Posted on 10/18/2007 6:07:50 PM PDT by lowbridge
Magician David Copperfield has been linked to an FBI investigation, authorities confirmed Thursday.
A Las Vegas warehouse operated by Copperfield was raided by 12 agents Wednesday night, TV station KLAS reports. A computer hard drive, digital camera system, and nearly $2 million in cash were seized, the station reports.
"The only thing we're confirming right now is that there was some investigative activity in the Las Vegas area yesterday connected with a Seattle-area case, both of which are pending," said Robbie Burroughs, spokeswoman for the Seattle division of the FBI.
Copperfield's attorney, David Chesnoff, told KLAS: "We understand there is an investigation, (we) are in touch with the investigators, and are respecting the confidentiality of the investigation."
The warehouse, located in an industrial section of the city, is rarely seen by anybody other than magic scholars, according to Forbes magazine, which got a rare glimpse last year.
The magazine said the two-story building, which Copperfield calls the International Museum & Library of the Conjuring Arts, contains "an Ali Baba's trove of sports cars, vintage automatons, gargoyle heads, gadgetry and an electric chair," as well as 80,000 books, illusions, posters and memorabilia.
Copperfield is among the richest entertainers in the world. According to Forbes, Copperfield earned $57 million in 2003, ranking him that year as the 10th-highest paid globally.
Copperfield was once engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer, but the couple split in 1999 after six years together.
What a gig.
The FBI is gonna freak when all the evidence just suddenly disappears.
Al Qaeda cell?
Look behind the mylar! Look behind the mylar!
I guess it's different when your basic necessities are not a significant portion of every take-home paycheck, but knock three zeroes off that and you'd be looking at a guy who makes $57K who has $2000 in cash on hand.
Stuff doesn't scale equally, of course; you don't worry about a timing belt blowing out and costing you half a million to fix, but I'm willing to believe that there's a lot of cash-on-the-barrelhead payments for equipment and services in the magic biz.
Can I guess kiddie porn? Copperfield has always struck me as creepy.
I’m just really curious as to what’s going on here. It almost sounds like they aren’t going after Copperfield himself but someone else who may be using the building for nefarious ends. Something doesn’t add up here. Copperfield is filthy rich so can’t see him being involved in underworld illegal activities. Plus he seems to have been informed by the FBI about the investigation. Will be interested to find out what the bottom line is here.
Odd story,we shall see what happens.
That’s what I was thinking.
Think he’ll just disappear?
I’m waiting for the hard drive to turn into a rabbit...
Claudia got tired of him always playing “hide the salami.”
After she left Copperfield, she was engaged to her plastic surgeon, Dr. Geoffry Brains, and planning to hyphenate her name. Yup she was going to be ...
Claudia Shiffer-Brains!
I’mm surprised they found anything at all. I clicked on the link hoping the article would say: “FBI agents raid David Copperfield’s Warehouse, and, surprisingly, find nothing there.”
If it has anything to do with kiddie porn, I opt for the saw in half trick!
Henning has the creepy South Park reading instructor look!
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