A journalist and writer who makes a speciality of books about Montana has been charged with stealing priceless paperwork from the Montana Historical Society after which attempting to promote them on eBay.
Federal prosecutors say Brian Anthony D’Ambrosio, 49, of Santa Fe, N.M., had visited the museum on a number of events in 2022 and 2023, purportedly to do analysis for a e book, and snuck out with quite a few precious artifacts.
Among the objects D’Ambrosio is accused of taking have been letters written by Nancy Russell to her husband, the famed frontier painter C.M. Russell. Other objects included inventory certificates for corporations based in Montana within the 1800s and packages to historic occasions.
According to court docket paperwork, D’Ambrosio positioned the objects up on the market on eBay
EBAY,
with the impression that they belonged to him and he had the proper to promote them. He was ultimately caught when an undercover FBI agent started corresponding with him about shopping for a number of the objects, prosecutors stated.
D’Ambrosio pleaded not responsible by video at his arraignment in Great Falls, Mont., and was launched with out bail. A message left along with his legal professional wasn’t instantly returned.
D’Ambrosio lived in Montana for a few years and has written for a number of newspapers there, in accordance with his writer bio on-line. He has written quite a few books about Montana, together with “Montana Murders: Notorious and Unsolved,” “Montana Entertainers: Famous and Almost Forgotten,” and “Shot in the Dark: A History of Big Sky Cinema.”
He has additionally written books on different matters, together with a biography of actor Charles Bronson, a number of biographies of boxers and a e book about infamous National Hockey League enforcers.
A spokesperson for the Montana Historical Society stated the museum, based mostly in Helena, Mont., was cooperating with authorities and had been reviewing its safety protocols.
Source web site: www.marketwatch.com
