Wow. This is... Well, let's just say that some of the smartest people you'll meet can end up being the dumbest.

This story is being widel reported on most major news outlets. It seems that an archivist at the New York State Library in Albany has been scamming and then selling invaluable documents, just to pay his bills. He's been selling them on eBay, no less!

I just find this to be unfathomable, both ethically, and logistically. Daniel Lorello - who I had dealt with in my previous jobs with a couple of other magazines when I was living in The Hudson Valley for many years - was taking documents from the library and posting them online for sale. Now, I know you can sell alot of things anonymously on eBay - there are alot of fools and charlatans out there that never get caught - but alot of these things are of low value, both historically and monetarily. Somehow, though, Lorello thought that things like a letter from Vice President John C. Calhoun (pictured above) would go unnoticed. the troubling thing is just how much he stole, and how long he's been doing it.

Authorities recovered more than 400 stolen items from his house in Upstate NY. He plead not guilty...

"Officer, I swear I have no idea how those got there. It's a conspiracy!"

Wow... Just wow...