U. Student a Suspect in Theft Of Moon Rocks From NASA
BY GREG LAVINE
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
A University of Utah physics student who dreamed of becoming an astronaut
faces federal criminal charges for allegedly trying to peddle stolen NASA
moon rocks collected during the Apollo lunar missions.
The FBI on Saturday arrested Thad Ryan Roberts, 25, and two other people,
in an Orlando, Fla., restaurant for their alleged involvement in the July
13 theft of a 600-pound safe full of lunar samples and meteorites,
according to NASA's Office of Inspector General. The safe was taken from
the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Roberts was working for the summer.
Roberts, Tiffany Brooke Fowler, 22, and Gordon Sean McWorter, 26, were
charged with conspiracy to commit theft of government property and
transportation in interstate commerce of stolen property. Shae Lynn Saur,
19, was arrested Saturday in Houston and charged with con- spiracy.
Valy Vardeny, chairman of the U.'s physics department, said that Roberts
was well-regarded within the department. His astronaut aspirations were no
secret to friends and colleagues.
"He is a good kid," Vardeny said. "I don't know what happened."
Roberts, Fowler and Saur were all student employees at Johnson Space Center
this summer but were fired in the wake of the incident, NASA officials said.
An e-mailed tip to the FBI's Tampa office sparked the NASA/FBI investigation.
In May, an FBI undercover investigation unearthed e-mails that offered an
individual the chance to own a "priceless collection: of moon rocks."
E-mail messages were apparently sent from the University of Utah, the
Johnson Space Center and a Houston public library, according to NASA.
The electronic notes claimed that the rocks were from a large private
collection verified to be have been brought back during the Apollo program,
NASA said.
Undercover agents received an e-mail tip in May and started communicating
with a person offering "priceless moon rocks" collected by Apollo
astronauts in 1969 and the early 1970s, FBI agent James Jarboe said.
Investigators say the rocks were being sold for between $1,000 and $5,000 a
gram.
The deal was to be sealed at an Orlando eatery last weekend, according to NASA.
"As you well know, it is illegal to sell Apollo lunar rocks in the United
States," one e-mail read, according to The Associated Press. "This
obviously has not discouraged me since I live in the United States.
However, I must be cautious that this deal is handled with delicacy in that
I am not publicly exposed."
Vardeny said Roberts volunteered three or four hours every Wednesday to
serve as head of the U.'s telescope observatory and shared his love of
astronomy with others. The professor even gave Roberts money to have an
occasional pizza party at the observatory.
U. physicist Richard Price, who taught Roberts in the spring of 2001,
described the student as having a true passion for learning. Price said
that Roberts helped out on research projects and seemed sociable and outgoing.
"He was a very technically good student who had a lot of energy," Price
said. "It's a surprise for a lot of us here."
Roberts spent several summers working at NASA, most recently with
geologists at the Johnson Space Center's Astromaterials Research and
Exploration Science Division.
"There are so many potential adventures to be had in this building,"
Roberts wrote on a NASA Web page that the space agency has purged now from
its servers. "I've been able to break real Apollo moon rocks and catalog
them. I have also been learning how to make thin sections of meteorites and
moon rocks for scientific distribution."
According to his U. Web site, Roberts lists three majors: physics,
anthropology and geology.
Coralie Alder, public relations director for the U., said the school could
not confirm Roberts' majors or his class year. Alder did confirm that he
was an undergraduate teaching assistant in the physics department.
On Roberts' personal University Internet site, he lists himself as an Eagle
Scout; president and founder of the U. Astronomical Society; a member of
the Salt Lake Astronomical Society and a volunteer for the Utah Museum of
Natural History, among other groups. He is a Utah native and also states
that he is a licensed private pilot.
Patti Carpenter, a spokeswoman for the Utah Museum of Natural History, said
Roberts volunteered at the museum in spring 2001.
As for Roberts' current predicament, Price said, "We can only hope some
mistake has been made."
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+----+----+----+----+
Bob Jacobs July 22, 2002
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1600)
Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)
RELEASE: 02-133
NASA COOPERATING IN INVESTIGATION OF THEFT
The FBI and NASA Office of Inspector General today announced the arrest of
three student employees of the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, in
connection with the theft of lunar and meteorite samples.
The employees -- Thad Roberts, Tiffany Fowler and Shae Saur -- were summer
employees and have been dismissed from their respective student employment
programs based on their involvement in the case.
Johnson Space Center notified the FBI and NASA Inspector General of the
possible theft on July 15. Further inquiries about the investigation should
be directed to the NASA Office of Inspector General (Paul Shawcross at
202/358-2558) or the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (Sara Oates at 813/272-8236).
-end-
+----+----+----+----+
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office of Inspector General
Washington, D.C. 20546
July 22, 2002
RELEASE 2002-081: FOUR ARRESTED IN SCHEME TO SELL STOLEN MOON ROCKS
On July 20, 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Tampa and the
NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recovered priceless lunar samples
brought back to Earth by each of the Apollo missions that landed on the
moon. A 600-pound safe containing lunar samples from every Apollo mission
was stolen from the Johnson Space Center on July 13.
James F. Jarboe, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Tampa Division, and Lance
Carrington, NASA OIG Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, today
announced the arrest, without incident, of three individuals, Thad Ryan
Roberts, Age 25; Tiffany Brooke Fowler, age 22; and Gordon Sean McWorter,
age 26. The three were taken into custody late Saturday in Orlando,
Florida, by Special Agents of the FBI and the NASA OIG and charged with
Conspiracy to Commit Theft of Government Property and Transportation in
Interstate Commerce of Stolen Property. A fourth individual, Shae Lynn
Saur, age 19, was arrested in Houston and also charged with
Conspiracy. Roberts, Fowler, and Saur were student employees at Johnson
Space Center.
Jarboe stated that since May 2002, an FBI undercover operation has utilized
e-mail to communicate with an individual offering priceless moon rocks,
which the individual described as 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. The continued exchanges included curatorial and
historical records on the samples provided by
the seller, and culminated in a meeting at a restaurant in Orlando over the
weekend of July 20-21 to finalize the purchase of the Apollo moon rocks.
Mr. Jarboe praised the joint investigative efforts of the NASA OIG and the
FBI in the swift recovery and arrest(s) in this matter.
The defendants arrested in Orlando were afforded their initial appearance
before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun on July 22, 2002.
The FBI began this investigation after receiving a tip through an e-mail
address established by the Tampa Division for Internet Fraud Matters. The
e-mail address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] The NASA OIG also operates a
cyber-hotline, which can be found
at: <<http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/hotline.html>>
For more information on this release, please call Paul Shawcross,
Executive Officer, NASA Office of Inspector General, at (202) 358-2558.
*** End ***
Please do not contact NASA Office of Public Affairs for information on
Office of Inspector General releases.
--Ronn! :)
I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle
