Space Museum Ex-Director Sentenced for Stealing Artifacts
Max Ary gets three years, with a restitution hearing put off until July.
Former director of the Kansas Cosmosphere space museum (EIN 48-6120520 Form 990) Max Ary received the sentence from Judge J. Thomas Marten, who said "I think a prison sentence in your case is important," according to the report in the Wichita Eagle.
Mr Ary was found guilty last November of stealing artifacts from the museum and selling them at auction between 1999 and 2001. A federal investigation of the missing objects in 2003 (including some on loan from NASA) brought the conversion to light. Mr Ary contended that the conversion was "an honest mistake" that arose from his confusing items in his own collection with those of the museum.
From the sentence, it appears that the judge favored prosecution arguments that the total loss approached $200,000.
After the trial, astronauts Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan and Wally Schirra set up a legal defense fund, indicating the level of support that Mr Ary enjoyed in the space sommunity.
A comprehensive list of stories related to the investigation and trial can be found at the space history site CollectSpace, including an inventory list of the missing objects (which I have formatted for easier reading and put here (PDF 92Kb)). The missing objects includes items not specifically included in the prosecution of Mr Ary, including a number of items listed as "loaned for the filming of the 1995 movie Apollo 13 and were never returned."
Mr. Ary is currently on leave from his position as executive director of the Oklahoma City Omniplex Science Museum (EIN 73-0682415 Form 990), which reports his 2004 salary as $215,877.
The story illustrates a common risk among curators who also collect and the risk of leaders with long tenure (Mr Ary was with the museum 26 years).
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