20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
15. The Theft Of Some Enterprise Blueprints Led To An FBI Sting Operation
In 1977, when the project was still proceeding as a television series to be called Star Trek II, a man named John Thomas Askew paid a visit to the sets, which were still under construction, and swiped a set of blueprints he found laying out on a workbench.
Askew would have gotten away with the theft if he had just held onto the documents, but in late 1977 he decided to offer the blueprints to a fan, Marc Siegall, for $200. Siegall felt the offer was a bit fishy—possibly because Askew only identified himself as “Mr. X”—and reported the whole thing to Paramount. The studio, in turn, called the FBI.
The FBI set up a sting operation where Siegall would agree to buy the blueprints from Askew for $75. The two men met in a mall on March 2, 1978 and completed the sale. Siegall was sure to pass the marked bills the FBI had provided him slowly, so the entire exchange could be captured on camera. After the money changed hands, federal agents swooped in and read Mr. Askew his rights. At the time, the incident was widely reported in the press, including the memorable headline “Star Trek or Dragnet?” which appeared when the Los Angeles Times covered the story. Today, however, the incident is not widely remembered.