[CPProt.net] A shady hobby: Retiree swiped historical letters

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

A shady hobby: Retiree swiped historical letters 
By Kay Stewart
kstewart at courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Donald Eckard Sr. appeared to be just another visitor doing research on his
many visits to the Filson Historical Society in Old Louisville. 

But the 70-year-old retired advertising salesman would sign in using someone
else's name, then slip out with letters written in the 1700s and 1800s by
famous Americans, including U.S. presidents. 

During a two-year period that ended in August last year, Eckard lifted 53
letters valued at $300,000 from the society, including three penned by
Thomas Jefferson and one by John Quincy Adams, according to a Filson Society
spokesman. 

The FBI said Eckard also took a pearl-handled straight razor from Farmington
Historic Home Museum near the Watterson Expressway and Bardstown Road, a
surveyor's kit from the Locust Grove Historic Site on Blankenbaker Lane, and
several books on historical figures and events from the University of
Louisville's University Club. 

Eckard, a history buff and collector, will plead guilty in U.S. District
Court to nine felony counts of art theft that were filed against him
yesterday, according to his attorney, Michael Mazzoli. 

A court date has not been set but is expected next week. 

Mazzoli said all of the stolen items were recovered and will be returned to
their owners. Eckard has been cooperating with investigators and expected
the charges that were filed against him, Mazzoli said. 

The nine counts relate to letters he stole from the Filson Society that were
valued at more than $5,000 each, the amount required for a federal charge. 

All other items he took were valued at less, said Assistant U.S. Attorney
Randy Reams. 

The nine letters were stolen in four visits to the society in 2003 and 2004.


Eckard also took letters written by Presidents Andrew Johnson and Andrew
Jackson, explorer William Clark, and Jefferson Davis, president of the
Confederacy. 

The charges against Eckard carry a maximum penalty of 90 years in prison and
a $2.25 million fine. Reams said he would recommend that Eckard serve time,
but Mazzoli said he would argue that a prison term isn't necessary. 

Eckard was not available for comment yesterday, Mazzoli said, but he
released a statement from Eckard saying he was sorry and hoped to be
forgiven. 

Mazzoli said he couldn't comment on why Eckard took the items. 

He said Eckard has his own historical collection, including items from the
Civil War. 

According to the FBI, when investigators executed a search warrant at his
home, they found some of the Filson Society's stolen letters framed and
hanging on a wall. 

Calls yesterday to Filson Society officials were referred to the
organization's lawyer, Richard H.C. Clay, who said that he could not discuss
the society's security measures but that they have been upgraded since the
thefts. 

Clay said Eckard had been a member of the society and for a time was a
regular visitor who appeared to be doing historical research. He said staff
members later discovered that he had sometimes signed in using other
people's names. 

After letters were discovered missing, Clay said, a video-surveillance
camera spotted Eckard stealing a letter, and the society contacted the FBI. 

Clay said almost all the letters stolen were found to be in pristine
condition except for a few that can be restored. 

The Filson considers itself the oldest privately supported historical
society in Kentucky. It has a library and extensive collections, including
manuscripts, letters, portraits, photographs, diaries and maps. 

http://www.courier-journal.com/