Batmobile builder plans return to his passion since felony charges dropped

Oct. 3—The criminal charges against Logansport Batmobile builder Mark Racop have been dropped, but he has a lot of catching up to do to finish his current orders and pay his California lawyer.

"These crazy, ridiculous charges should never have been brought to begin with," Racop said. "Now that they've been dropped, it's like having a giant weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm starting to breathe a tiny, tiny bit."

Racop was charged with diversion of construction funds and obtaining money, labor or property by false pretenses by a sheriff's office in San Mateo County, California. Four deputies from that office raided Racop's business, Fiberglass Freaks, in July. Racop's bank account was frozen, and he was summoned to court in California.

The San Mateo Sheriff, Carlos Bolanos, faced backlash after it was revealed that he allegedly carried out the raid to fulfill a favor to personal friend and campaign donor Sam Anagnostou. Anagnostou, a real estate investor in Menlo Park, California, ordered a custom Batmobile from Racop but became upset when his order was delayed because of late payments and lack of communication with Racop.

San Mateo Disctrict Attorney Steve Wagstaffe decided to review the charges more closely in August to determine whether they should be dropped.

"Once I became aware of the case, got involved with it and learned what was there, I said I wanted further investigation done before I make a final decision on whether the case will go forward," Wagstaffe told the Pharos-Tribune.

Wagstaffe looked through Racop and Anagnostou's emails, talked with the men and their lawyers and analyzed all their communication about the Batmobile. He said his goal was to determine whether there was evidence that Racop promised Anagnostou something he could not deliver. The most important factor in proving a criminal case is fraudulent intent.

"The evidence was inadequate to show intent," Wagstaffe said.

When he began looking into the incident, Wagstaffe said the most important factor to consider was Anagnostou's car itself. He noted that each car receives a number specific to the order. However, he could not find the car with Anagnostou's number.

He also spoke with another customer originally in line after Anagnostou who paid for his Batmobile in full but has not received it yet. Wagstaffe originally believed Anagnostou's car went to that man.

Wagstaffe thought there might be a case because multiple customers had paid full price for Batmobiles, yet he has not seen or heard about any Batmobiles that are currently near completion or that have been delivered recently.

However, the contract between Racop and the buyers does not set specific timelines for delivery. Since the details are vague and there is no clear sign of fraudulent intent, Wagstaffe thinks the case sounds more like a business dispute. He added that his office does not "jump into civil disputes."

"There are too many unknowns," Wagstaffe said. "For us, the case is now closed."

While Racop is relieved that the charges have been dropped, there is still a long way to go before he is back on track. He said COVID-19 had already caused delays in receiving parts, and this incident set work back even further.

"Recovery will take six months," he said. "It was devastating, so it's going to be a long, long haul to be able to get put back together to where I was before the raid. It affected all of my businesses, it affected my workers, it affected all of our customers besides (Anagnostou), and here we are. It's going to be a long, long haul."

Racop said the massive legal fees from the ordeal are a large part of the trouble, but not the entirety. With his bank account frozen for nearly two months, he was unable to buy parts for other orders, pay his workers, or even pay for repairs to his house and businesses.

"It held me from being able to pay my roofer. It held me from being able to order the wheels for the cars and the engines and transmission for two cars that I was all set to order back in July. All of these things have been delayed and will be delayed because now I have to recover from having the account frozen and having to make all of those legal payments. It's a combined situation. It's kind of a perfect storm scenario where you've got so many elements coming together at the same time."

Racop's GoFundMe, Justice for Batman, raised a total of $13,412. An update posted on the GoFundMe page on Sept. 29 said those donations and other fundraisers covered the fees for Racop's legal defense. However, Racop believes there will likely be additional legal fees.

Even though the felony charges against Racop have been dismissed, he could still find himself battling a civil case if Anagnostou chooses to pursue the matter. Anagnostou filed a civil suit against Racop in September 2021 for unlimited breach of contract, but it was dismissed after the judge decided the case should have been filed in an Indiana court.

As for Anagnostou's Batmobile, Racop is unsure what will happen next.

"Sam Anagnostou needs to answer that," Racop said. "Does he want his car still? Or Does he want to go a different direction? Until that question is answered, I don't know what to do. The next step will probably be for my attorneys to get in touch with his attorney and see where he wants to go. He has several options, but we'll see."

Racop said the outpouring of community support has been incredible. He added that people's thoughts and prayers for him gave him the strength to carry on.

"That's what kept me going throughout all of this: knowing the support of the community was behind me. The entire city, the entire state, and really, the entire country, millions of people were supporting me. I could not have asked for better support," he said. "Boy, did that help."

Going forward, Racop said he plans to get back to doing what he loves best: building Batmobiles.

"Thank you so much to the community for the support," he said. "That has been absolutely incredible. Now it's a matter of turning to the positive, which is to get back to doing what I love to do and building more Batmobiles. We have so many other customers that we're working with who are patient, who are supportive and have been absolutely wonderful throughout this whole situation. I cannot wait to complete more cars and get them out the door for them. This whole thing was a potential faith shaker for a lot of people, and thank the Lord it turned out the way we were expecting, wanting and needing it to be."