[meteorite-list] Mars Meteorite Fragments Among Stolen Rocks Recovered by Feds

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:00:11 2004
Message-ID: <200207291650.JAA05939_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.space.com/news/astronotes-1.html

Mars Meteorite Fragments Among Stolen Rocks Recovered by Feds
space.com
July 29, 2002

That stolen but recovered 600-pound (270-kilogram) safe lifted from
NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) on July 13 not only contained
Apollo lunar samples, but also pieces of the famous "Mars rock" -
meteorite ALH 84001.

Federal agents working with NASA have fully assessed the safe's
contents. All lunar and Mars specimens have been accounted for.
However, it is not clear whether some other meteorite material
may be missing. Small pieces of lab equipment, also thought to be
located in the safe, may be missing, as are scientific lab notebooks.

The space sting operation had undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents arresting three student employees of NASA JSC, as well as
another individual not employed at the space center. Arrests were made in
Florida and Texas with the individuals charged with Conspiracy to Commit
Theft of Government Property and Transportation in Interstate Commerce of
Stolen Property.

According to James Jarboe, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Tampa Division,
a FBI undercover operation was underway since May and utilized e-mail to
communicate with an individual offering priceless moon rocks. That individual
called the specimens the world's largest private and verifiable Apollo rock
collection. The e-mail messages were sent from several locations -- the
University of Utah, Johnson Space Center and a public library in Houston, he
said.

In a document from NASA Office of Inspector General in Washington, D.C.,
Jarboe said that the e-mail exchanges between the undercover FBI agents and
the seller included curatorial and historical records on the samples.
Those exchanges culminated in a meeting at a restaurant in Orlando, Florida
over the weekend of July 20-21 to finalize the purchase of the Apollo moon
rocks.

The FBI began the investigation after receiving an e-mail tip at a site
established to handle Internet fraud matters.
Received on Mon 29 Jul 2002 12:50:45 PM PDT