California woman trying to hawk moon rock for $1.7M to undercover NASA agent detained in sting

Yahoo ^ | 5/21/11 | Robert Jablon

[Libloather]

California woman trying to hawk moon rock for $1.7M to undercover NASA agent detained in sting
By Robert Jablon, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
1 hour 3 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - She promised the moon, for a sky-high price. He wasn't buying.

A woman who tried to sell what she said was a rare piece of moon rock for $1.7 million was detained when her would-be buyer turned out to be an undercover NASA agent, officials said Friday.

The grey rocks, which are considered national treasures and are illegal to sell, were given to each U.S. state and 136 countries by then-President Richard Nixon after U.S. moon missions and can sell for millions of dollars on the black market.

NASA investigators and Riverside County sheriff's deputies detained the woman after she met Thursday with an undercover NASA investigator at a restaurant in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (110 kilometres) southeast of Los Angeles, the sheriff's office said. The investigation was conducted over several months.

Authorities swooped after the two agreed on a price and the woman, whose name has not been released, pulled out the rock.

NASA planned to conduct tests to determine whether the rock came from the moon as the woman claimed.

"We don't know if it's lunar material," said Gail Robinson, deputy inspector general at the space agency.

[Libloather]

That's a shame.

[grey_whiskers]

WTF is an undercover NASA agent?

Are they the ones making sure the Muslim outreach goes OK?

Cheers!

[Raycpa]

Undercover NASA agent?

Are they also tracking down the global warming deniers?

[SkyPilot]

Do you mean to tell me that the moon rocks I bought in at a Circle K in Truth or Consequences New Mexico back in 1989 are fake? (/s>)

[SkyPilot]

WTF is an undercover NASA agent?

I think it is a GS-8 who thinks he is James Bond.

[Libloather]

Are they also tracking down the global warming deniers?

From space, yes.

[6SJ7]

I wonder how many billions we spend employing NASA undercover agents.

[Repeal The 17th]

Nixon’s fault!

[yldstrk]

How do people get their mitts on a moonrock to sell?

[wally_bert]

If you want James Bond, go to a library. - Neil Burnside (Roy Marsden) from the series Sandbaggers.

[Mercat]

Ebay?

[grey_whiskers]

I think it is a GS-8 who thinks he is James Bond.

Aha! Like Moonfaker...

Cheers!

[Perdogg]

LOL! I was thinking the same.

[LRS]

And to think 11 year old Hooterville genius Dinky Watson only wanted $14 from Oliver for his genuine beeping moonrock...

[hopespringseternal]

WTF is an undercover NASA agent?

I don't know if every federal agency has armed agents, but it is definitely trending that way. I know the Veterans Administration has them, I knew a guy who was basically a cop who investigated false claims against the VA.

Every niggling little rule needs its own cadre of enforcers it seems.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

You can get meteorites (space junk) on ebay for far less. Anyhow, today’s the Rapture. Are ya ready to boogie? By tonight, moon rock values may have plummeted and souls gone way up.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

Rock????....

I though the moon was made of cheese. :o)

[Nervous Tick]

>> WTF is an undercover NASA agent?

Heh heh... them gubmint zombies is EVER’WHERE...

but in this case, good on them.

Cheers back atcha.

[USNBandit]

Almost all federal agencies have their own IG sections now. Most are involved in investigating fraud by people those agencies serve. For instance the Dept. Education has investigators that go after fraudulent grant usage.

[tobyhill]

“Gutheinz said most purported moon rocks offered for sale on the Internet are bogus, though authentic moon rocks can be purchased if they came to Earth in a meteorite.”

?????