[MSN] Insider theft. The former chief archivist for The Mariners' Museum faces 20 years for theft. Lester Weber is accused of stealing items from Mariners' Museum and selling them on eBay.

[MSN]

Former archivist faces 20 years for theft
Lester Weber is accused of stealing items from Mariners' Museum and selling
them on eBay.

By JENNIFER LATSON

247-4731

February 20, 2008

NEWPORT NEWS

The former chief archivist for The Mariners' Museum made his first
appearance in federal court Tuesday on charges that he stole $160,000 worth
of museum property and sold it on eBay.

Lester Weber worked at the museum from 2000 to 2006, rising from archivist
to head of archives, where he oversaw a variety of nautical materials. He
was dismissed after museum officials accused him of stealing museum pieces
and selling them online. The museum filed a $1.35 million civil suit against
him in April 2007.

On Tuesday, Weber and his wife, Lori Childs, were in court on federal theft
and fraud charges that could bring each a maximum of 20 years in prison and
a $250,000 fine if they are convicted. They were indicted last week
following an investigation by Newport News police, the Internal Revenue
Service, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Secret Service.

Prosecutors allege that Weber and Childs sold as many as 1,400 stolen
nautical items on eBay - an online auction service - from 2002 until Weber's
dismissal in September 2006.

Among them, prosecutors said, were materials from a collection compiled by a
mother and son who survived the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. The museum
bought that collection in 2001 for $80,000. Prosecutors said Weber and
Childs made more than $5,000 selling pieces of it on eBay.

The Mariners' Museum documents the history of sea travel with more than
35,000 items on display, including 1,500 ship models and 700 navigational
instruments. It also has the world's third-largest maritime library, with a
collection of books, maps, charts, manuscripts and photos, according to the
museum's Web site.

Museum officials declined to comment Tuesday on what was stolen from the
archives, but they have said in the past that the items were stolen before
they could be put on display.

The civil suit also accuses Weber and Childs of permanently altering
historical documents so that they could claim ownership of them. Museum
officials did not say whether a court date was pending in the civil case.

"There is still a civil suit and that's all I can and will say about that,"
said museum spokesman Justin Lyons.

The lawsuit asks that the stolen items be returned to the museum.