The Great Brick Heist

By Gordon Hopkins Greed is the primary motivator of thieves. A thief can steal money, or a thief can steal something valuable that can be exchanged for money. But what if that motivation is for more than simply money? There is a certain subset of criminals, possibly only a small minority, but still undeniably real, that does it not just for the money but for the thrill. Money is ephemeral, especially these days when most financial transactions happen in the ether. We pay our bills online or by plastic cards. In most cases, we never handle or even see the money we spend.For most thieves, who are only interested in not having a job, they probably don't care. For the thrill seekers, however, they are driven to take something real, something they can touch, something with intrinsic value. That is why thieves steal art and jewelry and cars. Those are things you can touch. It is not simply the idea of value, it is the reality. To me, I suspect that has to be the reality behind one of the greatest crimes I have ever heard of. A three-month criminal investigation recently uncovered the theft of thousands and thousands of bricks, worth more than $200,000. And what were these bricks that are so valuable that a criminal ring would conspire to steal? Gold? Platinum?Nope. Plastic. Police officers served a search warrant at a toy store in Eugene, Oregon called Brick Builders on July 3 and recovered 4,153 Lego sets. According to a statement from law enforcement, “In several instances, suspects stole hundreds of dollars’ worth of Lego sets and then immediately went to the Brick Builders store to exchange the stolen items for cash: most often at a fraction of their actual retail value.” While potential charges include retail theft and theft by receiving, the suspects have not been formally charged as of press time. It is important to remember that an accusation is not a conviction. Of all the toys I received at Christmas time or for my birthdays as a child, Legos are one of the few I didn't get bored with after a few months or days or minutes. I cannot help but think that, like myself, someone involved with this (alleged) criminal enterprise has warm childhood memories of those colorful, interlocking bricks.

Harlan Herman Meyer

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