Bay Area authorities make arrest in $30,000 trading card theft

Jason Green, The Mercury News on Oct 28, 2026

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SAN MATEO, Calif. – A Pacific Northwest man’s plans to sell a $30,000 anime trading card at a Bay Area card show were thwarted when a vendor recognized the collectible as stolen, police said.

The caper unfolded just before 11 a.m. Sunday at the San Mateo County Event Center, during the second day of the East Bay Card Show, according to the San Mateo Police Department.

Police said the suspect tried to sell a “One Piece” trading card featuring the character Luffy to a vendor, who had seen the card listed as stolen in a Facebook post.

The vendor held onto the card and contacted security. The suspect was then detained until officers arrived.

Officers reached out to the victim, who told them he had agreed to sell the card to the suspect in Garden Grove for $30,000 in cash. The suspect left with the card after paying the victim what turned out to be a just few hundred dollars, police said.

The victim filed a police report and took to Facebook to alert other enthusiasts and vendors about the incident.

Officers detained the suspect – identified as Constantin Nitescu, 44, of Washington – and learned he had tried to sell the card at shows in Las Vegas and Santa Clara County. Both attempts were unsuccessful and he left before officers arrived, police said.

Police said Nitescu is a suspect in a similar crime in Marina and had three warrants for his arrest.

Nitescu was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, theft under false pretenses and providing false identification to law enforcement, as well as for the warrants.

He was booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City, where he remains in custody.