"Dammit, I think this one's on the list...So much for a third movie."
Posted on 01/29/2008 4:54:11 PM PST by restornu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state employee who had access to government-owned archives has been arrested on suspicion of stealing hundreds of historic documents, many of which he sold on eBay, authorities said on Monday.
Among the missing documents were an 1823 letter by U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun and copies of the Davy Crockett Almanacs, pamphlets written by the frontiersman who died at the Alamo in Texas.
Daniel Lorello, 54, of Rensselaer, New York, was charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property and fraud. He pleaded innocent in Albany City Court on Monday.
He was found out by an alert history buff who saw the items posted on the online auction site and alerted authorities, the state attorney general's office said in a statement.
Lorello, a department of education archivist, pleaded not guilty to the charges although he previously admitted in a written statement to stealing documents and artifacts since 2002. The attorney general's office released a copy of his statement.
In 2007 alone, Lorello stated he took 300 to 400 items, including the four-page Calhoun letter, which drew bids of more than $1,700 while investigators were monitoring the sale.
Officials recovered some 400 items from his upstate New York home, which Lorello estimated was 90 percent of everything he had taken, but they have yet to determine how many items were sold online.
The state library's extensive collection includes an original first draft of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and complete set of autographs from the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
EBay auctions posted by Lorello included a Currier & Ives lithograph that he described as "in excellent condition." The Calhoun letter auction said "100 percent satisfaction is guaranteed."
Other items Lorello admitted in his statement to stealing and selling included an 1835 Davey Crockett Almanac, which fetched $3,200, and a Poor Richard's Almanac which went for $1,001. EBay was cooperating with state officials in the probe.
Lesson to Criminals....don’t sell stolen goods on eBay, especially if they are easily identifiable.
ping
Do you know who has the American HIstory list?
Great I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach over such a terrible deed and you want to give adive how avoid getting caught!
"Dammit, I think this one's on the list...So much for a third movie."
What in the world was wrong with Cage’s hair in the second movie? Just shave it off or get transplants, but whatever it needed something.
what a f’en moron
what a f’en moron
u can say that again
Sandy Burglar, call your office.....
Just like the guy who for years was given access to rare books at the Boston Public Library and razor-bladed out rare maps over a period of years. He got caught and punished.
A certain Clinton higher-up named “Sandy Burgler” managed to essentially “beat the rap” with a slight wink and a nod from the Bush administration.
Document pilferers should take lessons from Sandy.
“Yeah, I stole the stuff, and you got about 90 percent of everything I took — but I’m not guilty, don’tcha know.”
In 1823 John C. Calhoun was Secretary of War, not V.P. The Vice President was Daniel Tompkins of New York.
If only he had taken them to his office and destroyed them he would be looking at a light sentence.
/Sandy Burgler reference.
ping
Is it just me, or does $1,001 for a Poor Richard’s Almanac seem pretty cheap?
Dude... who is the adult here? Justifying bad behavior with more bad behavior is absurd...
Wow! As a history freak I wouldn't need to steal them. I would be satisfied just to be able to touch them.
Lesson to buyer of stolen goods on ebay, you better call and up the stuff you bought, before the cops get there.
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