MT Historical Treasure Sold on eBay: Impact and Consequence

A New Mexico outlaw has been apprehended for stealing multiple historical Montana treasures and selling the items on eBay. Sounds like this could be the start of a western-themed Indiana Jones bad guy scene.

The modern-day bandit, Brian Anthony D'Ambrosio, 50, from Sante Fe, was sentenced in federal court on December 16th.

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In July, He pleaded guilty for stealing multiple 100-year-old items from the Montana Historical Society and selling them on eBay. His klepto habits started in April 2022 and continued into September 2023. D'Ambrosio has written many books about Montana's history and was continuing research during this time. Talk about research "actual value" a little to much...

"The items stolen by you (D'Ambrosio) from the collections belong to the people of Montana, not to you for your selfish, greedy purposes. Your actions forced us to implement stricter rules regarding access and use of historical documents, which impacts all future researchers…. The emotional and financial impacts will be felt for generations." - statement from the Montana Historical Society Staff

credit: Canva

What Montana Treasures Did he sell on eBay?

Court documents said that the Montana Historical Society, located in Helena, said that the stolen items included letters from Nancy Russell, the wife of famous Western artist Charlie Russell, an 1889 Montana Constitution Convention flag and program, an early 1900s Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office card, and a 1905 letter from Centennial Brewing located in Butte.

After receiving a tip from someone who saw the items for sale, he was caught by an undercover FBI agent posing as a buyer on eBay.

Judge Brian M. Morris delivered a sentence of six months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, fined $4,000, and finally ordered to pay $22,508 in restitution. Certainly not a slap on the wrist! Hopefully he will change is ways and at the very least he will have a new book topic to write about...

Credit: Justice.gov , KRTV

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