[MSN] Intern Admits Thefts From U.S. Archives.

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Intern Admits Thefts From U.S. Archives
 
Apr 4, 4:51 PM (ET)

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
 
(AP) Denning McTague, a 40-year-old intern with the National Archives,
leaves a federal courthouse in...
Full Image: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070404/D8OA0VVG1.html 
 
 
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A 40-year-old intern with the National Archives pleaded
guilty Wednesday to stealing 164 Civil War documents, including an official
announcement of President Lincoln's death, and putting most of them up for
sale on eBay.

Prosecutors said Denning McTague, who has master's degrees in history and
library science, put about 150 of the documents online and had shipped about
half of them.

All but three of the items, worth an estimated $30,000 in all, have since
been recovered.

McTague told investigators that he used a yellow legal pad to sneak the
documents out while working at the National Archives and Records
Administration last summer. As an unpaid intern, he had been responsible for
arranging and organizing documents in preparation for the upcoming 150th
anniversary of the Civil War.

 
(AP) Denning McTague, a 40-year-old intern with the National Archives,
leaves a federal courthouse in...
Full Image 
 
 
A Gettysburg company that publishes books on the Civil War spotted some of
the items on eBay and alerted authorities last fall, officials said.

The stolen Civil War-era documents included telegrams concerning the troops'
weaponry, the War Department's announcement of Lincoln's death sent to
soldiers, and a letter from famed cavalryman James Ewell Brown Stuart,
prosecutors said.

McTague pleaded guilty to one federal count of stealing government property.
He could receive up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is
sentenced July 12, but federal sentencing guidelines call for much less.

Paul Brachfeld, inspector general for the National Archives, said the
documents are invaluable and getting them back was not easy, especially
since some had been sold overseas.

The buyers, mostly history buffs, surrendered the documents after learning
they were stolen. Prosecutors said they could get some reimbursement from
McTague.

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On the Net:

The National Archives and Records Administration: http://www.archives.gov