Hey! There's An Oscar Night, Too!

The drama of Academy Awards night will almost be anticlimactic after the mystery of the stolen Oscars.

Most of the 55 statues reported stolen last week were recovered over the weekend next to a trash bin by a man scavenging for valuables. Police said Monday that two men who worked for the company delivering the Oscars were arrested.

"They did it for profit. They thought they could make money," said Detective Marc Zavala.

Bruce Davis, Academy executive director, said the 52 recovered statues look fine and some probably will be awarded Sunday. If any are "nicked or dinged, they will not be used," Davis said.

Now Academy officials, also stung when 4,000 Oscar ballots got lost in the mail this month, hope their biggest remaining worry is how host Billy Crystal will make fun of all the headaches leading up to the big night.

Oscar Watch Critics Take A Look At Best Film Nominees.

"I think he'll have a field day," Davis said.

Police said the Oscar theft was an inside job involving two 10-year employees of Roadway Express, the company hired to deliver the statues. Anonymous tips received Saturday led police to the men, but detectives would not elaborate.

Anthony Keith Hart and Lawrence Edward Ledent, both 38, were arrested Saturday and booked for investigation of grand theft. They were held on $100,000 bail each.

In one of the oddest presentations in Oscar history, officers wheeled two carts loaded with the statues into a news conference by Chief Bernard Parks. Officers slipped on rubber gloves to remove six of the Oscars from their packaging and set them on a table.

Detectives and Academy officials said they didn't know the location of the three other Oscars. The gold-plated statues are 13½ inches tall and weigh 8½ pounds each. The 55 statues cost about $18,000 to manufacture.

The Oscars were shipped March 3 from mnufacturer R.S. Owens of Chicago and arrived at Roadway Express' warehouse in Bell, Calif., on March 8.

Jon Gerloff, security manager for Roadway's western division, said the company believes Hart and Ledent made off with the statues the same day the shipment arrived.

The Academy quickly put in a replacement order to R.S. Owens for more statues to make sure enough would be on hand for Oscar winners.

The statues were found Sunday night by Willie Fulgear, who had been foraging through trash bins and called police to report the discovery.

Fulgear said he hopes to collect some or all of a $50,000 reward put up by Roadway Express. Gerloff said the company had not figured out whether Fulgear would receive some of the money.

Academy executives also said they might invite Fulgear to the Oscars.

With some Oscars already in the Academy vaults and the new statues being made, organizers now have far more than they will need for the big night.

"We have enough for about three years," Academy President Robert Rehme said Monday.

Academy officials also said they have their fingers crossed that nothing else goes wrong in the next five days.

"We've even got a guy guarding Oscar tickets this year," Davis said. "Suddenly, we're paranoid about everything."