Stolen Books - Harley Yee - Berkeley 3 3

[aszumilo]

30 minutes ago, sacentaur said:

Should mention that the romance book is still outstanding. I think it was a CGC 8.0 Pictorial Romances 10 (Matt Baker cover).

Oh yeah, they said it was left on the seat of the crooks car.

[batman_fan]

When I had my dealings similar to this with the cops, it was “you got most of your stuff back and no one was hurt so really no crime.  The person you claim stole the items from you said they always intended to return them”. Not the exact quote from the investigating officer but pretty close.  I dont blame the cops.  They know if it gets turned over for prosecution, will likely be dropped since property crimes are not a high priority.

[lou_fine]

3 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

i sure hope these crooks don't come back to the guys shop and tear up the place for what they might perceive as "pulling a fast one on them."

This was exactly what was going through my mind as I was watching the video. 

If I was the shop owner here, I wouldn't be laughing off the whole situation as much as he was doing on the video.  

[lou_fine]

4 hours ago, sacentaur said:

These 3 guys come in with two books. One is a CGC green label New Mutants 98. The shop owner doesn’t know what a green label is but recognizes it as being on Harley’s list. 

This kind of gives you a pretty good idea of how much the general comic book collector outside these boards follows the CGC slabbed market when they don't even know generalities like the differentiation between the various label colors. 

Especially when this is a comic shop owner that we are talking about.  I got the same impression when I was in NYC earlier this year and I was talking to the owner or the person in charge of submitting books to CGC for grading.  Depth of detailed knowledge is definitely lacking while many of us here on the boards angst over intricate technicalities like pressing, cleaning, resubs, etc.  

Edited April 17, 2019 by lou_fine

[dupont2005]

21 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

This kind of gives you a pretty good idea of how much the general comic book collector outside these boards follows the CGC slabbed market when they don't even know generalities like the differentiation between the various label colors. 

Especially when this is a comic shop owner that we are talking about.  I got the same impression when I was in NYC earlier this year and I was talking to the owner or the person in charge of submitting books to CGC for grading.  Depth of detailed knowledge is definitely lacking while many of us here on the boards angst over intricate technicalities like pressing, cleaning, resubs, etc.  

The LCS owner out here had never heard of Fantagraphics. 

[dupont2005]

$100k in goods and the police aren’t interested. What if it had been diamond rings or cars?

[NoMan]

On 4/10/2019 at 10:02 PM, wormboy said:

If the thieves knew the industry they wouldn’t have tried to sell the stolen books to a dealer who was at the show.

They also would have cracked the books and sold them raw, as anyone who knows the industry understands cert numbers can be traced.

Thieves break into cars for a quarter on the front seat. A roller bag is a bonanza, regardless of contents.

Yeah I was wondering: Was it a piece of sh*t that knows comics or a piece of sh*t that doesn't know comics. It seems by the break in they knew what was what and who would have it, meaning they are piece of sh*ts in the collecting field. 

So why would they take it to a dealer?

Doesn't make sense to me. 

[NoMan]

I'm reading through this thread. Only up to where all books were recovered. Great! Wonder if there is any way some of the detectives around here can continue to follow this story and not let it be buried. Names of perps, their punishment (if any) when it is dished out. Were they collectors? Were they dealers? Were they not involved in comics but know comics+money?

Edited April 17, 2019 by NoMan

[NoMan]

6 hours ago, sacentaur said:

Bums are hanging out front of the store smoking crack.

These 3 guys come in with two books. One is a CGC green label New Mutants 98. The shop owner doesn’t know what a green label is but recognizes it as being on Harley’s list. 

Bad guys go out to the car and bring in the other books. One is a romance book. That is funny. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

Shop owner’s brother gets the crooks’ ID and phone number before writing them a check. Bad guys leave. 

Call Chase bank to stop the check. Bad guys show up at the bank to cash the check. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

Bad guys return to the store. They are all bigger than the shop owner. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

Shop owner has $100k In books. Harley comes in the next day and shakes his hand.

Things are a bit fuzzy after that.

Dude, I love California! Unicorns rule!! 

F-ing cops. So much for the "if you see something or hear something, call the police" posters I see around town. Should  read "if the situation is already researched and solved in an air-tight manner, we may show up."

Edited April 17, 2019 by NoMan

[lizards2]

46 minutes ago, NoMan said:

F-ing cops. So much for the "if you see something or hear something, call the police" posters I see around town. Should  read "if the situation is already researched and solved in an air-tight manner, we may show up."

Dial 9-1-1 and die!  

[VintageComics]

2 hours ago, dupont2005 said:

$100k in goods and the police aren’t interested. What if it had been diamond rings or cars?

It's pretty unbelievable that theft is not a big deal anymore. Of any amount.

But 6 figures?

I wonder if law makers would feel differently if it was their stuff that was stolen?

Unreal.

And on a side note, many other crimes (like the college bribery scandal) which really doesn't harm anyone to any real degree is being dragged through the courts and television news like it's as important as the landing on the moon.

[Bumble Kitty]

12 hours ago, sacentaur said:

Bums are hanging out front of the store smoking crack.

These 3 guys come in with two books. One is a CGC green label New Mutants 98. The shop owner doesn’t know what a green label is but recognizes it as being on Harley’s list. 

Bad guys go out to the car and bring in the other books. One is a romance book. That is funny. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

Shop owner’s brother gets the crooks’ ID and phone number before writing them a check. Bad guys leave. 

Call Chase bank to stop the check. Bad guys show up at the bank to cash the check. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

Bad guys return to the store. They are all bigger than the shop owner. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

Shop owner has $100k In books. Harley comes in the next day and shakes his hand.

Things are a bit fuzzy after that.

Dude, I love California! Unicorns rule!! 

I also remember the comic book shop owner saying this was the first time Harley left a vehicle (with comic books) unattended.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Bumble Kitty

[Bumble Kitty]

4 hours ago, VintageComics said:

It's pretty unbelievable that theft is not a big deal anymore. Of any amount.

But 6 figures?

I wonder if law makers would feel differently if it was their stuff that was stolen?

Unreal.

And on a side note, many other crimes (like the college bribery scandal) which really doesn't harm anyone to any real degree is being dragged through the courts and television news like it's as important as the landing on the moon.

The sad reality is that fine art crime is not considered a serious crime in the USA (it is in Europe).  Robert Wittman (I believe that is his name), former FBI agent, wrote a book detailing his time in the fine art crime division in the bureau.  It took him 20 plus years to build up his reputation in the black market and he was able to bring many criminals to justice.  However, new management forced him to bring a new agent along to a "meeting".  This new agent used TV crime shows as his guide.  In a short amount of time, the author's cover was blown because of this rookie agent.  Very interesting read.

Now, comic books may not be fine art (some may disagree).  But in some (or most) localities, the theft of funny books is not taken seriously.  I guess when you deal with assault, rape, murder and "other" things, it just doesn't measure up to some.  To me, it is not the police who don't care.  It is the elected officials who want to deal with these other matters that they consider important.

I have also heard this is an issue from dealers in other collectible fields.

I think the best way to deal with this is to be vigilant and carry insurance.  I can also see why some victims of theft give up, sell what they have left, and leave the hobby.

But on the bright side, Harley got virtually all of his livelihood back.  I think that counts for something.

[CatskillMike]

Again, he should have put a chainsaw in the van with the comics.

[theCapraAegagrus]

I'll run for office in 2024. One of my platforms will be to heavily punish those involved in art-related crimes (including comic books). Do I have your vote?

[lou_fine]

13 hours ago, Bumble Kitty said:

I also remember the comic book shop owner saying this was the first time Harley left a vehicle (with comic books) unattended.

I highly doubt the comic shop owner would know this unless Harley had told this to him.

Somehow, I get the feeling that the owner never knew or met Harley at all until this situation came up.  

[RockMyAmadeus]

I'm glad it turned out so well. Most of these don't, and as mentioned, theft...even grand larceny...is not treated as it should be.

What's the answer? Dunno. Lots of options. As with everything personal responsibility and being prepared is probably the best solution.

[dupont2005]

I wonder if the police thought it was some kind of insurance scam and that’s why they didn’t pay it the attention it deserved? I’m still convinced if $100k worth of Rolex watches had gone missing they’d be on the case.

[NoMan]

On 4/17/2019 at 11:19 AM, aszumilo said:

Oh yeah, they said it was left on the seat of the crooks car.

Is this a reflection of the crooks as in they don't think romance books are worthy of fencing?

[aszumilo]

22 minutes ago, NoMan said:

Is this a reflection of the crooks as in they don't think romance books are worthy of fencing?

The store told them they weren't interested in it, so, I would imagine they thought it was worthless.  They don't seem to be very smart crooks taking $2500 for $100k worth of books.