaker 1: book was, if I was to put together reasonable details, 693 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:07,319 Speaker 1: left Nick's house. The person who stole it out of 694 00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:10,960 Speaker 1: the house sold it, and may have sold it to 695 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:13,799 Speaker 1: the individual who had it all these years, who I 696 00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:17,560 Speaker 1: met and wanted a million dollars for. I don't think 697 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:22,840 Speaker 1: it bounced around for many people. However, many people it 698 00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:27,800 Speaker 1: bounced around with. It landed with Sylvester and Mark. Sylvester 699 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:34,320 Speaker 1: virtually disappeared and Mark Well Mark was already in some trouble, 700 00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:41,960 Speaker 1: trouble that ended tragically and under some slightly suspicious circumstances. 701 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:45,080 Speaker 1: To try to make sense of it, We're going back 702 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:48,560 Speaker 1: to the warehouse, this time from the perspective of the 703 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:51,799 Speaker 1: people who worked there. We're going to get more help 704 00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:55,600 Speaker 1: from a reformed art thief. And yes, we're going to 705 00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:59,640 Speaker 1: see if we can find the elusive Sylvester and see 706 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:04,719 Speaker 1: if he is finally ready to talk. But please don't 707 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:07,680 Speaker 1: john me. As a current joined us called tweetcau as well, 708 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:21,280 Speaker 1: that's next time on the finale of Stealing Superman. Stealing 709 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:25,640 Speaker 1: Superman is written by Jake Rawson, sound design, scoring and 710 00:47:25,719 --> 00:47:31,200 Speaker 1: mixing by Josh Fisher, additional editing by Jonathan Washington, original 711 00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:35,800 Speaker 1: music by Aaron Kaufman, mixing and mastering by Baheed Fraser. 712 00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:40,200 Speaker 1: Research and fact checking by Jake Rawson and Austin Thompson, 713 00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:45,640 Speaker 1: with production support from Lulu Philip. Show logo by Lucy Quintinia. 714 00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:50,440 Speaker 1: Our executive producer is Jason English and I'm your host 715 00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:54,719 Speaker 1: Danish Sports. If you're enjoying this show, check out Haileywood 716 00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:58,160 Speaker 1: and Noble Blood and give us a nice review. We'll 717 00:47:58,200 --> 00:48:02,400 Speaker 1: see you next week. Five