[MSN] Library Urges Punishment for Map Stealer

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Library Urges Punishment for Map Stealer 

Thursday September 14, 2006 5:01 PM


By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN 

Associated Press Writer 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A prominent dealer in antique maps who admitted
stealing nearly 100 maps from libraries in the United States and Britain
should be severely punished because he looted treasures that told the story
of the new world and had survived catastrophic events over the centuries,
the British Library said in court papers. 

The library filed a sentencing memorandum Wednesday in the case of E. Forbes
Smiley III, who pleaded guilty in June to one count of theft of major
artwork in connection with the theft of a map from Yale University. 

Smiley, 50, of Chilmark, Mass., faces up to six years in prison under
federal guidelines when he is sentenced on Sept. 27. The British Library is
urging the court to impose a higher sentence. 

``The maps stolen by Smiley created the dreams of the explorer, merchant and
powerful,'' the library wrote. ``They charted the paths of national
expansion and empire building. They marked the rise of British dominance,
the origins of a new nation and the demise of a native population. The maps
drew the lines between where knowledge ended and imagination began.'' 

One of the stolen maps had survived civil war, royal intrigue, economic
depression and the Nazi bombing of London. ``They had been cared for and
preserved for centuries until Smiley ripped them from their volumes and slid
them into his coat,'' the library wrote. 

Smiley admitted in June that he stole 97 maps over eight years from the New
York and Boston public libraries, the Newberry Library in Chicago, the
Harvard University library and the British Library in London. The oldest
maps dated back to the 1500s and some are the first records of settlements,
territories and discoveries in America, experts say. 

With Smiley's help, prosecutors said most of the maps have been recovered
from dealers and galleries. Prosecutors said four maps have not been
returned by those who have them and five others are lost. 

Smiley's attorney, Richard Reeve, called the British Library's arguments
``factually and legally flawed.'' He said authorities could only prove
Smiley stole 18 maps, but his client cooperated with the additional thefts. 

``In effect, the libraries are getting back 80 maps that they never would
have been able to prove Smiley had taken,'' Reeve said. ``He could have sat
back and said, 'Prove it.''' 

But that tactic would have exposed Smiley to more prosecutions in other
jurisdictions, said Robert Goldman, attorney for the British Library. 

Smiley was arrested after a Yale librarian found a razor blade on the floor.
Yale and other top map libraries reviewed their security procedures after
Smiley's arrest. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/