Map thief ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A renowned dealer who admitted stealing about 100 rare antique maps was ordered Tuesday to pay $2.3 million in restitution to his victims around the country and abroad.

E. Forbes Smiley III was sentenced in September to 31/2 years in prison after one librarian described him as a “thief who assaulted history.” He was tentatively ordered to pay restitution of $1.9 million, but that figure was changed after the parties worked to recover the maps and assess their value.

The maps marked the discovery of new lands, traced wars and peace treaties, new settlements and disappearances of people, experts said.

The money will go to map dealers and libraries in Connecticut, New York, Boston, Maine and Britain.

“It’s bittersweet. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to get the money,” said John Koegel, an attorney who represents some of the dealers.

Whether Smiley’s victims will receive the money depends on his ability to pay after he gets out of prison and the government’s ability to sell his assets, Koegel said.

Prosecutors said in court papers that 96 maps have been recovered and four remain missing.

In November, officials with Boston Public Library said three dozen antique maps worth about $1 million were missing in addition to the 34 maps recovered during the investigation. The maps that are still missing were from books and atlases used by Smiley, officials said.

Authorities said they cannot be certain whether Smiley, a Martha’s Vineyard resident, has told them of all the stolen maps.

“However, the defendant’s admissions to a large number of thefts of maps that various institutions did not initially realize were missing reflected well on his credibility, as does his additional assistance after sentencing, with little or no practical incentive to do so,” prosecutors wrote.

Smiley, 50, stole the maps over eight years from the New York and Boston public libraries, the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Harvard and Yale university libraries and the British Library in London.

He offered little explanation for his motives, aside from selfishness. Prosecutors have said he acted out of resentment toward the prestigious libraries and to pay for his expensive tastes and mounting debts.