[MSN] Forbes Smiley III. Map quest at an end. Collector's thefts, put at $3 million, lead to prison

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Map quest at an end. Collector's thefts, put at $3 million, lead to prison 

September 28, 2006
BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter 
Sometime in early 2005, E. Forbes Smiley III made his way up the stone steps
of the stately Newberry Library, hunkered down among its priceless old
tomes, then sneaked out -- with maps he had torn from two of its valuable
atlases.
It was a crime the erudite and, some say, arrogant Smiley committed not only
here in Chicago, but at Harvard, Yale and at the British Library in London.
In all, over eight years, he stole about 100 maps worth at least $3 million.

As a Newberry official described it Wednesday, Smiley, as a respected dealer
of rare maps and books, was welcomed at such research institutions with
"open arms.'' He repaid the courtesy by committing "cultural hijacking.''

The 50-year-old Smiley, who was caught only after he dropped a razor knife
at a Yale library, was sentenced Wednesday in New Haven, Conn., to 3½ years
in prison. The resident of tony Martha's Vineyard, Mass., was also ordered
to pay $1.9 million.

Smiley stole the maps, the oldest dating to the 1500s, out of resentment
toward the libraries and to cover his expensive tastes and debts,
prosecutors said. He told U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton he was
"deeply ashamed.''


'He will have imitators'
Testifying at Smiley's sentencing, Newberry curator of maps Robert Karrow
said Smiley was "a symbol of the vulnerabilities of libraries.''
"His fame and the monetary value of the objects he pillaged almost guarantee
that he will have imitators,'' Karrow told the court. "And some of those
will learn from his mistakes and outwit us again.''

The Newberry, at 60 W. Walton, has beefed up security, including expanding
the marking of its maps with indelible ink. Everyone is now required to
remove jackets for inspection when leaving.

Eighty-six of the stolen maps have been found and will be returned to their
owners, including the Newberry's 1695 map of South Carolina and a 1636 map
of Virginia. Six were found but not returned, and five have been lost,
authorities said.

Contributing: AP