Friday, January 21, 2000
Professor admits stealing telescope lens in 1981
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Tennessee professor has pleaded guilty in the 19-year-old theft of a rare telescope lens from the Cincinnati Astronomical Society.
Officials in Knoxville, Tenn., announced Thursday that Robert Keith Thomas, 50, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., pleaded guilty to charges of possessing stolen property and lying to a federal agent. His sentencing in federal court in Knoxville is scheduled for April 10.
According to investigators, Mr. Thomas admitted that he stole the lens from the Astronomical Society's Cincinnati observatory in 1981. At the time, he was a member of the Miami Valley Astronomical Society in Dayton, Ohio, where members often did joint programming with the Cincinnati society.
Mr. Thomas kept the 120-year-old, handcrafted lens — worth at least $25,000 — until 1997, when it was “donated” to Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tenn., to be used for a telescope at the school.
Mr. Thomas was hired at Roane State after he donated the lens.
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