THE DANDY, THE DANCER AND THE BARD
British tabloids love Shakespeare caper with Cuban twist
An 'aging Lothario' accused of stealing a $5 million Shakespearean
manuscript has the British papers in a froth.
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
He's an eccentric British antiques collector, middle-aged and a bit of a
dandy. She's a fetching young dancer from Cuba's famed Tropicana nightclub.
Improbably, they fell in love. Even more improbably, they got themselves
entangled in a bit of foreign intrigue involving a purported former
Fidel Castro bodyguard and a stolen Shakespeare manuscript, the latter
387 years old and worth millions.
Now, as the ``aging Lothario'' awaits trial across the pond, London's
tabloid press has gone into palpitations, dubbing the caper
``Shakespeare in Lust'' and calling his girlfriend the ``Cuban cutie''
who ``dances in the sand.''
The man in the middle of this mess is Raymond Scott, a 53-year-old
antiques lover and sometimes-dealer. He pleaded not guilty in Newcastle
on Feb. 26 to charges of theft, handling stolen property and removing
criminal property.
For years, Scott has been traveling to Cuba to sample its fine cigars
and spend time in the tropical sun. It was there in 2007 that he met the
21-year-old Heidy Ríos. He was immediately smitten.
``I know they say communism is on its last legs, but then I saw Heidy's
legs and I thought, `¡Viva Castro!' '' Scott told The Daily Mail
newspaper in an interview.
They became engaged, and she introduced him to a friend. The friend was
Odeiny ``Danny'' Pérez, who claimed to be a former Cuban army major and
Fidel Castro bodyguard, although two former Castro bodyguards now living
in Miami say they have never heard of him.
Pérez's mother had just died and bequeathed to him 54 old books, Pérez
said, including one by the Bard. Scott agreed to sell it, Ríos and Pérez
told The Mail.
That was no ordinary book. When Scott went to the Folger Shakespeare
Library in Washington, D.C., to authenticate it, the chief librarian
told him it appeared to be quite unique and merited closer examination.
He left it in their care.
Next, he was told that the book appeared to be identical to a manuscript
that had been stolen in 1998 from Great Britain's Durham University,
which, by happenstance or not, is 12 miles from the home Scott has
shared with his 80ish mother.
Not long after that, three police officers showed up at Scott's door and
arrested him for theft.
A RARE BREED
Printed in 1623 and containing 36 plays, Shakespeare's First Folio has
been described as one of the most important English-language books ever
published. Only 228 copies are known to exist, each said to be worth at
least $5 million.
But the man intending to sell it was rare, as well, quirky even by
British standards.
Scott packs a crystal champagne flute in his briefcase, wears a diamond
Rolex watch and handmade shoes and has owned a Rolls-Royce, an Aston
Martin, a Lamborghini, and more recently a silver Ferrari 456 -- which
neighbors say he regularly polishes while wearing a silk dressing gown.
He turned up for the February court appearance wearing Che Guevara-like
green army fatigues, a Gucci belt and designer sunglasses, after
arriving for a previous court date in a horse-drawn carriage.
Scott reportedly never went to college, never married and has lived
mostly with his ``sainted mother'' in their modest home. His money, he
has said in interviews with various publications, comes largely from an
inheritance from his father.
He's writing a book now, due to be published in April, titled
Shakespeare and Love.
According to Scott, who is apparently not a ``no comment'' type of
fellow, his previous paramours have included a Miss Newcastle and a
Colombian he met at a British strip club. But that was before he met the
Cuban dancer and was thunderstruck.
ON MAKING MATCHES
Scott could not be located by The Miami Herald, but a spokeswoman at the
Folger Museum, Amy Arden, said Scott indeed ``did bring in a First Folio
that, based on the assessment of our staff, as well as external experts,
is the copy that was stolen from Durham.''
The unique characteristics of each copy of the First Folio have been
fully cataloged, and Scott's copy matches the Durham version except,
suspiciously, for a missing final page -- which, according to published
reports, would have borne Durham's markings.
Scott, who is free on bail as he awaits his next court date, has
insisted he is no thief, just an antiques ``dabbler'' who stumbled into
an unfortunate situation.
As he told The Mail: ``The only things I don't like being old are my
girlfriends.''
British tabloids love Shakespeare caper with Cuban twist - 5-Minute
Herald - MiamiHerald.com (14 March 2010)
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/13/1528514/british-tabloids-love-shakespeare.html
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