I read last year in my local newspaper that a Virginia man was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing more than 100 Civil War-era documents from the National Archives, including some he attempted to sell on e-Bay. He stole letters written by Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and other historical people. The Federal prosecutors sought a lengthy prison sentence in order to discourage such thefts.

However, the thief pled guilty, and prosecutors said he made $47,314 by selling the valuable documents. Nothing was said in the article if the thief had to pay any of that money to the Archives, or if any of the documents were recovered. Any comments related to this post will be appreciated.
Joe Ashley, Colorado Springs, CO