Stolen Washington Letters Return to Historical Society

The Connecticut Historical Society is recovering dozens of stolen historical documents, including letters by George Washington, Marie Antoinette and Napoleon Bonaparte, after two men convicted of stealing the rare materials were convicted.

Barry Landau, an author, presidential scholar and collector of memorabilia, was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year. His assistant, Jason Savedoff, was sentenced last week to a year and a day.

Richard Malley, head of research and collections at the Connecticut Historical Society, told The Hartford Courant that the first set of materials has arrived.

Landau and Savedoff visited the Historical Society four times last year, telling the staff that Landau was doing research for a book. He said he wanted to examine materials associated with presidential and gubernatorial balls and dinners.