Milwaukee Bucks center Robin Lopez is involved in a high-profile criminal case and investigation involving stolen Disney World items. Lopez, a big Disney fan, unknowingly bought rare vintage items that turned out to be stolen.
According to audio interviews released by the state attorney's office after a public records request by The Orlando Sentinel, Lopez had clothing from an old Epcot animatronic named Buzzy allegedly worth upwards of $7,000. The clothing was meant to be sent to Disney's archives in Anaheim, but was stolen before they got there.
Two men, Patrick Spikes, a former Disney employee, and his cousin Blanton Taunton are accused of stealing the items after sneaking into Disney World. Both are pleading not guilty.
Around the time of the charges, according to the Sentinel, two people, later identified as Lopez and his friend Brett Finley, paid $29,451 over PayPal for the items in question.
Lopez claims he was unaware the items were stolen and Finley said they both even asked Spikes if the items were stolen when they purchased them.
Finley told authorities, via the Sentinel:
"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,'
It's really frustrating that you get scammed into these things. 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 added that he and Lopez would be willing to work with authorities "100%."
Buzzy was featured at Epcot's Cranium Command attraction until it was shut down in 2007. Not only were the clothes stolen, but Buzzy itself is still missing and valued to be worth $400,000.