Canadian facing jail for 'breathtaking' theft of U.S. historical artifacts

After a prominent U.S. presidential historian was sentenced last week to a seven-year prison term for stealing thousands of invaluable documents from various libraries and archives, the young Canadian man who served as his partner in crime is also facing jail time for his role in the brazen plunder of American heritage.

Jason Savedoff, a 25-year-old former Vancouver resident and McGill University student, pleaded guilty in November 2011 to carrying out the thefts with New York author and presidential pundit Barry Landau, a well-known U.S. antiquarian who specialized in writing about and collecting historical artifacts related to the White House and its occupants.

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Landau pleaded guilty in February to what U.S. authorities have called a "truly breathtaking" crime in which typed speeches once held in the hands of Second World War-era president Franklin D. Roosevelt — including the water-damaged address from his rain-soaked, 1937 inauguration ceremony — and documents signed by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were stolen from U.S. libraries and museums.

Prosecutors characterized the 64-year-old Landau as the "organizer" and "leader" of the massive theft of archival heritage, which he appears to have begun committing decades ago. But Savedoff — who was arrested last July at the Baltimore headquarters of the Maryland Historical Society, while in possession of dozens of pilfered documents worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — is shown in U.S. court filings to have been key to the lucrative scheme since 2010, having helped maintain a "checklist" of valuable items to be targeted and sliding irreplaceable manuscripts into secret pockets sewn into his clothing.

At the time of his arrest, Savedoff was said to have been trying to flush a document down a library toilet after an archivist became suspicious of his activities and called police.

http://www.canada.com/travel/Canadian+facing+jail+breathtaking+theft+historical+artifacts/6878873/story.html