Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Former Lincoln Museum Head Pleads Guilty

I'm really glad this guy wasn't stealing books. Richard Beard, the former director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, entered a guilty plea on Monday in relation to the theft of a $40 box set of "House" DVDs from a Springfield Target store in August 2008.

Beard's decision to enter a guilty plea came just a day before his trial was scheduled to begin. Judge John Childress ordered Beard to pay a $500 fine, attend psychological counseling, and serve a six-month term of probation, according to an AP report. Prosecutors had "asked for a sentence that included a $500 fine, one year probation and 100 hours of community service," the State Journal-Register adds.