TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The head of security at a Florida State University library was arrested last week after he stole nearly 5,000 rare comic books and sold them to private buyers and area comic shops, police said.
Todd Peak, 38, of Crawfordville, was arrested by FSU police Friday on charges including grand theft and dealing in stolen property.
According to police, Peak had one of the four keys that allowed entry into the area in the subbasement of the Robert Manning Strozier Library where the comic collection was kept.
The comics were first reported missing in September. A few days later, the owner of a comic shop in Suwannee County told police that Peak came into the store with two long boxes "full of absolutely gorgeous very high-grade silver age comic books (1970-1984)" and was looking to sell them quickly. The owner said Peak's behavior was "odd and cagey."
Police said Peak made posts in a Facebook group that he was "looking to downsize his collection." Police said the comics being sold were all listed as stolen from FSU.
READ: List of stolen comics
According to police, a search warrant revealed that Peak searched for the value of the comics 448 times since the theft.
FSU released a statement to WTXL in Tallahassee saying that Peak was no longer a university employee.
Police have been able to recover 2,843 comics from the missing collection.
