Press release on James Lyman Brubaker map thefts
Ton Cremers (Museum Security Network / MuSeCo)
District of Montana, concerning map thief James Lyman Brubaker. --ECW
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 23, 2008
JAMES LYMAN BRUBAKER PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
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Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced
today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on June 23, 2008,
before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JAMES LYMAN BRUBAKER, a
74-year-old resident of Great Falls, pled guilty to possession and
interstate transportation of stolen property. Sentencing is set for
September 15, 2008. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it
would have proved at trial the following:
On February 21, 2006, Western Washington University (WWU), Office of Public
Safety, began an investigation of malicious mischief and theft at WWU
Wilson. The Librarian for the Wilson Library at WWU had observed several
governmental reference books over 100 years old to be out of numerical order
and missing large sections from the books. The books appeared to have been
intact and in order on the shelves a week earlier. Investigation revealed
that fold-out maps had been cut out of the books with a sharp instrument.
The damaged books were irreplaceable and values are difficult to assign to
the damage. After a complete inventory, 108 volumes of governmental books
had been vandalized with 648 pages of maps and colored plates missing. The
Librarian estimated the replacement cost for these volumes would total
$21,600.
A library employee recalled seeing an individual during the week of February
12, 2006, who had been looking through a large stack of the same types of
books as the ones damaged. She observed a male in his late fifties or early
sixties with short, thin, gray hair, average height and heavy-set; his face
was pock-marked and he had beard stubble. This employee walked by the area
where the man was reviewing the books for a second time, when the man asked
her where he could get a cup of coffee. Later in the day, the man was gone
and the books were no longer on the table.
Realizing that the thefts had likely been for re-sale, the Librarian started
researching the eBay website and discovered several of the missing pages
were listed for sale under the seller name of montanasilver. The Librarian
worked out an agreement with investigators to have third parties bid on and
purchase two documents which the Librarian recognized as matching items
stolen from the WWU library. The items were purchased and sent to the
Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, where Questioned Documents examination
showed conclusively that the items purchased over eBay were taken from the
books which belonged to WWU.
The eBay seller of these documents was BRUBAKER, operating under the eBay
name "montanasilver," out of either Belt or Great Falls. The welcome page of
the montanasilver eBay store claimed the items for sale, "are part of a
personal collection that had been put together for over 50 years."
Investigators obtained a current Montana driver's license photo of BRUBAKER,
which matched the description of the person of interest in the WWU Library
on February 16, 2006. The City of Great Falls provided law enforcement with
a listing of three vehicles belonging to BRUBAKER, including a blue 2000
Mercedes ML4 SUV. A check of WWU parking records showed a citation was
issued to BRUBAKER'S blue 2000 Mercedes SUV on February 17, 2006, at 10:06
a.m. The vehicle was cited while parked in a WWU parking lot, which is the
closest parking to Wilson Library.
A search warrant was obtained and executed at the BRUBAKER residence based
on the WWU investigation. Prior to or during the search, BRUBAKER told an
officer that although he wanted an attorney before talking with police, he
wanted to make it a matter of record that, "Whatever you think you will find
... and, I'm not saying I did anything wrong ... but, whatever you find in
this search, my wife ... only helped me ship some items and with the
listings and had nothing to do with obtaining the items..." BRUBAKER further
uttered spontaneously that it is typical for libraries to clear out
inventory and the books to be offered up on open market with evidence of
library use still affixed. BRUBAKER further stated that, "I admit I've been
to Western Washington University," and that he had been there with a friend
from Canada.
Law enforcement discovered parking passes purchased at the WWU parking
facility for the dates of February 16 and 17, 2006, and hotel and restaurant
receipts that circumstantially placed BRUBAKER in the Bellingham,
Washington, area on those dates.
During the search, law enforcement discovered approximately one thousand
books of which 832 were suspected of being stolen from libraries and
universities. Hundreds of the books were marked with Dewey Decimal stickers
(often used in libraries) attached to the spines, as well as bar code
stickers, library stamps, and stickers indicating "not to be removed from
library," as well as some books that had clearly been "cleaned" to remove
evidence of library ownership. More than 100 libraries are represented in
the recovered books. Hundreds of maps, lithographs, and serial plates were
found in envelopes ready for sale on eBay. Possibly tens of thousands of
maps, lithographs and plates were found in plastic containers.
Many of the documents and maps missing from the Western Washington Library
were located in the search of BRUBAKER'S home. On December 18, 2007, the
items seized during the search were transferred to the custody of the FBI in
Great Falls, Montana, pending a more detailed review of the property seized.
Approximately 750 of the books containing library markings were catalogued
and entered into a database which could then be sorted by library.
During the search, investigators also found the tools used by BRUBAKER to
steal the documents and books from the library, and to "clean" them for
resale. Investigators found magnets used to de-magnetize books so that they
could go through security without setting off an alarm, chemicals and
brushes used to remove stamps, codes, and other identifiers from the stolen
books, mailers used to fortify and protect the documents and which could be
quickly sealed to prevent casual observation or law enforcement observation
without a warrant, and cutting tools.
Law enforcement interviewed a long-time colleague who has known BRUBAKER for
more than 40 years. He advised that he and BRUBAKER had been together in the
Seattle area when BRUBAKER and his wife took 15 to 20 books from an unknown
library and stated that BRUBAKER had taken three to four trips into the
library and obtained these books. The witness admitted to being present with
BRUBAKER and his wife on three occasions when BRUBAKER took library books
from libraries in Reno, Nevada, San Francisco, California and the Seattle,
Washington area. As stated previously, many of the books are irreplaceable
first editions.
Of the 832 books believed to have been stolen by BRUBAKER, 338 books have
been confirmed to have been stolen from libraries. Of the apparent 109
victim libraries and universities (and other sources of books), 51 have been
confirmed as having been the victim of the thefts. Victim libraries were
found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming. BRUBAKER also had valuable books from libraries in
Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge, all in Alberta, Canada. Victim libraries
in Montana included libraries in Belt, Big Timber, Billings, Bozeman,
Browning, Butte, Frenchtown, Great Falls, Helena, Miles City, Red Lodge, and
Roundup.
Of the 832 volumes, 604 books were published from 1900 to the present, 207
published from 1800-1899; and 21 published from 1749 -1799. To date, 338 of
the texts have been determined to have an aggregate value of $89,110. Based
upon known values, the calculated total theft loss amount is approximately
$220,000. Damage to existing volumes where certain pages were removed by a
razor or similar device has not yet been determined.
BRUBAKER faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and
3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United
States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Great Falls Police Department, the Bureau of Land
Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana
P.O. Box 1478
Billings, MT 59103
CONTACT
Jessica T. Fehr
Assistant U.S. Attorney
(406) 247-4637