Man Arrested for Selling Archives on eBay

By Geoff Duncan January 29, 2008

Man Arrested for Selling Archives on eBay

Daniel Lorello of Rensselaer, New York, has been arrested and charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property, and fraud for allegedly stealing historic documents from government owned archives and auctioning off the materials on eBay. Purloined items included an 1823 letter from Vice President John C. Calhoun, copies of the Davy Crocket Almanacs, a Poor Richard’s Almanac, a Courier & Ives lithograph, and an 1865 railroad timetable for Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train.

Lorello, age 54, pleaded not guilty at Albany City Court on Monday, although he previously admitted in a written statement to stealing documents and artifacts going back to 2002. Lorello said he took as many as 400 items in 2007 alone; investigators reported recovering some 400 items from Lorello’s home, although it’s not certain how many items he managed to sell online before a history buff tipped off authorities.

Lorello is an archivist for the New York department of education. He said he sold the items to pay household bills.

“These irreplaceable documents are the property of all New Yorkers,” said Attorney General Cuomo, in a statement. “Public employees with access to records of New York State’s vibrant history are trusted curators who must not abuse their power for personal gain.”

The New York State Library, from which the items were stolen, contains more than 20 million items, including complete set of autographs of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, manuscripts of George Washington’s farewell address, a first draft of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and an extensive set of materials regarding Theodore Roosevelt.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Smart Home

This Wi-Fi robot vacuum is discounted from $199 to $79

The iHome AutoVac Juno robot vacuum cleaning the floor.

Robot vacuum deals are consistently getting cheaper it seems, with it now possible to buy a robot vacuum for just $79. That’s the case at Walmart with the iHome AutoVac Juno Robot Vacuum down to $79 for a limited time. It usually costs $199 so you’re saving a huge $120 off the regular price making now the perfect time to upgrade to all the convenience that comes from having a robot vacuum. Keen to learn more? Let’s take a look.

Why you should buy the iHome AutoVac Juno Robot Vacuum
You won’t see iHome feature in our look at the best robot vacuums but that’s not to say that there aren’t benefits to buying such a cheap robot vacuum today. With the iHome AutoVac Juno Robot Vacuum, you get up to 2,000pa of strong suction power with up to 100 minutes of runtime ensuring that plenty can be accomplished.

Smart Home

The Narwal Freo X Plus is an entry-level robot vacuum loaded with premium features

The Freo X Plus vacuuming pet hair.

Narwal launched the Freo X Ultra earlier this year, and we found it to be an exceptional robot vacuum and mop combo -- though its $1,400 price tag made it a luxury item for most shoppers. Thankfully, many of the Freo X Ultra's best features can be found on the newly launched Narwal Freo X Plus, which offers an affordable alternative to the flagship vacuum and mop combo.

The Freo X Plus should be much more appealing to frugal shoppers, as it clocks in at just $400. That's a full $1,000 cheaper than the Ultra, yet it still holds up to seven weeks of dust, can lift its mopping plate when traveling on carpet, and produces up to 7,800 Pa of suction to pull out dirt and debris from your carpets. It can even apply 6 Newton units of downward pressure while mopping, allowing it to tackle tough stains with ease.

Smart Home

Samsung’s new Smart Refrigerators are already discounted

samsung smart refrigerator deal may 2022 last chance bespoke 4 door french feature

For great refrigerator deals, go straight to the source and buy Samsung’s latest Smart Refrigerators for a great discount. As part of its Spring Black Friday sale, Samsung has discounted six different smart refrigerators with up to $1,200 off some of them. If you’ve been waiting to buy a new refrigerator and you want to invest in a high-end smart refrigerator, this is your chance to do so while saving substantial sums of money. The best thing to do is click the button below to see for yourself what’s on sale. Alternatively, read on and we’ll take you through what we know.

What to shop for in the Samsung smart refrigerator sale
Samsung easily makes some of the best smart refrigerators around so you simply can’t go wrong with whatever you buy. One immediately tempting option is the . It usually costs $4,214 but it’s down to $3,199 as part of this sale. It has changeable door panels which feature the Beverage Zone with two temperature settings which are perfect for drinks and desserts. There’s a choice of an internal dispenser or a built-in AutoFill Water Pitcher. The fridge has a modern design which blends into any kitchen while its automatically opening doors work through a simple, light touch of the sensor, saving you from needing to juggle too much at once. You can also customize the lower-right storage space to be a refrigerator or freezer with five adjustable temperature settings.