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Beanie Babies to be auctioned

CHICAGO, Dec. 13 -- If a suburban Chicago judge gives his approval, 1,200 Beanie Babies being held by Carol Stream police will be auctioned off for charity next week. Ty Inc., the company that manufactures the toys, says it has agreed with police and a Chicago radio station, WGN-AM, to auction the toys for the station's Neediest Kids charity fund.

A DuPage County judge will be asked Monday to approve the auction. The toys have been the subject of a tug-of-war between the toymaker, Carol Stream police and the Glendale Heights grandfather they were taken from. The Beanie Babies have been held by police since the arrest last May of 77-year-old Ben Perri, who was accused of possession of stolen property. Perri was cleared of criminal charges last month and has been trying to get police to hand over the 12 cases of Beanie Babies. Police are holding the toys in a storage locker, saying Perri has no proof he owns them. They also suspect the stuffed animals are part of the horde of 60,000 Beanie Babies stolen from a Ty Inc., warehouse in Westmont, Ill., last year. Perri contends he bought the toys last spring at flea markets for $2 each. He said he paid cash for the stuffed animals, which he planned to resell. Beanie Babies typically sell for about $5 each, but the styles confiscated from Perri are discontinued styles. The 1,200 Radars, Garcias, Bubbles and Diggers could raise about $60,000. ---

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