RBMS Security Committee: Theft Reports 2009
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 2009. For additional coverage or for information on how to report notices for possible inclusion on the list, please consult the cumulative index.
2009
December 2009
A former accountant suspected of stealing a rare 13-volume work on camellias from the Royal Horticultural Society library has been arrested. William Jacques, 40, a Cambridge graduate, is alleged to have stolen the books, worth about £50,000, from the RHS Lindley Library in London. It is alleged that Mr. Jacques signed into the library in Vincent Square under the name of Mr. Santoro and hid the 13 volumes under his jacket. None of the stolen books have been traced; antique booksellers have been urged to contact police if works are offered for sale.
Source: Article, Chris Smyth, "Arrest over theft of £50,000 work on camellias from RHS library", TimesOnline, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6971048.ece?, posted December 30, 2009
November 2009
The Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Maryland lost $87,000 worth of materials from thefts between November 2008 and July 2009. The 12 suspects charged were all Marland residents. They range in age from 20-51. Textbooks and other works were quickly sold to used books stores at a fraction of their original value, investigators said. Prince George County authorities said the suspects, at least some of whom were related, withdrew close to the limits of 75 books from 12 of the library system's 18 locations. Some college libraries also were hit by some of the same suspects, officials said. Each is charged with theft over $500.00 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Source: Article, Sarah Karush, "12 Charged after library books worth $87K stolen", The Associated Press, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gfnAyzj75Et0zXqc83pIGd4AXZpQD9BT0CL00, posted November 10, 2009
Thousands of dollars worth of rare and valuable books are now being slowly accounted for after one man went on a cross-country stealing spree. More than one hundred libraries across the country fell victim to the book thief that includes the ISU [Idaho State University] Oboler Library. The heist of rare books and pages of maps were part of a larger theft ring that spanned more than a dozen states and two countries. With the help from a Washington librarian, the 74-year old culprit was eventually caught in Montana by the FBI. Authorities caught up to James Lyman Brubaker in Great Falls, Montana after connecting the dots to an eBay account listed under "montanasilver". Brubaker had been trying to resale the stolen property and it's estimated that in 2007 he grossed more than $500,000 dollars from the online sales. Burbaker was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years supervised release. In August the FBI returned the first found of stolen property to the ISU library, which only included about two dozen titles. Now the school is waiting to hear about more than one hundred other books that are still unaccounted.
Source: Article, Stuart Summer, "FBI Returns Stolen Books to ISU", KPVI News 6: Pocatello, Idaho Falls, http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=11431275, posted November 2, 2009
September 2009
UPDATE: The collection of manuscript and early-printed book leaves indicated as missing on 10 September *has been located in its entirety* at the Ohio State University Libraries in Columbus. All of the items are now accounted for and safely housed in the Thompson Library's Special Collections.
We [Ohio State University Libraries] feel very fortunate to have found these items, which had been inadvertently misplaced within our Book Depository during the move process.
Source: Notification to the Library Security Officers electronic mailing list posted September 18, 2009.
The FBI is investigating a "stolen" handwritten condolence note from Jacqueline Kennedy to Ethel Kennedy that was penned shortly after Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 assassination, a newspaper reported yesterday [September 13, 2009]. The Dallas Morning News reported that investigators and Kennedy family members suspect the note was taken from Robert Ethel Kennedy's McLean, Va., home. The two-page note made its way in 2006 to Heritage Auction Galleries, a Dallas auction house, where it was consigned by a Massachusetts attorney. One of Robert Kennedy's sons told the FBI that his family neither gave nor sold the note. FBI spokesman Mark White says the note is considered "a stolen good" and part of a criminal investigation.
Source: Article, Associated Press, "FBI investigates theft of a Kennedy letter", The Boston Globe, September 14, 2009
UPDATE: According to the U.S. Prison at Devens, MA, E. Forbes Smiley is to be released from that prison and sent to a halfway house, the Barnstable county Work Release Center in Bourne, Ma. on September 22. He is scheduled to be released completely from custody on January 17, 2010.
Source: Exlibris electronic mailing list, posted September 11, 2009
A significant collection of manuscript and early-printed book leaves is missing from the collections at the Ohio State University Libraries in Columbus. A total of eight hundred eight (808) leaves from many source documents has been discovered missing following the move of Rare Books & Manuscripts collections from an off-site facility into the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library. University Police and the FBI are investigating. Any queries and information about the loss should be directed to Lt. Rick Green, The Ohio State University Police, 614.292-3262, green.15@osu.edu or police@osu.edu
Source: Notification to Library Security Officers electronic mailing list, September 10, 2009.
August 2009
A multiple map thief, who made off with nearly 70 priceless maps and documents from a number of Spanish libraries, was arrested Friday [August 7, 2009]. Z.V., a 47 year old Hungarian man with no previous criminal record, had planned a route of robberies across Spain and abroad. Once inside map rooms, he cut the documents out and smuggled them in homemade folders with false bottoms. All of the stolen documents were recovered from the hotel room in Pamplona, where he was arrested.
Source: Museum Security Network, posted August 13, 2009
June 2009
Thieves are ripping off Kansas University’s Watson Library, tearing apart books filed with old and expensive artwork, taking what’s valuable and leaving destruction behind… The thefts began May 28, [2009,] when two books-valued at $3,700 by the library were damaged and parts of them stolen. The books, or large folios, contained expensive plates of unique artwork and archaeological drawings, said Lea Currie, head of collection development for KU Libraries… Capt. Schuyler Bailey, KU Public Safety Office spokesman, asked anyone with information about the thefts to call the KU Public Safety Office, 864-5900 or KU Crime Stoppers, 864-8888.
Source: Article, Jesse Fray, “Rare books at KU’s Watson Library targeted by Vandals,” Lawrence Journal-World, June 9, 2009; and ExLibris electronic discussion list, posted June 15, 2009
May 2009
A rare copy of the book “The Canon of Medicine” written by Avicenna, the Iranian physician and most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of Islam, has been stolen from a museum adjacent to his mausoleum in Hamedan. According to Asadollah Bayat, Hamedan Cultural, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department Director, “the Hamedan Province is home to 1773 ancient and historical sites while only 62 guards are assigned to safeguard them.” No further details of the robbery were given.
Source: Article, “Rare copy of Avicenna’s ‘Canon of Medicine’ stolen in Hamedan”, Tehran Times, May 18, 2009
The following two titles were stolen from the Antiquates Ltd. stand at the Royal National Hotel on Sunday, May 10, 2009:
- Taylor, Jeremy. 1649; An answer to a letter…original sin, * lacking the first leaf, blank but for signature, given by Sir Edmund Gosse to the Episcopal Library of Connor and Down, 1656, first editions, calf, gilt, by de Coverly*
- Fleming, Ian. Thunderball, Cape, 1961 1st Ed. Fine copy in DW with small patch of foxing to fore-edge (identifiable by a mark to a particular page)
Source: Tom Lintern-Mole, Antiquates Ltd., ExLibris electronic discussion list, posted May 12, 2009
April 2009
UPDATE: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recovered a letter today [April 27, 2009] written by U.S. President Andrew Jackson. The historical letter written by Jackson on March 24, 1824, was swiped from the New York Public Library. The stolen letter was found up for sale on the online auction site, Profiles in History. The four-page correspondence sat on the block for $35,000 before Cuomo’s investigators returned it to the state’s collection.
Source: Article, Brendan Scott, "Don’t mess with the man on the $20.00 bill!," www.nypost.com, April 27, 2009
The famous Riben Bulvar (Fish Book), the first Bulgarian Renaissance school textbook, compiled by Dr. Peter Beron, has been stolen from the History Museum in the town of Kotel, in northeastern Bulgaria. The thieves have left a replica of the book, announced commissioner Chavar Bozhurski, director of the police in the town of Sliven. The police have started searching private homes in the town of Kotel.
Source: Museum Security Network, posted April 3, 2009
UPDATE: Two rare books that were stolen from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center last summer were finally returned Wednesday afternoon [April 1, 2009]…Three months into the investigation, police were able to make arrests. Both works were recovered after the lengthy investigation, “The Maxwell Code” from Columbus and “The Freeman Code” from Dallas. Joshua McCarty, 31, of Columbus, had been sentenced in federal court for theft of an artwork to three years and 10 months in prison and will serve three years probation, said U.S. Assistant Prosecutor Tom Sector. However, Zachary Scranton, 21, of Marysville, faces a sentencing on the same charge May 11, Sector added. The other person allegedly involved, Angela Bays, 19, also of Columbus, was not charged, he added.Source: Article, Matt Manning, “Stolen books returned to library,” www.thenews-messenger.com, April 2, 2009
March 2009
Police have arrested the man they say stole 39 photographs and pieces of art from the New Haven Public Library, Yale Art Gallery, and several businesses in the city. Dennis P. Maluk, 53, who has a criminal record for theft, was arrested on a warrant Thursday night [March 26, 2009]. Police said Maluk would remove the pieces from where they were hanging, conceal them, and then would trade the pieces to Bruno Nestir, 47, for $30.00 to $40.00 worth of heroin. New Haven detectives said they began investigating Maluk after he was caught on video taking two etchings from the public library and then was recognized by library staff when he returned days later. Maluk was held, with bail set at $150,000.
Source: Article, David Owns, “New Haven Art Theft: Police Arrest Second Man,” The Hartford Courant, March 28, 2009
January 2009
UPDATE: British Library Map Thief Farhad Hakimzadeh sentenced for two years in jail after admitting stealing pages from rare and priceless books at the British and Bodleian libraries. The British Library has launched separate civil proceedings.
Source: ExLibris electronic discussion list, posted Jan. 16, 2009