Lawyer Trolling eBay Tips NY Authorities to Artifact Thefts
As a history enthusiast, Richmond, Va., lawyer Joseph Romito knew something was amiss when he spotted a treasured John Calhoun document on eBay that he suspected belonged to New York state.
He had seen the document before, in a book on the former vice president.
So he tipped New York authorities. And a new bidder emerged on eBay, the New York Attorney General’s Office.
In announcing the arrest of a longtime state archivist who was arraigned on Monday, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo praised Romito as “the real hero” in the case, for remembering the document and alerting state library officials to the eBay auction.
It turns out the Calhoun document was among hundreds of the state’s treasured artifacts that have been disappearing from the New York State Library, according to the Associated Press and a state attorney general news release. (To hear the audio, click here.)
The missing items include two Davy Crockett Almanacs and Currier and Ives colored lithographs.
Daniel Lorello, archivist with the state, was arraigned Monday on charges of grand larceny, among other charges.
The AP reports that Lorello is believed to have received more than $5,000 for the almanacs and seen “tens of thousands” from other sales.
