Elderly Man Killed For His Comic Book Collection

[Shawn Hopkins]

It's always disappointing how horrid some people can be.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/19/77yearold-brutally-beaten_n_768208.html

ALBANY, N.Y. — An unassuming 77-year-old bachelor who had hoped to sell a valuable comic book collection and leave the money to his family was robbed by a Rochester businessman's thugs, was roughed up and hours later died of a heart attack, authorities said.

Homer Marciniak got his first comic book when he was 6 and hoped to leave his sisters and nephew with the proceeds from the collection, valued at $40,000 to $100,000, said Jose Avila, police chief in Medina, in rural western New York between Rochester and Buffalo.

That quest took him to several comic book shops in the Rochester area – and to Rico Vendetti, the owner of a tavern and a restaurant who once owned a collectibles business, the police chief said.

"I think he ran into the wrong person, and this person thought, 'This is something I can get from this guy,'" Avila said.

Marciniak, who wasn't married and had no children, was a "very well-known, very quiet churchgoing man" around Medina who had worked as a janitor at a bank, said Avila, the police chief.

Thieves broke into his home around 4 a.m. July 5 and hit him in the face. He was treated at a hospital, returned home that afternoon and was interviewed by police, and died of the heart attack after officers left, the police chief said. He had a heart condition, authorities said.

The case broke Thursday night when a woman charged with prostitution in Rochester gave investigators information that led to the arrest, Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone said.

Police charged Vendetti, 41, and Juan Javier, 17, with burglary. They are not charged with beating Marciniak and will not be charged with murder, Avila said, but more charges are pending against them and more arrests are expected.
Vendetti was freed after posting $100,000 bail Friday. Javier was arraigned Monday and jailed on $100,000 bail. Messages left with their lawyers weren't immediately returned. Messages left for Vendetti at his two Rochester businesses – Papa Van's Restaurant and Al's Green Tavern – also went unreturned.

The comic books haven't been recovered, and the exact connection to the woman charged with prostitution wasn't clear.

Elizabeth Mielcarek, the victim's 83-year-old sister, would say only that she was surprised and pleased about the arrests.

In addition to the comic books, some of which dated to the '30s and '40s, the thieves made off with cash, coins and firearms, authorities said.

Avila said that in the weeks afterward, he and his wife spent Sundays visiting flea markets and garage sales, hoping a comic book dealer would have a tip that could lead to an arrest, Avila said.

"I was hoping to get a lucky break for Homer," Avila said. "He could not handle losing those comic books. To him, they were priceless."

They punched him in the face when robbing him and then he died, even if the law won't charge them it's clearly their fault. You should know that if you beat an old man he's likely to die on you.

Comics are something that are supposed to make people happy, it's terrible when they're at the center of something so awful. And he was trying to be unselfish with them and use them to help his family, too.

I hope they recover the collection. I'd hate to see some unscrupulous comic book dealers profit from this crime, and I'd definitely hate to think I might get a good deal on some tainted murder comics at a show.

 

[Wonderwall]

Terrible news. A nice old man gets robbed of really a life's work to help out future generations of his family and this happens to him. I really hope they find the comics too so obviously his wishes of them going to his family are kept.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

As a collector it really steams me when someone steals someone's collection. They only care about if for the bit of money they can for it by pawning it or otherwise selling it off. They don't care about all the time and effort and emotional investment the collector has in his collection. A collection is worth more than its monetary value.

 

[Bat-Fan Beyond]

Man, that's really messed up! I hate thieves, especially those who violently rob from the elderly. And as a comic collector and appreciator, it pisses me off even more.

It probably broke that poor guy's heart to feel that he had to sell them in the first place; But, for the benefit of his family, he put all that emotional attachment aside and was willing to make the sacrifice -- only to lose the comics entirely, not to mention his own life, to some scumbags. It's just sad.

 

[Light Lucario]

That's so sad. I'm sorry that the man lost his life like this, especially when he was trying to help out his family, and the thieves probably don't care about the emotional worth of those comics as much as Mr. Marciniak did. I hope that they're able to uncover where the comics are so his last wish to help his family with the money can be realized. I also hope that he is at peace and his family will be able to get through the emotional pain.

 

[BrendaBat]

God this story is depressing. This man wanted to do something noble (selling off a collection that undoubtedly meant the world to him so that his family could have financial security), and he ends up losing both the collection and his life. Hopefully, the police have notified all the local comic/collectibles retailers and told them to keep an eye out for the stolen books.

Police charged Vendetti, 41, and Juan Javier, 17, with burglary. They are not charged with beating Marciniak and will not be charged with murder, Avila said, but more charges are pending against them and more arrests are expected.

I hope the thieves at least get nailed with a manslaughter charge. It's pretty obvious that the stress of the robbery and the beating he received triggered the heart attack that killed him.

 

[Manga4life]

Yeah, that's a sad story and it's unfortunate that someone had to die just because they may have some rare comic books that someone may find a profit in stealing and selling. Like Shawn said, it seems like whenever someone steals something like comic books it's basicly for the main purpose of selling them, the fact that the books contain stories and are worth reading never registers with them and they don't take into account that the person they are stealing from has spent their hard earned money on crafting their collection and that it may mean something to them, but I guess if your a thief then none of that means anything to you and all you want to do is to bank off of someones else's hard work.

This world ticks me off sometimes, if someone ever tried to steal my collection from me they had better hope I'm not home because if I was then they would be in for the fight of their lives whether they had a weapon or not. I've put way too much time, effort and money into building this collection to let some fool steal it all away from me.

 

[Rick Jones]

It's really unfortunate what happened to that man and his family. It's a shame that he ever crossed paths with these despicable characters.

The situation makes me think of the movie Comic Book Villains but while that was a dark comedy, this is nothing but tragic. Hopefully the thieves are justly punished.

 

[GatorMan92]

It's amazing what people'll do nowadays.

 

[RogueFanKC]

My prayers

I hope the thieves at least get nailed with a manslaughter charge. It's pretty obvious that the stress of the robbery and the beating he received triggered the heart attack that killed him.

Ditto; I'm surrpised how even if they cannot be charged with murder, mansluaghter is definitely possible.

And I feel so sorry for Homer and his family. He never married, lived a quiet life, and yet he wanted to sell his comic books so that he can leave some money to his extended family. That's..."tragic" is too light of a word for that.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

You've got to understand that initial police charges aren't the final word. These people will probably face a grand jury indictment and then we'll see if it differs.

 

[TheVileOne]

That's a bit sensational since he wasn't DIRECTLY killed for his comic book collection. It doesn't make it any less bad but I mean, the intent of the sensationalistic headline is there.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

That's a bit sensational since he wasn't DIRECTLY killed for his comic book collection. It doesn't make it any less bad but I mean, the intent of the sensationalistic headline is there.

Your semantic argument seems to be based on a significant legal misunderstanding. You don't have to plan to kill someone in the commission of certain crimes to be responsible if they die because of them. Half of the homicide trials I covered would have led to acquittals if that was true.

Something like a home-invasion robbery is a conscious decision that subjects the person being robbed to a significant risk of death. It's made worse by the obvious age and poor health of the victim, which any reasonable person would realize is more likely to die if assaulted. The thieves took actions to get the comic book collection that eventually killed this man, so to to say he was killed for his comic book collection is accurate and fair.

Look, because of the time lapse I doubt they could get any murder charge to stick, but they should at least try for reckless homicide or manslaughter, which don't require proving to a jury there was intent to kill or knowledge their actions would likely kill. I think that murder would be more appropriate, however, because it meets the legal test for it in that they should have known that robbing and beating an old man was likely to kill him.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I don't usually post in the comics forum (not really a comic book guy) but this is a horrible story. I'd equate it to someone stealing my DVD or video game collections just to make a quick buck; same deal. It's not just the massive money lost, but the sentimental value of owning said items and having fun with them. For someone to take that away... just ugh.

Luckily these two goons have been caught, if nothing else. If there were more involved, I hope they're arrested too.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

An update on this. Some of the comics turned up on Ebay and the feds are alleging that the guy behind it was running a "theft to order" scheme where he would pay people to steal goods for him to sell. The more that is revealed, the sleazier it gets.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/na...c_book_loot_on_ebay/srvc=home&position=recent

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A western New York businessman enlisted thieves and sold on eBay a huge assortment of their stolen merchandise, including vintage comic books believed taken from a collector who was roughed up and later died of a heart attack, authorities said Wednesday.
Rico Vendetti, 41, owner of a tavern and a restaurant in Rochester, was charged this week with racketeering and transporting stolen goods across state lines. The items ranged from razor blades and over-the-counter drugs to power tools and GPS devices with an estimated retail value surpassing $1 million.
"He gave these various people lists of things he was willing to buy and they went out and stole them almost on order," said Tony Bruce, an assistant U.S. attorney in Buffalo.

The FBI began investigating Vendetti after he was among six people charged with burglary in a July 5 break-in at the home of Homer Marciniak, 77, who lived alone in small-town Medina, midway between Rochester and Buffalo.
Medina police say thugs punched Marciniak in the face and tied him up before dawn, then made off with more than 400 comic books valued at $40,000 to $100,000 that he’d been collecting since boyhood. After getting stitches at a hospital, Marciniak died of a heart attack that afternoon.
In federal court Tuesday, Vendetti was ordered held until a bail hearing Friday. His lawyer, Joseph Damelio, did not return repeated calls for comment.
Since mid-October, authorities in Orleans County have charged Vendetti and five other Rochester residents, including two men picked up Friday in Miami, with first-degree burglary, county District Attorney Joseph Cardone said.
The federal charges reopened the possibility that Marciniak’s body might be exhumed to determine whether his heart attack presented itself during the break-in. "If we are able to lodge more serious charges, it’s certainly something we’re open to doing," Cardone said. Authorities initially said the men would not face murder charges.
Medina’s police chief, Jose Avila, said Marciniak told him at the hospital that he’d visited shops in Rochester to find out how much his comic books were worth.
"He kept them in good condition," Avila said. "They’re all vintage, from early 1940s right up to ’60s and ’70s. They were worth a lot of money but, to Homer, they were worth a lot more. They were his pride and joy. We believe that he looked into selling but he just couldn’t part with them."
Federal officials said Vendetti has long enlisted people willing to rip off consumer goods from grocery stores, pharmacies, cars and homes in return for payoffs, including a promised $3,000 to steal Marciniak’s comics. One operator alone estimated that, over the last six years, he sold goods to Vendetti worth $600,000 to $700,000, Bruce said.
Three comic books listed for sale on Vendetti’s website matched those on an itemized list kept by Marciniak, one of them a rare 1948 edition featuring the Human Torch, a superhero of the Marvel Comics universe. "You can infer they were the same comic books," Bruce said.