Documents signed by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin were among those allegedly stolen by a UW-Madison student arrested Monday.
UW-Madison junior Benjamin Johnson was arrested for stealing rare documents from a Yale University library.
Johnson, a history major, was arrested at Adams Residence Hall by state Capitol and UW-Madison Police after he allegedly tried to sell the manuscripts to a professional autograph dealer.
Johnson worked at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library this past summer, from which he is believed to have stolen approximately 50 historical documents.
'He had sold an original George Washington signature to the president of the Professional Autograph Dealer Association,' said Detective Ed Bardon of the state Capitol Police. 'He had offered her four other signatures of famous people like John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson.'
Ironically, the president of the Professional Autograph Dealer Association, Catherine Barnes, had recently formed a network for reporting stolen manuscripts so autograph dealers can verify whether documents were stolen.
Upon his arrest, 'Johnson admitted everything and we found the documents he stole,' Bardon said.
Johnson is currently being held in Dane County Jail and his bail is set for $10,000.
'This case is still in the investigative stage,' said Dane County District Attorney Brian Branchard.
