As expected, Thieving Intern Denning McTague pleaded guilty to one count of stealing government property today in federal court. The AP notes that all but three of the 165+ items stolen from the Philadelphia branch of the National Archives have been returned.
In making his plea (on which Travis McDade comments here at Upward Departure), McTague admitted that he had slipped the archival documents inside the pages of a yellow legal pad in order to get them out of the building where he worked as an intern.
McTague's sentencing is set for 12 July; the top sentence is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but as the AP notes "federal sentencing guidelines call for much less." And as we know, chances are fairly good that McTague will spend less than a year in jail (that is, if he's sent there at all).
A shameful shirking of responsibility by the federal prosecutors, who ought to have taken this crime much more seriously.
