Theft Of $1 Million In Comic Books Was Followed By Death Threat, Collector Says

KANSAS CITY, MO. (CN) - A comic book auctioneer - Jay Parrino's The Mint - duped a collector for five comic books worth a total $1 million, and threatened to kill him if he took legal action about it, the collector claims in Jackson County Court.

Plaintiff Jaquiez Douglas claims he inherited the comic book collection of his late father, which included first editions from the 1930s in mint collection. Among them, he says, were Action Comic No. 1 of 1938, Detective Comic Nos. 1 and 27 of 1939, The Incredible Hulk No. 1 of 1962 and X-Men No. 1 of 1963.

Defendant Lee Parrino, of Lee's Summit, runs his store, Jay Parrino's The Mint, in Blue Springs, the complaint states.

Douglas claims Parrino offered to pay him "top dollar" for items from Douglas' collection, then after accepting delivery of 46 books, claimed the five books above "were missing." But Douglas says Parrino is advertising for sale on its Web site Action Comic No. 1 and Detective Comic No. 1.

Douglas claims Parrino has all 46 comic books, and that "When Douglas told Defendant Jay Parrino he would initiate legal action to recover the comic books, Defendant Jay Parrino threatened Douglas and said if Douglas tried 'to make trouble' then Defendant Jay Parrino 'would have [Douglas] knocked off.'" (Bracketed word in brackets in complaint.)

Douglas says he and his attorneys have tried to get the police to intervene, but "law enforcement personnel have indicated on each occasion that this is a civil matter and have refused to take action."

Douglas wants his comic books back. He is represented by Patrick Miller with Dezube Miller of Overland Park, Kan.

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