Rare Map Thief Smiley Sentenced

Prison time reduced due to convicted’s cooperation Melissa Bailey, of the New Haven Independent, reports that E…

Prison time reduced due to convicted’s cooperation

Melissa Bailey, of the New Haven Independent, reports that E. Forbes Smiley, formerly a rare-map dealer based on Martha’s Vineyard, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for stealing rare and antique maps:

E. Forbes Smiley III, a rare map dealer, was rewarded in federal court Wednesday for his cooperation with investigators. Smiley, who admitted to stealing almost 100 rare maps worth about $3 million from Yale and six other institutions, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison

He is also obliged to pay $1.9 million in restitution.

Smiley, who was arrested in June 2005 after a staffer at Yale University’s Beinecke Library found a craft-knife blade on the floor soon after one of his visits, stole a total of 98 maps over a course of 3 1/2 years from various libraries (including the Beinecke). With his assistance, authorities have located and recovered all but six of them, which garnered a degree of leniency from the judge (the maximum sentence is 57 to 71 months; Smiley will get 36). He will remain out of prison until 4 Jan 2007 while he assists authorities in locating the remaining maps.

A somewhat absurd ending to the day was provided by the FBI, according to reporter Bailey:

Then FBI officials loaded 46 maps, wrapped up in boxes, into a sleek Bonneville. They got in and were about to pull away. “You’re trunk’s open!” said a nearby member of the press. An FBI official hopped out and pushed it closed.

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