2009-03-10 – Nate Murphy: noto paleontologo indagato per furto (paleontologist pleaded guilty to stealing)
Nate Murphy, il paleontologo scopritore di LEONARDO (un anatosauro “mummificato”), è indagato per aver sottratto un altro dinosauro.
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Paleontologist Murphy pleads guilty to stealing valuable dinosaur
By KIM SKORNOGOSKI • Tribune Staff Writer • March 10, 2009
Nate Murphy, the paleontologist whose famous discoveries graced the cover of Newsweek, pleaded guilty Monday to stealing a rare turkey-sized raptor from a Malta-area landowner.
Separate federal charges of stealing fossils from Bureau of Land Management property are pending. Federal prosecutors haven’t yet detailed what kind of fossils, saying only that the theft occurred between August 2006 and August 2007.
The maximum sentence for stealing federal government property is 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
The potential sentence on the state charges is far less severe — at most a judge could sentence Murphy to six months and fine him $50,000.
A presentence investigation was ordered before he returns to court for sentencing on May 27.
Murphy was the director of paleontology with the Dinosaur Field Station in Malta for 15 years before resigning July 1, 2007 — one month after the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations, the FBI and the Bureau of Land Management began their investigation.
Carolyn Schmoeckel, president of the Judith River Dinosaur Foundation, said she was surprised to hear Murphy changed his plea, considering that he has maintained the incident was just a misunderstanding.
Murphy told the Tribune that his son found the dinosaur underneath a fossilized turtle and he didn’t realize it was there when they excavated the site.
He said he mistakenly thought the raptor was discovered on land owned by Howard and JoAnn Hammond, on whose ranch he had an agreement to dig. It was actually on land owned by Bruce Bruckner and leased to the Hammonds.
But court documents allege Murphy first tried to hide the raptor’s discovery from other paleontologists, partners and the Hammonds. He then lied about where it was found, saying he excavated it near Saco, the documents say.
Murphy, therefore, claimed sole ownership of the raptor and didn’t have to share profits or control with the Hammonds.
Murphy arranged to loan the raptor fossil to the Black Hills Institute for the purpose of making molds and casts with 20 percent of royalties going to his private company.
Because the bones are so small, finding a raptor so well-preserved is rare. The fossil was complete with parts of fingers, the back of the skull, a fully articulated spine and the brain case. Prosecutors said selling casts of the raptor could bring in between $150,000 and $400,000.
Kevin O’Brien, spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, which is prosecuting the case, said Monday that for now the raptor remains in the state’s custody as evidence.
Eventually it will be returned to Bruckner, but O’Brien didn’t know how long that would be considering the pending federal charges.
Schmoeckel said the nonprofit foundation hasn’t approached Bruckner, but hopes the rare specimen could end up in the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta.
“We’re keeping our fingers and our toes crossed that — in the future — they would loan it or donate it to us,” she said. “It’s a very rare find because it’s so complete. The bones are so tiny and fragile — it’s unusual that they didn’t dissolve over the years.”
Murphy lives in Billings and continues to run a paleo-outfitting business that escorts paying amateurs to private land near Grass Range to dig for dinosaur fossils.
Murphy’s discoveries include a new species of long-necked dinosaur near Grass Range, a family of stegosauruses near Malta and three duckbills, which now share a home at Malta’s dinosaur museum.
His most amazing find was Leonardo, considered the world’s best-preserved dinosaur, complete with organs, skin and tissue. The fossil graced the cover of Newsweek and National Geographic and was the star of a Discovery Channel documentary.
It also is featured in a special year-long exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.
Kevin O’Brien, spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, which is prosecuting the case, said Monday that for now the raptor remains in the state’s custody as evidence.
Eventually it will be returned to Bruckner, but O’Brien didn’t know how long that would be considering the pending federal charges.
Schmoeckel said the nonprofit foundation hasn’t approached Bruckner, but hopes the rare specimen could end up in the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta.
“We’re keeping our fingers and our toes crossed that — in the future — they would loan it or donate it to us,” she said. “It’s a very rare find because it’s so complete. The bones are so tiny and fragile — it’s unusual that they didn’t dissolve over the years.”
Murphy lives in Billings and continues to run a paleo-outfitting business that escorts paying amateurs to private land near Grass Range to dig for dinosaur fossils.
Murphy’s discoveries include a new species of long-necked dinosaur near Grass Range, a family of stegosauruses near Malta and three duckbills, which now share a home at Malta’s dinosaur museum.
His most amazing find was Leonardo, considered the world’s best-preserved dinosaur, complete with organs, skin and tissue. The fossil graced the cover of Newsweek and National Geographic and was the star of a Discovery Channel documentary.
It also is featured in a special year-long exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.
source: greatfallstribune.com
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other links:
Montana: Plea in Dinosaur Fossil Theft
2008-10-26 – Necrologi (obituaries): Yousry Attia, John “Jack” Wilson, Andrei Sher, Michele Piccirillo
L’ultimo saluto a tre grandi paleontologi e un archeologo:
Yousry Attia, Egypt’s principal vertebrate paleontologist, died on Oct. 11, 2008.
John “Jack” Wilson, a SVP charter member, dies at 93
Andrei Sher, noted Russian vertebrate paleontologist, died Aug. 11, 2008
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MORTO PADRE PICCIRILLO, GRANDE ARCHEOLOGO DELLA TERRA SANTA |
ROMA – E’ morto improvvisamente stanotte padre Michele Piccirillo, uno dei più grandi archeologi della Terra Santa. E’ quanto si apprende da fonti della Custodia francescana di Terra Santa. Nato nel 1944 a Casanova di Carinola (Campania), padre Michele Piccirillo, francescano, era divenuto famoso in tutto il mondo per la sua attività di archeologo, legata soprattutto agli scavi del Monte Nebo (Giordana) e di biblista.Di recente Padre Piccirillo era stato sottoposto a un intervento chirurgico all’ospedale Gemelli di Roma e si trovava in convalescenza presso i familiari a Livorno. I funerali si svolgeranno mercoledì 29 ottobre alle 10:30, a Roma, presso la Basilica di Sant’Antonio, mentre una cerimonia eucaristica verrà officiata a Gerusalemme, nella chiesa di San Salvatore, sede della Custodia di Terra Santa, il 25 novembre prossimo, per ricordare il trigesimo della sua morte. Sarà anche possibile rendere omaggio alla salma, il 28 ottobre, presso la delegazione di Terra Santa a Roma, in via Matteo Bogliardo 16. |
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