Report: “Security Chief at Florida State University Library Charged With Grand Theft of Thousands of Rare Comics”

From The Tallahassee Democrat:

There are only four keys to the lock protecting a half-million dollars worth of comic books housed in Florida State University’s Strozier Library.

Todd Peak, the library’s head of security, had access to one of them.

Peak, 38, was arrested by FSU Police on Friday on charges that, in 2020, he stole nearly 5,000 comics from the Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection. Throughout the next two years, police said, he sold them to private buyers and comic book stores throughout the area.

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In all, 4,996 items were missing from the collection that consists of comic books and serials on superheroes, science fiction, fantasy and horror. Over 1,200 serial titles are represented, predominantly from the 1950s through the 1970s. Publications include those by Marvel Comics, DC Comics, underground publishers, foreign language titles and pulp magazines.

Police have been able to recover 2,843 comics from the missing collection.

Learn More, Read the Complete Report

Note: For background, see this post from September, 2021: Report: “Almost 5,000 Valuable Items Stolen From Florida State University Library Comic Collection”

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