Man found after theft of Shakespeare folio 10 years ago
Let’s go back to 1998 for a second. A rare book of Shakespeare’s works was stolen from Durham University in England. Nothing was found – not who did it, not where they went, nothing.
Ten years later, they finally get a lead. A man walked into a library in Washington and asked them to verify if a book he bought in Cuba was legit. They were happy to check on it, but needed to keep the book for a few days to do a search. The man agreed. Library staff found the history of the book, all right. It was the one from Durham.
By the way, that Shakespeare folio? Worth 15 million pounds (almost $30 million US).
So of course they called the authorities, who were finally able to track down the man in question. Why, after 10 years, did the guy try this? Did he think enough time had passed and he wouldn’t be traced? Maybe he wanted to get caught. We don’t know.
What we do know is the only thing dumber he could have done? Would be to place the piece on eBay. Dumb criminals, indeed.
Image: Newscom
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