History Sold to Highest Bidders?: Archivist Charged in Theft From State Museum

Jan 29, 06:38 AM

Jan. 29--ALBANY -- A veteran state archivist said he stole hundreds of historical artifacts from the State Library -- including two Davy Crockett almanacs -- to pay for home renovations, tuition and his daughter's $10,000 credit card bill.

"I am solely responsible for the theft of all these historical documents," Daniel Lorello, 54, of Rensselaer, said in a statement to the office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The statement was made public after his arrest Monday.

Lorello, who was arraigned in Albany City Court on charges that included grand larceny and possessing stolen property, allegedly told investigators he took the items on an "as-needed basis" starting in 2002 and auctioned them on the Internet.

Lorello admitted selling "Davy Crockett's Almanack" from 1835 for around $3,200 and an 1837 almanac of the frontier hero for $2,000, both to a Colorado collector late last year. Around the same time he sold a copy of "Poor Richard's Almanac" for $1,001, authorities said.

He was thwarted after he tried to sell an 1823 letter from Vice President John C. Calhoun to a New York general on eBay, posting it as a historical document, authorities said.

Lorello, an expert on Civil War history, coordinated a three-year plan to renovate the storage of state historical records on the 11th floor of the State Library. His duties also included acquiring new artifacts and working with researchers, said State Education spokesman Alan Ray. Ray noted that Lorello is accused of stealing items from the State Library -- not the State Archives, where he was employed. The State Archives and Library, along with the State Museum, are part of New York's Office of Cultural Education. The library alone contains more than 20 million items.

Staffers have so far recovered 263 items, Ray said.

In his statement, Lorello estimated stealing 300 to 400 items in 2007 alone. He told the attorney general's office he delivered the artifacts by way of FedEx, United Parcel Service and other shippers. Lorello accepted money orders and bank checks for the items, according to the court papers.

"I particularly liked items associated with the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Mexican War, Black Americana, WWI, anything related to the Roosevelts, Jewish items," he told investigators.

Tricia Barbagallo, who uses the state archives almost daily as a historical researcher with the Colonial Albany project at the State Museum, said the loss is immeasurable.

"It's worse than the state fire in 1911" in which the 270,000 manuscripts in state archive were lost, she said.

Barbagallo commended the attorney general's efforts but said it's unlikely all of the missing artifacts will ever be recovered.

While no one initially suspected Lorello, he told investigators he increased his "rate of stealing things" upon learning that surveillance cameras were to be installed in 2007. He noted, however, the cameras were not put in.

The Calhoun letter, for which Lorello sought bids above $1,700, caught the attention of Virginia attorney Joseph Romito, a history enthusiast. He alerted authorities to the pending sale of the item, which he believed was owned by New York's State Library.

Lorello was first questioned by investigators on Thursday and arrested at his home on Van Leuven Drive South early Monday. He is charged with felony grand larceny, possessing stolen property and scheming to defraud. City Court Judge Rachel Kretser released him without bail and advised him to remain in the Albany area. He has been suspended with pay from his job.

Lorello sprinted away from reporters following his arraignment -- then walked the nearly six-mile trip to his home in Rensselaer County. He declined comment, and a ride, when approached by the Times Union on Route 43.

Lorello told probers he "first became nervous" last Tuesday when a supervisor asked him about an eBay identification code, similar to his own -- idd1863 -- with the online auction service.

Five days earlier, senior librarian Fred Bassett had received a call stating that Calhoun's letter, which was copied to microfilm in 1985, was somehow auctioned on eBay by someone with the idd1863 identification, court papers said. After Bassett determined the version being sold on eBay was authentic, he received more news -- Calhoun's letter and its container were missing. When Kathi Stanley, another library staffer, checked other items being auctioned by idd1863, she found more items for sale, including a Currier & Ives West Point colored lithograph that also was missing, authorities said.

State Library Director Loretta Ebert examined the prior sales history for the idd1863 code, and learned of sales that included books matching the library's missing "Davy Crockett's Almanack" and "The New England Anti-Slavery Almanac," court papers said.

She could not verify whether they were the same books. On Tuesday, eBay informed the attorney general's office the idd1863 ID belonged to Lorello. An investigator later went to the eBay auction site and noticed Lorello allegedly trying to sell eight items -- including the West Point lithograph and Calhoun letter.

The investigator won the auction, getting the letter for $1,802 and the West Point lithograph for $460.

Lorello is scheduled to be back in court on Feb. 11. Gavin can be reached at 434-2403 or by e-mail at rgavin@ timesunion.com.

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