NBA player unknowingly bought stolen collectibles
Milwaukee’s Lopez purchased rare Disney items, report states
NBA player Robin Lopez, a longtime Disney fan, unwittingly bought rare items stolen from Disney World in a high-profile criminal case, newly released records reveal.
The Milwaukee Bucks player was in possession of clothing that belonged to a vintage Epcot animatronic called Buzzy — items that authorities later discovered were stolen before the clothes could be sent to Disney’s archives in Anaheim, according to the audio interviews released by the state attorney’s office after an Orlando Sentinel public records request.
Some of the audio exchanges recorded in April are between a pair of Orange County sheriff’s investigators and Lopez’s friend, Brett Finley, a certified public accountant from Winter Park.
They shed more light on the case, including the athlete’s connection as a victim in the case.
Patrick Spikes, an ex-Disney employee known for his social media that showed behind the scenes areas of Disney, and his cousin, Blaytin Taunton, are accused of sneaking into Disney World and stealing items that Spikes allegedly sold to capitalize on the lucrative market for Disney exclusive merchandise.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.
Finley is a Disney collector and a member of Club 33, the high-roller, membership-only club at the parks. He had bonded with Lopez over their love of Disney and was close enough to have Lopez’s cell phone, which he gave to authorities when an investigator asked for it so he could avoid “causing a stir” with the NBA.
Lopez purchased Buzzy’s clothes from Spikes after the two began corresponding on eBay, Finley said during his April interview with investigators. The records don’t say whether Disney received the items back.
Last year, deputies began investigating after the animatronic “Buzzy” and his clothing — including a bomber jacket, headphones and green hat, valued at $7,000 — went missing from the Cranium Command attraction at Epcot. The new audio did not say what clothes specifically Lopez had.
“We had a call with Patrick … Robin and I both … The first question Robin asked, ‘Was any of this stuff stolen?’ [Spikes] said, ‘No, it’s not,’” Finley told authorities.
“It’s really frustrating that you get scammed into these things,” Finley went on to say. “If it’s not legit, we don’t want it. [Lopez], he’s a high-profile, like you said. I’m a CPA. I have a family.”
Finley and Spikes’ attorney could not be reached for comment Monday.
The sheriff’s investigators stressed both the former Stanford center and Finley were victims. Finley
might need to file a civil lawsuit to reclaim the money lost after unknowingly buying the stolen items for his collection, they told him, according to the audio. No lawsuit appears to have been filed yet.
Lopez would be willing to cooperate with authorities “100%,” Finley said, who tried unsuccessfully calling the NBA player that day. Lopez did not answer his phone when the Sentinel contacted him Monday. His voicemail box was full, and he did not respond immediately to text messages.
Both Robin and his twin brother, Brook Lopez, are scheduled to appear at Disney Springs’ new NBA Experience attraction on Halloween.
The handmade Buzzy animatronic itself, valued at $400,000, also was missing, investigators said, from the audio released last week.
Finley remembered seeing Buzzy’s headphones in the trunk of Spikes’ white BMW when the two met after Finley wanted to buy his memorabilia last summer, he said.
Spikes denied having a role in any of the missing items, he told investigators during a videotaped interview also released by the state attorney’s office. The video also showed him briefly scuffling with investigators when he tried to reach for his phone that had been taken away.
Spikes had presented himself as being a Disney employee who worked closely with Imagineers and had special access to get exclusive Disney items, according to the audio. Authorities described Spikes as sneaking into storage areas to steal things from Disney and making fake ID badges to gain access to employee-only areas.
“He just thinks can do whatever he wants,” one investigator told Finley. “It’s unfortunate you guys are victimized as well.”
It wasn’t just Lopez and Finley who fell for Spikes’ story, investigators said in the audio. So did at least one other, an Orlando attorney, who knew Finley and also purchased items, authorities said, acknowledging they are investigating the theft of $500,000 worth of items.
“I’ve been working on this forever, and I’m getting tired of it. I’d like to get everything,” one investigator lamented about the wide scope of the case.
Finley told authorities he gave Spikes more than $8,000 for nostalgic pieces from rides that were no longer in operation and one-of-a-kind memorabilia from the Magic Kingdom attractions. He bought signs taken from Hollywood Studios’ Great Movie Ride and Body Wars at Epcot. He also purchased a dress belonging to a “ghostly” dancing animatronic in the Haunted Mansion ride and a door from Storybook Circus, all from the Magic Kingdom.
An Epcot sign that said “Sensor” above the rainbow tunnel on the old Journey into Imagination with Figment was also missing, an investigator told Taunton, Spikes’ cousin who also faces criminal charges.
“My thing is I want to return this stuff back (to Disney),” the investigator said on the tape. “That ride has been there since the day the place opened … It’s iconic. The only one on the planet. It’s been there since 1980-something. You were the last one to touch it on the entire planet Earth. … You know, there’s Disney nuts out there and they’re freaking out. Where is it? Where did it go?”
Spikes and Taunton face charges of dealing in stolen property, grand theft, and burglarizing a structure at the Magic Kingdom between July 2018 and Jan. 8. In addition, Spikes is charged with burglary of a building at Epcot, according to court records.
This month, the state attorney’s office abandoned another charge against Spikes — attempted tampering of evidence — after his attorney filed a motion arguing his client had not received a speedy trial since he was originally arrested in December, court records show.
The charge was related to Spikes trying to grab his phone during his interview with law enforcement.