We often hear art theft or jewellery heist, but famous documents to are a very tempting steal for thieves all around the world.
Blame it on popular culture and movies that the remarkable heists are only about diamonds or precious jewellery and painting. But there is one more thing that can tempt certain kinds of thieves, and that thing is famous or secret documents. While some of the thieves would indulge in this kind of theft for money whereas there are many who do it for themselves. So, here is a list of people who took some of the famous documents that rightfully didn’t belong to them.
Forbes Smiley III
We all have different hobbies and interests but kids, let this be an example to you. Never love a hobby that is weird and can be termed vandalism. E. Forbes Smiley III was caught doing something bizarre. He craftily sliced rare maps from the Yale library in the year 2005. But was caught in the act when he dropped his X-Acto knife on the floor of the library accidentally.
John Mark Tillmann
Some people are quite a showoff, even if it means that they show off their stolen item quite proudly. John Mark Tillmann is one such person. Believe it or not, Tillmann was accused of stealing various artifacts and documents from museums and libraries from across the Canadian provinces. And much to his audacity, he even set up all these stolen items in his house like a trophy. Even his son was accused and arrested in connection with many of these crimes. Clearly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Daniel D. Lorello
Many times, these thefts are thework of an insider. That is what happened to New York State Library. A man named Lorello who worked in the New York State Library for a little more than 30 years. A retired historian was flabbergasted when he saw a rare old letter for sale on eBay. On investigation, it was discovered that the letter belonged to New York State Library, and Lorello’s theft came to light.
Edward J. Ranehan, Jr
In 2008, many of the letters written by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were stolen from the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The miscreant, fortunately, was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The man, Edward J. Renehan, Jr, was acting as a director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association while stealing the rare letters.
So, do you know about any other theft of secret documents?
