A presidential historian charged with conspiring to steal valuable documents from archives throughout the Northeast is asking for court permission to sell artwork and other valuables to cover his living expenses.
The motion filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Friday notes that Barry Landau needs cash to pay expenses such as the rent on his midtown Manhattan apartment, health insurance and food.
Landau's terms of release require court permission before he can dispose of any assets. The items he seeks to sell include an Andy Warhol print he says the artist gave him and presidential inaugural medals.
Landau and his assistant, Jason Savedoff, are charged with stealing valuable historical documents from the Maryland Historical Society and conspiring to steal documents from other archives. Authorities say historical documents, including papers signed by Abraham Lincoln, were discovered stashed in a locker used by the two men. The value of the documents was estimated at over half-a-million dollars.
Both men have pleaded not guilty.
