ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603040030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
SIX DOCUMENTS which belonged to the University of Virginia were recovered unharmed in Coral Springs, Florida.
Federal authorities said Friday they have recovered about 150 historic maps and other documents stolen from university libraries in the eastern United States.
Six documents believed to have been stolen from the University of Virginia were among the items recovered unharmed by the FBI in Florida, officials said in a news release.
Gilbert J. Bland, 47, of Boca Raton, Fla., surrendered to police in Coral Springs, Fla., on Jan. 2 after learning of three warrants issued by UVa police in the December theft of maps from books at UVa's Alderman Library.
Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney James L. Camblos III said he may dismiss the three felony charges so Bland can be prosecuted instead in federal court for those thefts and similar crimes in other states.
Bland was caught with a rare map and held briefly at the Peabody Library in Baltimore on Dec. 7. He was released after paying several hundred dollars in cash for the damage. After he was let go, Johns Hopkins University officials realized other books had been damaged.
U.S. Attorney Robert P. Crouch Jr. said Bland has been charged with transporting valuable stolen property across state lines and for stealing valuable objects significant to cultural heritage.
Bland and his wife had operated a small rare maps shop in Tamarac, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale. The shop was closed and emptied after Bland was caught in Baltimore.
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