Woman arraigned on charges of stolen documents

The wife of a man accused of stealing rare items from libraries has been arraigned in Great Falls, accused of helping her husband sell stolen documents on the Internet auction site eBay.

Caroline Brubaker, 64, appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court on charges of conspiracy to traffic in stolen property and possession and sale of stolen property.

Her husband, 73-year-old James Brubaker, was arrested on similar charges in March.

Federal prosecutors allege James Brubaker stole rare books, maps and other documents from libraries and universities in the Western United States and Canada from 2003-2007.

According to court documents, the Brubakers removed stamps and other items that identified the source of the materials, then put the materials up for auction on the Internet from their home in Great Falls.

In 2006, a librarian at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., noticed sections missing from reference books that were more than 100 years old. Court records indicate the librarian searched eBay, found some of the missing items for sale under the name "montanasilver" and reported it to police.

In December 2007, Great Falls Police searched the couple's home. Court documents indicate officers found books from more than 100 libraries, with some volumes dating back to the mid-1700s. Prosecutors say the officers also found hundreds of documents in envelopes, ready to be mailed out.

The case gained national attention when an article in the April edition of Smithsonian magazine detailed the efforts of a Western Washington University librarian to find documents allegedly stolen from the university.

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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com