Back in January I
noted reports that a major book/map theft case was about to hit the news.
Smithsonian Magazine has a
piece on the story now, reporting that the December search of Brubaker's house revealed "roughly 1,000 books from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries that had been taken from at least 100 university and local libraries across the country," plus "some 20,000 individual pages of maps and other documents, each apparently ripped from a book."
The
Smithsonian article does not name the suspect [James Brubaker, if the earlier reports hold] but notes that an indictment is (still) expected. More if I can get it.
[Update: Thanks to MTHistory for adding a comment. Yes, the
Great Falls Tribune is
reporting this afternoon that James Brubaker,
74 73, has been arrested and made an initial court appearance today. This is a follow-up to their
story in today's newspaper which provides some further background on the case. There will almost certainly be more in tomorrow's newspapers about this, so I'll keep updating as events warrant.]
[Further update: Te
levision reports say Brubaker was charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, and add "Authorities say hundreds of maps and lithographs found during the search were in envelopes ready for sale on the Internet."]
