NASA: Three Plead Guilty in Stolen Moon Rock Scheme

On December 17, 2002, Tiffany B. Fowler and Shae L. Saur appeared
before a United States Magistrate Judge, Middle District of Florida,
and pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit theft and interstate
transportation of stolen property. On December 18, 2002, Thad R.
Roberts pled guilty to the same charges.

Fowler, Saur and Roberts, students working at NASA’s Johnson Space
Center, conspired to steal a 600-pound safe that contained priceless
lunar samples and Martian meteorites. A fourth individual, Gordon S.
McWhorter, was also charged with conspiracy to commit theft and
interstate transportation of stolen property. McWhorter is scheduled
to go to trial in January 2003.

The investigation was conducted by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Tampa Division, and the NASA Office of Inspector
General. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States
Attorney Rachelle DesVaux Bedke, Middle District of Florida, Tampa,
Florida.

For more information on this release, please contact Paul Shawcross,
Executive Officer, NASA Office of Inspector General, at (202) 358-2558.

Previous Release:
2002-081, 07/22/02 – Four Arrested in Scheme to Sell Stolen Moon Rocks
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/press/pr2002-081.html

Editor’s note: You can see pictures of Thad Robert’s big adventure at JSC – including shots in the moon rock curatorial facilities – here at the official Thad Roberts home page still online at the University of Utah. I find it rather curious that the University of Utah would continue to host such a page for a convicted moon rock thief.