Latest news with #stolenmemorabilia
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former Heat security officer admits in court to stealing jerseys worth millions, feds say
A former Miami Heat security officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge in connection to stealing team memorabilia worth millions of dollars and selling the items to online brokers. Retired Miami police officer Marcos Tomas Perez appeared Tuesday at U.S. Superior Court for the Southern District of Florida and issued a guilty plea to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce, after pleading not guilty to the felony count at an initial hearing earlier this month. Perez's attorney, Robert Buschel, told NBC6 in Florida after Tuesday's hearing that Perez is "depressed, naturally, but he accepts responsibility for his behavior and we're gonna work through this issue in his life." Perez, 62, faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31. Read more:Ex-Miami Heat employee accused of stealing jerseys worth millions — including LeBron James' "I hope that the judge will consider all factors in his life and his history as a good person," Buschel said. "He was an exemplary police officer in the city of Miami, he's been retired for close to 10 years. This was an unfortunate set of decisions that he made and he's going to accept responsibility for that." Buschel declined to comment any further when reached by The Times via email Wednesday. According to a news release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Miami field office of the FBI, Perez has admitted to stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia worth millions of dollars belonging to the Heat and selling them to online brokers. One such item was a jersey that LeBron James wore in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, during which James and the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win their second consecutive championship. After Perez allegedly sold the jersey for around $100,000, it was sold in an online auction for $3.7 million in 2023. According to court documents, other stolen items included jerseys signed by former Heat stars Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal, as well as team jackets, game-worn sneakers and more. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
New York Times
17 hours ago
- New York Times
Former Heat employee pleads guilty to selling stolen jerseys, memorabilia
Former Miami Heat security officer Marcos Thomas Perez pleaded guilty Tuesday to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Perez, 62, stole more than 400 jerseys and other memorabilia from a secured equipment room and sold them on online marketplaces. The U.S. Attorney's Office said in a release that Perez sold more than 100 stolen items for $1.9 million over three years and shipped them across state lines, often at prices below their market value. The items included a game-worn LeBron James jersey from Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, which later sold for nearly $3.7 million in a 2023 Sotheby's auction. Advertisement Perez, a retired member of the Miami Police Department, worked as a security officer with the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and later served as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. While working on game days at the team's Kaseya Center, Perez had access to an equipment room that stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia intended for a future Heat museum, according to the release. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Perez's home in April and seized almost 300 items that the Heat confirmed had been stolen from their arena. Earlier this month, Perez appeared in federal court and was charged with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce. The charges are reminiscent of those faced by former Augusta National employee Richard Brendan Globensky, who pleaded guilty to stealing items worth an estimated $5.3 million from the country club, including Arnold Palmer's green jacket, which was intercepted in an FBI sting operation in 2022. Globensky received a 12-month prison sentence in March. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Heat security guard pleads guilty to selling millions in stolen memorabilia, including LeBron James NBA Finals jersey
A former Miami Heat security guard pleaded guilty Tuesday in Florida to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce, in connection to the millions of dollars worth of memorabilia he was alleged to have stolen from the team. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, is a retired 25-year veteran of the Miami police department and was employed by the Heat from 2016 to 2021. He also worked in security for the NBA from 2022 until this year. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Per NBC 6 South Florida, his sentencing date has been set for Oct. 31, when he will face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of probation and a fine of up to $250,000. His lawyer reportedly hopes his years in law enforcement will encourage leniency: "He's depressed, naturally, but he accepts responsibility for his behavior and we're gonna work through this issue in his life," defense attorney Robert Buschel said after the hearing. "I hope that the judge will consider all factors in his life and his history as a good person, he was an exemplary police officer in the City of Miami, he's been retired for close to 10 years," Buschel said. "This was an unfortunate set of decisions that he made and he's going to accept responsibility for that." It was during his time working game-day security at the Kaseya Center that Perez was alleged to have stolen hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia from a secured equipment room. The items were kept to be future exhibits at a Heat museum. By the DOJ's count, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and sold more than 100 of them online, making approximately $1.9 million over a 3 1/2-year period. The most notable garment: a LeBron James jersey worn in the NBA Finals, sold for roughly $100,000 and was later auctioned off at Sotheby's for $3.7 million. That jersey would be the one James wore during the Heat's win in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, in which the superstar earned his second title and Finals MVP award. At the time, it was the third-highest price ever received for a game-worn jersey, behind a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals ($10.91 million) and Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" jersey ($9.28 million). Law enforcement reportedly executed a search warrant at Perez's home in April and recovered nearly 300 pieces of memorabilia, all of which the the Heat confirmed to have come from their facility.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Heat security guard pleads guilty to selling millions in stolen memorabilia, including LeBron James Finals jersey
A former Miami Heat security guard pleaded guilty Tuesday in Florida to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce, in connection to the millions of dollars worth of memorabilia he was alleged to have stolen from the team. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, is a retired 25-year veteran of the Miami police department and was employed by the Heat from 2016 to 2021. He also worked in security for the NBA from 2022 until this year. Per NBC 6 South Florida, his sentencing date has been set for Oct. 31,, when he will face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of probation and a fine of up to $250,000. His lawyer reportedly hopes his year in law enforcement will encourage leniency: "He's depressed, naturally, but he accepts responsibility for his behavior and we're gonna work through this issue in his life," defense attorney Robert Buschel said after the hearing. "I hope that the judge will consider all factors in his life and his history as a good person, he was an exemplary police officer in the City of Miami, he's been retired for close to 10 years," Buschel said. "This was an unfortunate set of decisions that he made and he's going to accept responsibility for that." It was during his time working gameday security at the Kaseya Center that Perez was alleged to have stolen hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia from a secured equipment room. The items were kept to be future exhibits at a Heat museum. By the DOJ's count, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and sold more than 100 of them online, making approximately $1.9 million over a three-and-a-half year period. The most notable garment: a LeBron James jersey worn in the NBA Finals, sold for roughly $100,000 and later auction off at Sotheby's for $3.7 million. That jersey would be the one James wore during the Heat's win in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, in which the superstar earned his second title and Finals MVP award. At the time, it was the third-highest price ever received for a game-worn jersey, behind a Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals ($10.91 million) and Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" jersey ($9.28 million). Law enforcement reportedly executed a search warrant at Perez's home in April and recovered nearly 300 pieces of memorabilia, all of which the the Heat confirmed to have come from their facility.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Former Miami Heat security officer pleads guilty to selling stolen memorabilia
MIAMI (AP) — A former Miami Heat security officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to transporting and transferring millions of dollars worth of stolen game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was a 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department. The Miami resident worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and FBI Miami, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and other items from a secured equipment room and sold items through various online marketplaces. He had access because he worked on the game-day security detail at the Kaseya Center. He was one of a few employees with access to a secured equipment room that stored memorabilia the Heat organization planned to display in a future team museum. Over a three-year period, authorities say Perez sold more than 100 stolen items for approximately about $1.9 million and shipped them across state lines, often at bargain prices. They say he sold a Miami Heat jersey LeBron James wore during the NBA Finals for approximately $100,000. That same jersey later sold at a Sotheby's auction for $3.7 million.
