DESCRIPTION:
On this episode of They Walk Among America… Betty Jean Gooch was just beginning her shift as the Special Collections Librarian at the Transylvania University Library in Lexington, Kentucky, on the 7th of December, 2004. The Transylvania University Library is known as the scholarly heart of Transylvania’s campus, and at any given day of the week, it’s teeming with people. Betty had been working at the library since 1994. It was a job that she loved, and she found herself lucky to hold such a role. That morning, Betty received a phone call at the library. The man on the other end of the line identified himself as “Walter Beckman,” an out-of-town businessman. He requested an appointment at the Special Collections Library to view several rare books, including Origin of Species, Illuminated Manuscripts, and the John James Audubon collection. Betty agreed, and she told Mr. Beckman to come to the library at 2PM on the 16th of December, 2004, and she would show him the aforementioned books. As the Special Collections Librarian, this was Betty’s job…
*** LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED ***
‘They Walk Among America’ is a Law & Crime podcast network production.
This episode was hosted by Nina Innsted.
Researched and written by Emily G. Thompson.
Editing and scoring by Kory Hilpmann.
Script editing, additional writing and production direction by Rosanna and Benjamin Fitton.
MUSIC:
Shadow Passage by Cody Martin
Rampant by CJ-O
Altered Fate by Cody Martin
Sun Dust by Cody Martin
Tainted By Darkness by Cody Martin
Closure by Dakota Mack
Forever and a Day by Itebloomr
Additional musical compositions by Kory Hilpmann.
For more information, visit https://lawandcrime.com/podcasts/ or https://theywalkamonguspodcast.com/
REFERENCES:
COURT DOCUMENTS
https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0062p-06.pdf
NEWSBANK
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), November 2, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), February 12, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), February 16, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), February 20, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), March 4, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), March 11, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), April 21, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), September 17, 2005
Associated Press Archive, December 7, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), December 7, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), December 11, 2005
Kentucky Post, The (Covington, KY), December 28, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), January 10, 2006
Kentucky Post, The (Covington, KY), January 18, 2006
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), November 12, 2007
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), October 31, 2008
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), November 20, 2010
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), May 27, 2008
Lexington Herald-Leader: Blogs (KY), April 12, 2018
San Francisco Chronicle: Web Edition Articles (CA), May 30, 2018
Lexington Herald-Leader: Web Edition Articles (KY), June 14, 2018
Lexington Herald-Leader: Blogs (KY), June 25, 2018
Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), August 30, 2018
ONLINE SOURCES
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/15/inside-the-2004-6-million-transy-book-heist-and-how-they-got-caught.html
https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2015/02/transy-book-heist