Richard Nagler left a note to the thief outside his business, and it seems to have had the desired effect. Nagler has finally been receiving the WSJ that he has paid for for so many years, it has been on his doorstep since the fateful morning that the thief read his note, writes Tracey Taylor for Berkeleyside.
A well-crafted note
Nagler is obviously a very patient man, waiting for a decade to leave a note for the thief. He offered to let the thief read the WSJ each morning, so long as it was returned to Naglet by 10 or 11 am in “a relatively crisp state with no coffee stains.” Despite video footage showing the perpetrator carefully reading the note, he has not taken Nagler up on his offer.
The mystery of the disappearing WSJ has plagued Nagler for over 10 years, and even put pressure on his marriage. “The situation went critical when my wife fell in love with the Friday WSJ ‘Mansion’ section. Having to face her without that damn section was not very pleasant on Friday evenings,” he said.
In fact, Nagler himself does not seem too fussed about reading the WSJ, claiming that its editorial stance is “reprehensible.” Catching the thief was merely a welcome side effect of the video monitoring system that Nagler installed for other reasons.
A mixed blessing
It sounds as though poor Nagler is torn as to whether the developments are a positive change or not, because he now feels “tremendous guilt” if he doesn’t read the WSJ every day. At least he can proudly take the ‘Mansion’ section home to his wife.
WSJ Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker was not going to miss out on a publicity stunt, and posted two Nagler-style notes on Twitter. In the first he offered Nagler a free iPad on which he can read the WSJ via the publication’s app, just in case the perpetrator resumes his daily thievery. In the second he offers the thief a $12 for 12 weeks subscription to the WSJ, which he can sign up for using the link wsj.com/subscribedontsteal.
Nagler, who was seemingly more bemused than angry at the consistent loss of his morning paper, has declined to publish photos of the perpetrator so as not to embarrass him.
