Historian Edward Renehan has entered a guilty plea in the charge against him for stealing a Theodore Roosevelt letter from the TRA, Newsday reports. Admitting "I took a letter from the association and subsequently endeavored to sell that item," Renehan pleaded guilty to the most serious charge, third-degree grand larceny (as prosecutors had said they would demand).
Nassau County court judge John Kase said Renehan's sentence on this plea will run concurrently with the federal sentence he'll receive in August for stealing Washington and Lincoln letters, also from the TRA. He'll face 24-30 months in prison total. The county sentence will be handed down on 15 September.
TRA president James Bruns said of the plea "We're pleased that this step of the process is over, and we're awaiting the sentencing. We hope that in the interim, he turns over the additional property that we believe he has." He told the paper that the association is still trying to determine how best to secure those further items they believe Renehan took. Renehan's lawyer calls the idea that Renehan has more things "spurious," and said that he believes Renehan's sentence should include only probation and restitution.
