Ex-Museum Director to Surrender in Theft of Artifacts

Originally published September 15, 2009 | Newsday | by Michael Amon

I think the provost said it best: the alleged actions violate expected standards of academic honesty and the preservation of historical and cultural objects held in the public trust. This thieving curator may be perhaps the dumbest "smart" person ever. I don't know if they already do it, but anyone working in the realm of archaeology should take an oath like medical professionals take the Hypocratic Oath. Even then, humanness still gets in the way, for something as simple as morality is not innate.

Here is an excerpt from this article:

The former director of Long Island University's Hillwood Museum is expected to surrender Wednesday morning on charges he stole nine ancient Egyptian artifacts from the collection and offered them for sale through Christie's auction house, his attorney said Tuesday.

Barry Stern, 61, of Oyster Bay, was charged with theft and lying to an FBI agent in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip. Stern had worked at the museum for 22 years before his contract was not renewed in August.