[MSN] New Allegations Against Map Thief. The British Library Says That E. Forbes Smiley III Stole Four Maps, Not Just One.

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New Allegations Against Map Thief 

The British Library Says That E. Forbes Smiley III Stole Four Maps, Not Just
One 

By KIM MARTINEAU
Courant Staff Writer

June 30 2006

NEW HAVEN -- The FBI has finished its investigation of E. Forbes Smiley III,
the admitted map thief, but British authorities are now wondering if Smiley
stole more from the British Library than the one map he has confessed to
taking.

The Martha's Vineyard map dealer admitted in federal court last week that he
stole nearly a hundred maps from major research libraries across the country
and abroad - including a 1520 Peter Apian map of the world from the British
Library in London, a map worth $125,000. With the FBI investigation over,
the British Library is pursuing charges against Smiley for three additional
missing maps.

The library believes that Smiley stole the maps on trips he made to London
in June 2004 and March 2005 - the last visit coming just three months before
his arrest at Yale University. A spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan
Police confirmed Tuesday that the arts and antiquities squad at Scotland
Yard is investigating Smiley in connection with those thefts.

The maps missing from the British Library include a rare 1624 map of New
England and Canada from Sir William Alexander's "An Encouragement to
Colonies" and a similar Alexander map from Samuel Purchas' English travel
accounts, "Purchas His Pilgrimes" published in 1625. The third missing map,
a 1578 world map, came from George Best's "A True Discourse of the Late
Voyages of Martin Frobisher," which described the English navigator's
exploration of the Canadian coast.

Two FBI agents flew to London last year to talk with Scotland Yard
detectives, and together they sprung a visit on the British Library to view
the reading room where Smiley had looked at books. The map dealer, however,
insisted during his talks with the FBI that he took only the Apian world
map.

Even if Smiley is eventually linked to all four of the maps missing from the
British Museum, it doesn't appear that it would jeopardize his plea deal
because the U.S. government is pleased with his cooperation. He faces up to
six years in federal prison when sentenced this fall.

The U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, Kevin O'Connor, said Tuesday that
investigators had found no evidence that Smiley was lying. In some
instances, Smiley gave up more valuable maps than the ones the libraries had
reported missing, he said. Smiley's business records provided further
detail. He recorded the sale of maps he acquired legitimately but also the
maps he fenced to the trade. His cooperation led the FBI to nearly 80 stolen
maps they could not otherwise have traced.

"We have no reason to believe he would have omitted those maps," said
O'Connor.

The British Library discovered that it was missing the rare Alexander map on
May 26, 2005 - two weeks before Smiley's arrest at Yale. The library had
sent the book out to be photographed, and the studio, finding the map gone,
sounded the alarm. Librarians found Smiley's name on the reader records,
then pulled every book requested by those who had read the Alexander book.
Three volumes were missing maps; Smiley's name was the common denominator.

The British Library was about to contact the local police when news of his
arrest traveled across the Atlantic. Last fall, as the FBI investigation was
heating up, the library found a second, less valuable Alexander map missing
from the fourth volume of "Purchas His Pilgrimes" that Smiley had requested.

The British Library has turned up at least one additional stolen map
unconnected to Smiley, joining Harvard's Houghton Library in disclosing
additional losses that came to light after his arrest. Some have accused
Smiley of holding back the full extent of his crimes. Others suspect that
weak security and incomplete cataloguing of maps had long made the libraries
vulnerable to thieves.

Richard Reeve, Smiley's lawyer, said that his client recalls taking only one
map from the British Museum, but that if new information surfaces that would
jog his memory about the others, he would be willing to help the British
authorities. "His cooperation is ongoing," Reeve said.

Contact Kim Martineau at kmartineau at courant.com. 

Hartford Courant