REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KRON) — A wealthy Silicon Valley real estate agent lost a legal battle involving a Batmobile in San Mateo County this week.
District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe announced Monday that he is dropping all criminal charges against Batmobile builder Mark Racop.
A Menlo Park-based estate agent, Sam Anagnostou, accused Racop of failing to build a custom-made Batmobile that he ordered in 2017. Racop is the owner of Fiberglass Freaks, an auto shop in Indiana that specializes in building Batman movie-inspired cars.
Anagnostou, who lives in Atherton, paid Racop more than $200,000 for the flashy car with the expectation that it would be built by 2018, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“But delays happened. The pandemic happened. And Anagnostou didn’t make a payment for almost nine months. By 2021, Anagnostou (was) impatient and angry,” the Times wrote.
“He exploded,” Racop told KRON4.
“He ordered a Batmobile, but wealthy people are not patient, they snap their finger and they expect things instantly. He was making payments and then he disappeared, he did not make a payment for nine months,” Racop told KRON4.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office launched a fraud investigation into the Batmobile debacle.
Racop said when California deputies showed up at his auto garage in Indiana, “I was humiliated. I was shocked, hurt, and mystified. I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong. This whole thing has been overwhelming.”
Over the summer, a felony complaint was filed with the San Mateo County Superior Court charging 57-year-old Racop with two felony charges: theft by false pretenses and diversion of construction funds.
Before moving the case forward, prosecutors asked the Sheriff’s Office to conduct further investigations.
On Monday Wagstaffe wrote, “After consideration of all of the facts and circumstances presented to this office, it is my conclusion the evidence does not warrant criminal prosecution. Instead I have concluded the actions of Mr. Racop are best dealt with in civil court proceedings. We will file a written motion to dismiss both charges this week.”
Racop’s Batmobile replicas are full scale drive-able cars officially licensed by D.C. Comics.
Racop has been a fan of Batman since he was two years old. Fiberglass Freaks‘ website writes, “He fell in love with the action, the music, the color, but most of all–with the car. The 1966 Batmobile for Racop is the one and only true Batmobile.”
Each car takes 1,000 hours of labor, and Racop says the demand for his cars requires that he always has three or four in construction. Batmobiles are built complete with Batman’s gadgets, including flamethrowers.
Racop said he agrees with the District Attorney’s decision and that the issue will be better resolved as a civil matter.