Re: Stolen coins from June 2011 returned: 'Inside Job' by Tour Guide

[oly]

On Feb 11, 12:51 am, "News" <m...@sb.net> wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/tour-guide-at-st-louis-count...
>
> "Tour guide at St. Louis County museum accused of stealing Civil War-era
> coins"
>
> BY JOEL CURRIER . jcurr...@post-dispatch.com STLtoday.com
> Posted: Friday, February 10, 2012 1:30 pm
>
> ST. LOUIS COUNTY . He worked at the Museum of Transportation for nine years,
> leading tours and sharing the history of America's planes, trains and
> automobiles with countless visitors.
>
> But when the museum marked the 150th anniversary of the Civil War last
> summer with a special exhibit, police say tour guide James H. Strassner
> couldn't resist taking a piece of American history for himself.
>
> Six Civil War-era coins valued at $18,844 disappeared the evening of June
> 11, a day before the traveling exhibit featuring the coins was set to open
> to the public.
>
> Museum staff called the coins "priceless" and "irreplaceable."
>
> The museum, at 3015 Barrett Station Road in west St. Louis County, had
> borrowed the coins from the American Numismatic Association Money Museum in
> Colorado Springs, Colo., for the exhibit set to run for several weeks.
>
> The coins - a silver dollar and five gold coins dating from between 1849 and
> 1862 - vanished from four glass display cases, probably just before the
> museum's 5 p.m. closing time, authorities said. Museum staff discovered the
> empty cases the next day.
>
> Police said there was no evidence of a break-in.
>
> A few days later, the museum made a public plea to watch out for the coins
> in case they turned up among collectors or at pawn shops. The museum even
> offered a $1,000 reward.
>
> For weeks, the coin search seemed hopeless, and the transportation museum
> said it would gladly take the coins back without asking probing questions.
>
> About a month after the theft, the transportation museum said the coins had
> been returned anonymously.
>
> While the museum wasn't insisting authorities press charges, the ANA, which
> owns the coins, wasn't as forgiving. So the investigation continued, and in
> July, Strassner was arrested for the theft. He was later released while
> prosecutors reviewed evidence.
>
> Strassner, 68, of the 8500 block of Douglas Court in Brentwood, earned
> $10.67 an hour in his part-time job as a tour guide, according to St. Louis
> County employment records.
>
> He and the museum parted ways a few days after his arrest, though it is
> unclear if he was fired or quit. The museum is run by the county parks and
> recreation department.
>
> On Wednesday, a grand jury in St. Louis County indicted Strassner on a
> felony charge of stealing over $500. Strassner is free from jail because he
> posted 10 percent of a $10,000 bail. His arraignment is set for Feb. 29.
>
> Strassner's previous record in Missouri shows only a traffic ticket. Neither
> Strassner nor his lawyer, Robert Horan, could be reached for comment Friday.
>
> Joel Currier covers breaking news for STLtoday.com and the St. Louis
> Post-Dispatch.

The ANA is only forgiving of their own vast and seemingly continuous
insider fuck-ups.

oly