In today's federal sentencing hearing, map thief E. Forbes Smiley was handed a prison term of 42 months, according to the Hartford Courant. "U.S. District Judge Janet Arterton said she wanted to send a message to deter other would-be art and book thieves. The judge also ordered Smiley to pay $1.9 million to the map dealers and collectors who unwittingly bought the stolen goods." A report in the Boston Globe suggests that the $1.9 million figure may be subject to change.
Smiley spoke briefly during today's court appearance, saying in part "Your honor, I have hurt many people. I stole very valuable research materials from institutions that made it their business to provide those materials to the public for valuable research. I am deeply ashamed of having done that. I cannot imagine the pain and the anger that I made them suffer."
Federal sentencing guidelines had indicated that Smiley's sentence should have numbered from 57 and 71 months, so the judge's ruling dipped well below the minimum there. That's unfortunate.
