[MSN] Elite libraries have told federal investigators that more antique maps are missing than those stolen by E. Forbes Smiley III, a part-time Mainer who admitted in June to taking nearly 100 maps.

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Libraries say more maps missing than those that were stolen
July 30, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. --Elite libraries have told federal investigators that more
antique maps are missing than those stolen by E. Forbes Smiley III, a
part-time Mainer who admitted in June to taking nearly 100 maps.

The British Library, Yale and Harvard report more maps missing from their
collections than those the map dealer has admitted to taking. The most
valuable maps are within Smiley's area of interest -- early maps of North
America -- and several are copies of maps he has admitted stealing.

"We continue to entertain serious doubts about the completeness of the
investigation and the extent of Mr. Smiley's cooperation with the
authorities," Clive Field, director of scholarship and collections at the
British Library, recently wrote to the FBI. "We note that he has admitted to
stealing only one map from our collections but are not persuaded that this
exhausts the limits of Mr. Smiley's involvement in our thefts."

Smiley, 50, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Haven on June 22 to
one count of theft of major artwork in the theft of a map from Yale
University. Smiley is from Chilmark, Mass., and has a summer home on Sebec
Lake in Sebec, Maine.

He admitted taking 97 maps over eight years from the New York and Boston
public libraries, the Newberry Library in Chicago, Harvard University
library and British Library in London.

The British Library suspects Smiley of taking three additional maps and has
hired a Philadelphia lawyer to take up its case.

On Friday, Harvard released the names of five additional maps missing from
its collection, following the lead of Yale and the British Library in making
its thefts public.

Richard Reeve, Smiley's lawyer, said his client has furnished complete
information to the FBI and worries that the libraries have found a scapegoat
on whom to pin additional thefts.

"Either the maps have legs themselves or there are other people taking
maps," he said.

Federal authorities have defended their work and invited the libraries to
produce additional evidence.

"If they're uncovering more information, we'll be more than happy to take a
look," said Tom Carson, a spokesman for Connecticut's U.S. attorney.

Librarians and the FBI are scheduled to meet in New Haven on Aug. 7 to sort
out issues related to the case before Smiley's sentencing in September. He
faces up to six years in prison, but the judge could impose more jail time
if proof emerges that he stole more than the nearly 100 he has already
confessed to taking.

The oldest maps dated to the 1500s and some are the first records of
settlements, territories and discoveries in America, experts say.

Poor record-keeping by the libraries limited the FBI's investigation.
Investigators also had difficulty tracing maps, which were printed in
multiple copies, to a single owner.

Investigators say that without Smiley's cooperation they would have
recovered only a fraction of the maps they ultimately obtained.

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Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com