RBMS Security Committee: Theft Reports 2008
This is a list of incidents reported in the public media and on open listservs, such as Exlibris. The "Incidents of Theft" list was begun in 1987 and is updated by a member of the RBMS Security Committee. Although known to be incomplete, the list does provide an indication of the extent and variety of reported and alleged thefts. For reports in the Exlibris electronic discussion list since April 1991, consult the list archives.
The following list contains notices of thefts that occurred or were reported in 2008. For additional coverage or for information on how to report notices for possible inclusion on the list, please consult the cumulative index.
2008
December 2008
UPDATE: Lester F. Weber, former archivist at the Mariners’ Museum who stole thousands of museum documents and sold them on the Internet, was sentenced Wednesday [December 17] to four years in prison.
Source: Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Dec. 18, 2008
UPDATE: The Federal Public Ministry in Rio de Janeiro (MPF/RJ) won in court the conviction of Laessio Rodrigues de Oliveira to five years in prison for theft of rare books from the library of the Institute for Research Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro. Five years ago, he stole the three volumes of "Amphibia," by Johan Baptist von Spix (1839), the "Nova genera et species plantarum quas in itinere annis 1817-1820," by Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1824), and the "Exactissima Descriptio Quarundam Plantarum" by Tobias Aldinus (i.e., Pietro Castelli) (1625). The crime, committed at the end of 2003, was established in March 2004 with the completion of the inventory of the rare books from the library. In that year, Laessio de Oliveira was arrested with other books with him, stolen from the collection of the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro. In his house, he also had books from the Historic Archive of Blumenau, in Santa Catarina, and the Mario de Andrade Library, in Sao Paulo.
Source: Museum Security Network electronic discussion list, posted Dec. 8, 2008
During the week of July 8, the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library experienced the theft of a large antique porcelain plate from its historic reading room. In a witness statement to the Connecticut State Police, which is investigating the theft, the library’s director said she gave a tour of the library on July 7 and remembers seeing the serving plate in its place, mounted above the fireplace in the reading room. The following day, she gave another tour and this time noticed the place was missing. Approximately 14 inches in diameter, the plate is blue around its outside edge with flowers of gold leaf and red, hand painted. Anyone having information as to the plate's whereabouts or having seen the piece for sale at auction should contact Sal Milardo of the Connecticut State Police at 860-399-6221, referencing case no. CFS08-00327273.
Source: Museum Security Network electronic discussion list, posted Dec. 9, 2008
November 2008
Leading scholars at the British Library are at a loss to explain why Farhad Hakimzadeh, a Harvard-educated businessman, publisher and intellectual, took a scalpel to the leaves of 150 books that have been in the nation's collections for centuries. The monetary damage he caused over seven years is in the region of £400,000, but Dr. Kristian Jensen, head of the British and early printed collections at the library, said no price could be placed upon the books and maps that he had defaced and stolen. Hakimzadeh, 60 faces a jail sentence today when he appears at Wood Green Magistrates Court in London. He has pleaded guilty to specimen charges of stealing maps, pages, and illustrations from 10 books at the British Library and four from the Bodleian Library in Oxford dating back to 1998…. Pages had been sliced away close to the spine of the books and maps, one of them worth £32,000, had been removed from chapters, leaving barely noticeable indentations in the paper marking where they had been. “It was only the books taken out by Hakimzadeh which showed a consistent pattern of damage,” Jensen said. They discovered Hakimzadeh had taken out 842 books and of these at least 150 had been mutilated. Some of the stolen pages were discovered, but many have been lost forever…. The library has launched a civil action to sue Hakimzaheh for full compensation.
Source: Article, Sandra Laville, "History's missing pages: Iranian academic sliced out sections of priceless collection," The Guardian, Nov. 21, 2008
UPDATE: Mr. Raymond Scott, the 51-year old man at the center of the enquiry into the stolen Shakespeare Folio, was rearrested yesterday [November 6, 2008] following further enquiries into the theft and return of the book. He is being held at Durham City Police Station. Mr. Scott says if the folio, which he refers to as the Cuban Copy, is returned to him he will auction it and give some of the proceeds to charity. Despite arriving in Durham last month, the 400-year-old folio has not yet been transferred in to the ownership of Durham University.
Sources: Articles, Jon Tunney, "Book Investigation enters New Chapter," The Journal, Nov. 7, 2008; and Alison Goudling, "Shakespeare case man re-arrested," Sunderland Echo, Nov. 7, 2008
UPDATE: A federal judge [on October 30, 2008] declined to give additional jail time to four men serving 87-month sentences for stealing rare books and tasering a librarian.
Sources: Article, Brandon Ortiz, "Transy book thieves won’t get more prison time," Lexington Herald-Leader, Oct. 30, 2008; and Ex Libris electronic discussion list, posted Nov. 5, 2008
October 2008
UPDATE: Raymond Scott was arrested over the theft of the 400-year-old Shakespeare book in July, but on [October 27, 2008] he launched a legal fight to get it back. The 51 year-old is trying to obtain the copy from Professor Christopher Higgins, vice-chancellor of Durham University, in a bid to prove it is not a copy stolen from the university library 10 years ago.
Source: Article, Dan Warburton, "Durham court battle over Shakespeare folio," The Journal, Oct. 29, 2008
September 2008
On September 9, according to a police report, “an unknown suspect” stole an estimated 150 books from the Fairfax City Regional Library. “We have never had this many books stolen at one time before, “ said Mary Mulrenan, spokeswoman for the library system. According to information from Fairfax City police, the manager of the branch said “an unknown female subject had been observed removing bar codes from books and placing them in the bag.”…. The library declined to say how the theft was carried out, but said it did have security measures that were circumvented.
Source: Article, Martin Weil, “Book Thief Clears a Few Shelves,” Washington Post, Sept. 21, 2008
A 215-year-old Jewish manuscript stolen from a Tel Aviv library a decade ago will be retuned by the German library where it surfaced, Tel Aviv city official Avigor Levin said on Sept. 9, 2008. A 1998 inventory check at the Rambam Library in Tel Aviv revealed that the one-of-a-kind manuscript was missing. Titled, "The Book of the Levite's Worship," it was a 1793 treatise on Jewish law. An Israeli scholar eventually discovered the manuscript was at the German library and the Israelis negotiated its return.
Source: Article, Associated Press, "Stolen manuscript to be returned to Tel Aviv’s Rambam Library," israel.jpost.com, Sept. 9, 2008
An historian and author was sentenced September 19, 2008, to a year and a half in prison after apologizing for stealing letters that were written by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and prized by Theodore Roosevelt. Edward Renehan Jr., 52, also must pay more than $86,000 in restitution to a Manhattan gallery where he tried to resell the letters, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin Ordered as he imposed the sentence. Renehan admitted he stole the presidential letters in 2006 and 2007 from the Theodore Roosevelt Association, based in Oyster Bay, on Long Island. He was then acting director.
Source: Article, Larry Neumeister, “18 month Sentence in NY Presidential Letters Theft”, Associated Press and Seattletimes.nwsource.com, Sept. 19, 2008
UPDATE: The wife of the former archivist of The Mariners' Museum in Newport News has pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of making and subscribing a false tax return for 2005. The charge against Lori E. Childs, 50, of Newport News, is linked to charges against her husband Lester F. Weber who is accused of stealing more than 1,000 items from the Newport News museum and selling them online. According to the federal indictment, Weber stole more than 1,000 items from the museum between 2002 and 2006 and sold them on the eBay auction site for $162,959.
Sources: Article, David Macaulay, "Wife of Mariners’ ex-archivist admits guilt," Daily Press, Sept. 5, 2008; Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Sept. 13, 2008
UPDATE: Three people have been arrested in connection to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Library rare book thefts. A Columbus couple and a Marysville man were arrested this week in connection with the thefts of two rare books from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library in Fremont. One of the books, known as the Maxwell Code, is thought to be the first book printed in the territory that became Ohio. It is valued at more than $100,000.
Sources: Compiled from articles, Associated Press, “Rare Books stolen from Ohio Presidential Library,” Herald-Dispatch, Sept. 12, 2008; Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Sept. 13, 2008
The following nine items were reported stolen from the Old South Church in Boston, on Sept. 7, 2008. Please contact Helen McCrady, 617-425-5145, with any information regarding these materials.
Missing Volumes
- A Complete Body of Divinity, by Samuel Willard (a large book) (MDCCXXVI)
- John Hull's Notebook (1652) including Mr. Thatcher's Artillery Election Sermon (1671), handwritten
- Psalms Carefully Suited to the Christian Worship (1818)
- Bible, inscribed "A. B. Phillips the gift of Mama 1800 or 1802 Mariam Mafore's (sp.?) book given her by the Rev. Mr. Allen Cummings Jan. 1, 1762"
- Memoirs of the late Susan Huntington of Boston, by Benjamin Wisner, Pastor of the Old South Church in Boston (1829)
Missing Pamphlets
- The Preface ...giving a summary account of the occasion of the following sermons (concerning the earthquake) "The Old South Church from H.A. Hill 1888"
- Original Manuscript Sermon, by Dr. Eckely, former minister of Old South Church, for Rev. M. Manning
- A Charge to a Pastor, by D. Samuel Blair (autographed, handwritten)
- Sermon Preached, by Thomas Thatcher at the Old South April 24, 1670 (handwritten)
- Letter to Hamilton Hill from Peter Thatcher (April 23, 1888)
- Autographed notes of address, by Rev. Joseph Sewell (handwritten)
- Sheet with seal, Thomas Prince (handwritten)
- Funeral Sermon on my d. Mother w deceased at Middleboro, by Thomas Prince (1737) (handwritten)
- Remarks on Cause and Effect in connection with Fatalism and Free Agency, by Rev. L. Wood
Source: Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Sept. 8, 2008
August 2008
The music section of the national library of Israel has determined that hundreds of items are missing, including photographs, manuscripts and letters by Yehudi Menuhin, Jascha Heifetz, Pablo Casals, Felix Mendelssohn and Richard Strauss. Many items are also gone from the archive of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra in Tel Aviv and a historic music library in Haifa. The search of other music archives is just getting started.
The police have named as a suspect a 60-year-old Haifa architect who for several years, they say, has been scouring the nation’s archives claiming to be a music buff doing personal research, slipping the documents among his own papers and openly selling them on eBay.
Source: Article, “Israel Fears a Thief Stole Bits of Its Musical Legacy,” by Ethan Bronner, New York Times, Aug. 8, 2008, and Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Aug. 27, 2008
Rebecca Hill, Head Librarian of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, Ohio reports that a rare copy of the "Maxwell Code" :
Laws of the Territory of the United States North-West of the Ohio: adopted and made by the governour and judges, in their legislative capacity, at a session begun on Friday, the XXIX day of May, one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-five, and ending on Tuesday the twenty-fifth day of August following: with an appendix of resolutions and the ordinance for the government of the Territory. : By authority
Cincinnati: Printed by W. Maxwell., M,DCC,XCVI. [1796] was stolen from the Library August 25, 2008.
Ms. Hill can provide a photograph of the title page and additional identifying marks. The title page bears the signatures of Robert Clarke, Daniel Symmes, and R. B. Hayes. It was rebound by Clarke in 1874.
Please contact Rebecca Hill, Head Librarian, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Spiegel Grove, Fremont, OH 43420, 419.332.2081, bhill@rbhayes.org if you have any information on this book.
Source: E-mail to Theft Reports, August 26, 2008
UPDATE: A veteran state archivist admitted in court today that he stole more than $50,000 in artifacts and historic documents from the state Library and Archives over more than a decade. Daniel D. Lorello, 54, of Van Leuven Drive, Rensselaer, pleaded guilty before Albany County Judge Thomas A. Breslin to a single felony count of second-degree grand larceny. Under terms of a plea agreement Lorello will be sentenced Oct. 1 to a state prison term of 2 to 6 years.
Sources: Article, Carol DeMare, "State Archivist admits stealing more than $50K in artifacts," TimesUnion, Aug. 6, 2008; Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Aug. 7, 2008
Police, who arrested an electrician after he tried to dishonestly use his former boss's fuel card at a garage, discovered he had a haul of stolen valuable historic maps and books at his home. Richard Delaney had taken the items worth about £89,000 while working at Birmingham University library. The judge sentenced Delaney, 37, of Mapleton Road, Hall Green, who admitted two charges of theft and one of dishonestly making a false representation, to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months. "When interviewed Delaney said he had access to the special collections room of the university library where he was carrying out electrical work. He claimed he had taken the maps from books out of interest intending to read them and return the items. Tim Pole, defending, said at the time Delaney was addicted to heroin and his life was on a downward spiral. He said he had not initially realised the value of the maps and books although he did realise later and was going to sell them.'
Sources: Article, Ross McCarthy, "Electrician stole books worth £89,000 from Birmingham University," Birmingham Post, Aug. 4, 2008; Exlibris electronic discussion list, posted Aug. 5, 2008
July 2008
UPDATE: Police have recovered a 400-year-old volume of Shakespeare stolen in England a decade ago and worth millions of dollars after a man walked into a library in Washington, D.C., and asked to have it authenticated. Police in Durham, northeast England, said Friday they had arrested a 51-year-old man over the theft of the First Folio edition of 1623, which scholars consider one of the most important printed books in the English language.
Source: Article, Associated Press, "400-year-old volume of Shakespeare recovered a decade after it was stolen; man in custody," International Herald Tribune, July 11, 2008
Alan Hunter Birchall, 43, of Storey Crescent, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, and his wife Heather, 42, were caught on CCTV taking 11 books from Barter Books in Alnwick last January. The couple returned to the store several weeks later and staff recognized them, noted the registration number of the Peugeot car and police visited their home. There they found hundreds more books worth more than £4,000 belonging both to the bookstore and Northumberland County Council library. Alan Birchall was charged with one theft and two offences of handling stolen goods. His wife was charged with theft.
Source: Article, Ben Guy, “Magpie hoarded stolen nature books,” The Journal, July 4, 2008
Eastern Kentucky University Archivist, Chuck Hill, reports the possible theft of a family bible from their collections. The bible is known as the Miller Family Bible and is a Mathew Cary imprint (Philadelphia, 1802). It was purchased in 1803 by Richmond, KY resident John Miller and donated to the Eastern Kentucky University Archives in 1992. Documentation includes a letter of acknowledgement dated 1992 and a transcription of the handwritten family history information done in 1997. The family history includes a record of birth dates for slaves owned by the Miller family.
Documentation confirms that the bible was part of the collection prior to 2002, but they have not been able to locate it since that time.
Source: Chuck Hill, Eastern Kentucky University Archivist, 103 Libraries Complex, 521 Lancaster Avenue, Richmond KY 40475-3102, Chuck.Hill@eku.edu, Phone (859)622-1792
May 2008
Eugene C. Zollman, 70, of LaPorte, Indiana, has been arrested and accused of stealing Jefferson Davis documents valued in excess of $15,000 from Transylvania University, Kentucky. Investigators report Zollman attempted to auction the documents online. A Transylvania University employee received information from a Davis scholar in Texas that several historic Jefferson Davis documents had been seen on an auction web site. The employee contacted Lexington police, who requested a subpoena for the auction house. Records indicated that Zollman was the consigner of the items.
The university library was able to provide police with a sign-in sheet that identified everyone who had asked to view the Davis documents over the past 26 years. Upon review of those documents, police determined that Zollman visited the library on April 11, 1994, to review the Davis documents and he returned the next month to review them again. Police contacted the owner of the auction web site, Alexander Autographs Inc., based in Stamford, Conn. to inform him that the documents might have been stolen. The owner agreed to be the highest bidder on Zollman's lot, which was scheduled to be auctioned April 29, 2008. Transylvania 's library has had a sign-in sheet for people who want to view documents since 1981. But the university increased library security following the robbery of several rare books in 2004. Those items were recovered after two of the thieves attempted to auction the items at Christie's, the famous auction house in New York City. Four men -- Charles Allen II, Eric Borsuk, Warren C. Lipka and Spencer W. Reinhard -- were convicted of that crime.
Source: Compiled from articles by Shawntaye Hopkins, The Lexington Herald-Leader, May 21–27, 2008, and an Associated Press report, May 21, 2008
Oliver Fallon, 40, accused of ripping out pages and stealing documents from the Scottish Catholic Archives in Edinburgh, pleaded guilty in court and was ordered to pay back £16,000 and to do 300 community service hours. Posing as a post-graduate student, Fallon stole centuries-old documents about the origins of the Catholic Church in Scotland worth thousands of pounds. Although he pleaded guilty to ripping out pages and stealing 288 items worth £26,400, Fallon avoided a jail sentence. Fallon had already served about 1 year of a 2-year jail sentence for similar offences in England. His defense lawyer said afterwards: "He's very ashamed and he's sorry that the archive lost out. He's not going to do it again."
The Edinburgh Scottish Catholic Archives holds records of the Catholic Church in Scotland dating back to 1177 AD. The administrative, financial and legal documents of the church and many letters sent to churchmen from overseas are valuable primary sources from the early days of the British Empire and the colonization of America. Fallon, an academic, was teaching at a London school at the time of his theft. Archivists only realized he had stolen from them when Fallon was arrested for a similar crime in London and told police he had done the same in Edinburgh.
Source: Two articles, BBC News, April 15, 2008 and May 13, 2008
March 2008
James Brubaker, 74, from Great Falls Montana, was arrested by police in March on charges related to theft of historic books and documents from libraries across the U.S. and Canada. Police searched his house after receiving a tip that he was selling stolen historic documents on eBay. Police reportedly found about 1,000 stolen books from at least 100 universities and local libraries. Brubaker pled guilty to charges on June 23, 2008.
Source: Two articles, including “Great Falls man pleads guilty to stealing rare library books,” Great Falls Tribune, Mar. 27, 2008 and June 24, 2008
A black courier bag containing four diaries by the noted John Deere engineer Theo Brown was stolen from outside the bus terminal of South Station, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The diaries, dated 1916, 1922, 1939, and 1943, were leather-bound. Each volume was enclosed in gray boxes distinctly labeled "MS 2 Theo Brown Diaries." The diaries contain unique photographs and technical drawings of John Deere tractors and agricultural machinery as well as notes and illustrations relating to Brown's family life and current events. Please contact the University Archives and Special Collections, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, if you might have any information on these diaries, at 508.831.6612 or archives@wpi.edu.
Source: Museum Security Network electronic discussion list, posted Mar. 7, 2008
February 2008
In Newport News, Virginia, Lester F. Weber, 46, and his wife Lori Childs, were indicted on charges of theft from an organization receiving federal funds, mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and filing false tax returns. According to the U.S. District Attorney's office, Weber was the Mariners' Museum archivist and archives director, which gave him access to the museum's archival collections. Prosecutors say Weber and his wife fraudulently obtained archival materials from the museum and sold them on eBay. Among the materials taken were documents from the Frank Aks Collection: 1912-1980s on the RMS Titanic.
Source: Article, Jennifer Latson, "Museum archivist in federal court on theft, fraud charges Mariners' Museum archivist charged with selling museum pieces on eBay," Newport News, VA Daily Press, Feb. 19, 2008
January 2008
An archivist with the New York State Archives, Daniel D. Lorello, has been charged with several criminal counts, including grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and scheming to defraud, in the theft of rare books and documents. An investigation was initiated following the discovery of New York State Library document being offered for sale on eBay. Authorities estimate 90% of the material stolen by Lorello has been recovered.
Source: Article, Eric Konigsberg, "A history buff uncovers thefts of American history treasures," New York Times, Jan. 29, 2008