A man accused of stealing historical documents from the University of Arizona/Tucson Library and the Arizona Historical Society turned himself in to the FBI May 30 and will be arraigned on federal charges, according to the May 31 Arizona Daily Star.
Paul Northrop surrendered in El Paso the week after a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an indictment accusing him of stealing the papers and photographs, including a U.S. Army commission bearing Abraham Lincoln’s signature, in 1998 and 1999. Formal charges include “theft of an object of cultural heritage” and interstate transportation of stolen goods.
If convicted, Northrop could receive 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both on each of seven counts, said Cathy Colbert, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix.
Authorities allege that Northrop stole the items, which also included bills of sale for slaves dated 1841 and 1848 and an 1887 Wells Fargo telegram concerning a robbery, and put them up for sale. Colbert was not sure when or if the institutions would recover their property. The UA documents are valued at $50,000.
Posted June 5, 2000.