The U.S. Attorney’s office indicted a man Tuesday for transporting Masters merchandise and memorabilia that he knew was stolen from Augusta National Golf Club.
Federal authorities did not share details about the items — which the government said were taken from 2009-22 —but cllct has exclusively learned, through three sources, that among them was Arnold Palmer’s Green Jacket, which he earned as a four-time Masters champion.
Calls and e-mails to Augusta National requesting comment were not returned.
For its part, ANGC has never publicly acknowledged Palmer’s Green Jacket went missing from the club. Palmer died in 2016 at age 87, and in 2017, Augusta National honored the legend by placing his jacket on a chair on the course. Multiple sources told cllct that Palmer has had many Green Jackets, and that ceremonial jacket was not his winner’s jacket.
A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member's goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.
The middleman found the jacket, photomatched it to the one Palmer wore in 1958, and a price of $3.6 million was agreed upon, according to a person with knowledge of the terms.
On March 31, 2022, the buyer, the middleman and the son of the seller met at the seller’s house to exchange the item.
The three men stood in the house and inspected the jacket, and the middleman paid a deposit to take the jacket with him, according to a source with knowledge of the government’s case.
When the men walked out of the house, FBI agents swarmed them. The buyer and the middleman were let go. The son of the seller was questioned, and the seller himself was later interrogated, sources say.
The jacket was seized with a seizure warrant, which cllct has reviewed.
The feds charged Richard Globensky with bringing Masters items — which sources told cllct included a huge amount of stolen tournament merchandise — across state lines from Augusta, Georgia, to Tampa. The indictment does not say Globensky stole or sold them.
Globensky is scheduled to be arraigned and enter a plea May 15, according to the Chicago Tribune. Cllct's attempt to reach the courthouse has not been returned.
If Globensky is convicted, he will have to forfeit any property connected to the crimes, including money. If certain property cannot be recovered, Globensky will have to forfeit something equivalent in its place.
It is not known what else is missing, but it’s hard to imagine any piece of golf memorabilia more valuable than Arnold Palmer’s Green Jacket.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.