Bland Mess

[ewilkie@ix.netcom.com (Everett Wilkie )]

This article appeared in Friday's edition of the Raleigh (N.C.) *News & 
Observer* newspaper.

Suspect in map thefts not yet charged

The FBI and federal prosecutors had still not decided Thursday whether 
to charge a Florida man with stealing dozens of rare maps and 
illutsrations from university libraries.

Gilbert Bland, 46, of Tamarac, Fla., is being questioned about the 
thefts, which occurred at seven universities, including Duke and the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Missing are thousands of 
dollars worth of ornate maps and prints from books up to 300 years old.

Authorities identified Bland after he was caught allegedly stealing a 
map from Johns Hopkins University earlier this month.  He was not 
charged at the time.  Investigators later traced him to Florida, where 
he owns an antique-map store with his wife.
-- 
                     Everett C. Wilkie, Jr.
	       Head Librarian and Crofut Curator of
		    Rare Books & Manuscripts
		The Connecticut Historical Society
	      1 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105
         Phone: 860-236-5621, ext. 250  Fax: 860-236-2664
		   Email: ewilkie@ix.netcom.com
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