Veteran rapper Pete Nice of 3rd Bass fame is ensnared in a legal battle with a former business partner that has lead to an FBI investigation over missing baseball memorabilia from the New York Public Library.
In addition to rapping, Pete Nice, born Peter Nash, was a well known baseball memorabilia collector in his post-rap days.
According to the New York Times, Pete Nice in an expert on baseball history, while collector Rob Lifson is president of Robert Edwards Auctions, a prestigious sports memorabilia auction firm.
The relationship went sour when Lifson accused Pete Nice of failing to payback hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans, while Pete Nice claimed Lifson sold pieces he used as collateral for the loans, without permission.
In December, the former rapper lost a judgment when a judge awarded Lifson a $760,000 judgment.
Pete Nice has now hit back with allegations that Lifson, who was caught stealing from the library as a teen in the late 1970’s, allegedly stole or sold valuable items swiped from the New York Public Library.
“I’ve assisted the FBI and New York Public Library in their recovery efforts and in light of their ongoing investigations,” Pete Nice told The New York Times in a statement. “It would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time.”
In a statement to the New York Daily News, Lifson claims Pete Nice is just a disgruntled former business partner who lost a judgment.
“I want to set the record straight regarding untrue accusations promoted (via rumor and innuendo) by a very few individuals who wish to attempt to hurt my reputation by suggesting that I am responsible in any way for the theft of any of the missing items that have been stolen over the years from the collection of the New York Public Library.”