FBI - FBI RAID COPPERFIELD'S WAREHOUSE

FBI RAID COPPERFIELD'S WAREHOUSE

FBI agents have seized almost $2 million (GBP1 million) in cash in a raid on a warehouse owned by magician DAVID COPPERFIELD, following an investigation in Washington. Federal agents from Seattle raided Copperfield's Las Vegas warehouse on Wednesday (17Oct07). A computer hard drive and a memory card from a digital camera were also seized during the raid. Robbie Burroughs, spokeswoman for the Seattle division of the FBI, confirmed out-of-state officers travelled to Nevada after a tip-off, but refused to state the reason behind the raid. She says, "The only thing we're confirming right now is that there was some investigative activity in the Las Vegas area (on Wednesday) connected with a Seattle-area case, both of which are pending." Copperfield's lawyer, David Chesnoff, says, "We understand there is an investigation, (we) are in touch with the investigators, and are respecting the confidentiality of the investigation." Forbes magazine claims the warehouse, located in an industrial section of the city, is rarely seen by anybody other than magic scholars. According to the U.S. magazine, the storage place 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.