U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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257 East 200 South, Suite 1200 |
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For Immediate Release Date: March 27, 2008
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Contact: SA Juan T. Becerra
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Special Agent In Charge Timothy J. Fuhrman of the Salt Lake City, Utah field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that: James Lyman Brubaker of Great Falls, Montana was arrested without incident today pursuant to a federal criminal complaint for violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 2314; Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property. Brubaker, who used the E-Bay name “Montana Silver” on the website, is alleged to have stolen numerous original maps and lithographs from Western Washington University (WWU) library. Detective Bruce McDermott, of the Great Falls, Montana Police Department, learned that as of December 10, 2007, Brubaker's eBay account, “montanasilver”, had more than 550 items listed for sale. Over 300 of these items were original maps and lithographs. A review of Brubaker's account showed that Brubaker had over 1,100 listings on eBay during the previous 30 days. On December 12, 2007, Great Falls Police Department Detectives, assisted by Special Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), served a search warrant on Brubaker's residence. Approximately 1,000 books, the majority of which were marked as belonging to a university or public library, were seized during the search. Hundreds of maps, lithographs and serial plates were found in envelopes ready for sale on eBay. Possibly tens of thousands of maps, lithographs and plates were found in plastic containers. These items were consistent with items stolen from WWU. The FBI and Great Falls Police Department Detectives carefully examined the items seized from the Brubaker residence. Discovered during this review were a black satchel containing a magnet, two razor knives, and US Postal Service Express Mail cardboard envelopes. One box obtained during the search of Brubaker's residence included paints, adhesive remover, and other items believed to be used to remove library identification markings from books. More than 100 libraries are represented by the books recovered in this search. Approximately two hundred-fifty of the books were published prior to 1900, some dating back to the mid-1700s. Investigation revealed that Brubaker placed the lithographs in rigid priority mail envelopes to keep them from bending. Hellson further stated that Brubaker had pre-addressed the envelopes so that he could seal them in the event he was stopped by library staff or police. SAC Fuhrman would like to give special thanks and recognition to the Detectives officersof the Great Falls, Montana Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Western Washington University (WWU), Office of Public Safety, in Bellingham, Washington for their valuable assistance and support of this arrest.
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