Todd Peak, the former Head of Security at Florida State University’s Strozier Library, pleaded no contest to grand theft charges stemming from the theft of almost 5,000 comics and pulp magazines from the library (see “Head of Security Charged with Theft”). Tallahassee’s WCTV reported that Peak was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 10 years on probation and was ordered to pay $50,000 to FSU and $13,850 to Mike Kissane, who bought a number of the stolen items. The police investigator’s report on the case revealed that many of the stolen comics were sold on Facebook Live events at Wilde Comics and Gaming in Crawfordville, FL, and Peak’s transactions with Kissane took place in the back room of the store. Police did not bring any charges against the owner of Wilde Comics and Gaming.
The works were stolen from the Robert M. Ervin Jr. collection of comics and magazines over a period of 11 months, from March 2020 to February 2021, and they were discovered missing in September 2021.
Shortly after the news of the theft broke, Adam Morrison, a local attorney who also has a part-time comics business, told police that he and Peak both participated in a Facebook Live event hosted at Wilde Comics and Gaming in August 2020. Peak had two longboxes “full of absolutely gorgeous vary high-grade silver age comic books (1970-1984),” Morrison said. He told the police investigator that Peak claimed the comics were from a relative who had died and that he acted “odd and cagey.” The investigator reviewed the video of the Facebook Live event and identified 92 comics that Peak had in his possession that were listed as stolen from FSU. A few days after the event, Peak told Morrison that he had sold the collection to Wilde Comics.
Wilde Comics owner Jason Wilde contacted police in October 2021 to say that he believed he had some comics from the collection. He brought 110 comics, all of which were on the list of items stolen from FSU, to the interview and turned them over as evidence; he also identified Peak as the seller.
The police investigator also reached out to Kissane, who had purchased $13,850 worth of comics in seven transactions. Kissane later turned over more than 27 boxes of comics, pulp magazines, and children’s books to police.
Source: ICv2
