First Printing: The Antique Maps and Prints Blog

First Printing is a weekly blog devoted to antique maps and antique prints. We announce meetings, events, exhibitions, etc. We also list upcoming auctions and antiquarian bookfairs. Please email us if you want to announce an event.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Antique Maps Thief E. Forbes Smiley III To Pay $2.3 Million Restitution

Convicted antique maps thief E. Forbes Smiley III, of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, has been ordered by a federal court to pay restitution of $2.3 million to victims of his thefts in the U.S. and overseas.

Smiley, a former top dealer in antique maps, now a convicted felon, was sentenced in September, 2006, to 3 1/2 years in prison for stealing more than 100 rare and valuable antique maps in a crime spree that lasted several years.

Libraries in Connecticut, New York, Boston, and the United Kingdom were among the institutions that were targetted by Smiley.

The Boston Globe reports that 96 of the 100 missing maps have been recovered.



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1 Comments:


Yes, the felon is required to pay restitution, but there's no way a con man is ever going to do that. He will find every way of reneging.

I'm not clear who gets shafted here. Presumably the people who bought the maps had to give them back, and they lost their money.

So where did he stash the loot?

I have to say that if the Police came to me and said I had to give back an expensive map i'd bought, there's no way I would if i'd bought in good faith.

By Blogger Simon, at 1:39 AM 


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