Historian pleads guilty to document theft scheme (AP)

[Yahoo! News]

AP - A presidential historian, collector and author has pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal documents signed by leaders throughout U.S. history.

Barry Landau of New York City admitted to taking documents from the Maryland Historical Society and conspiring with his assistant to steal documents from that institution and others in the Northeast with the intention of selling them.
The assistant pleaded guilty in October to the same charges: theft of major artwork and conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork.
Prosecutors say the 63-year-old Landau schemed for years, if not decades, to steal valuable documents.
Landau and Jason Savedoff, 24, were arrested in July in Baltimore after a Maryland Historical Society employee saw Savedoff stash a document into a portfolio and walk out of the library, authorities said in court documents. The employee said he'd been watching the pair for hours because they seemed to be acting suspiciously.
The pair had about 80 documents when they were arrested, according to Savedoff's plea. About 60 belonged to the Maryland society, including papers signed by President Abraham Lincoln worth $300,000 and presidential inaugural ball invitations and programs worth $500,000.

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