SAUGUS — When Saugus-based sports memorabilia dealer Phil Castinetti received a call last month from a fellow dealer in Arizona, he was in for a shock.
The man claimed to have two championship World Series rings belonging to former Red Sox manager Terry Francona.
“I said, ‘that’s kind of hard (to believe). Send me pictures,'” said Castinetti. “I got the pictures and called Terry myself to see if his stuff was missing.”
Sure enough, the rings were gone.
“(Francona) said he had noticed a couple days earlier that the rings weren’t where they were supposed to be, and I told him ‘that’s amazing, because I just got a call, but the guy’s in Phoenix,’ Castinetti said. “He said, ‘well I live in Phoenix,’ so that made sense.”
Unsure if the rings were stolen or merely misplaced, Francona had yet to report the theft when he received Castinetti’s call. After the two determined that the rings were real and did in fact belong to Francona, arrangements were made immediately to return the items to their rightful owner.
“It was good to get them back in his hands, especially since he wasn’t even sure how they got out of his house,” Castinetti said. He estimated the rings, which were from the Red Sox’ 2004 and 2007 World Series championships, to be valued at around $150,000 each.
Although the investigation is ongoing, Castinetti said police were considering whether the memorabilia had been taken by someone employed at Francona’s Phoenix, Arizona property.
“They’re still trying to figure out how exactly it happened,” he said.
On Dec. 18, CBS Boston reported Arizona police had arrested a man named Jamey Estep Tuesday night in connection with the case. He was charged with second degree burglary, theft, and trafficking stolen property. It’s unclear how Estep may have had access to Francona’s home and whether or not the two men know one another.
In a statement made to news website cleveland.com, Francona praised the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for their work on the investigation.
“I am incredibly grateful to the effort that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has put forth in this,” he said. “Beyond that, I can’t comment because it’s an open investigation.”
As for Castinetti, the 30-year veteran of the sports memorabilia industry was just happy he was able to return the rings to Francona.
“It’s a crazy story,” he said. “I’m glad they got back where they belong. They deserve to be in his hands, not the collector’s.”
