William Strupp, DDS, the Yankees Major League Baseball team dentist since 1995 recently recovered thousands of dollars worth of sports memorabilia stolen from him with the help of Clearwater, FL, police, according to a news story in the Clearwater Patch.
Since becoming the team's dentist, Dr. Strupp has conducted dental exams on the players at spring training, and over the years he has collected more than 100 signed baseballs, three baseball bats, and other valuable items that were kept in a back room in part of his office, according to the story.
The sports memorabilia and some office equipment were stolen sometime between November 16 and 17. Since the items would be difficult to pawn, Clearwater police suggested putting up a Craigslist ad offering a reward for the return of the items.
The plan worked and Dr. Strupp received a call from a man who said he would take cash for the items. A location for the swap was arranged, and Dr. Strupp was able to recover most of the stolen items with the help of a sting operation.
Police arrested Robert Kinzinger, 41, and Dana Eson, 48, and charged them with two counts of dealing in stolen property.
