BUFFALO, N.Y. – A piece of Buffalo’s history went on the black market thanks to a greedy volunteer. Daniel Witek, 54, of Buffalo, NY, walked out of court with a slap on the wrist – time served for a mail fraud conviction stemming from the theft of historical writings from the Buffalo History Museum.
Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Witek received a sentence of time served – roughly six months – from Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The judge also ordered Witek to pony up $2,100.00 in restitution, a paltry sum considering the potential value of the stolen goods. According to prosecutors Michael DiGiacomo and Jonathan P. Cantil, Witek wasn’t after money for preservation; he was looking to profit.
Back in the Spring of 2013, Witek was a volunteer at the Buffalo History Museum, a position of trust he quickly betrayed. He cooked up a scheme to pilfer historical writings addressed to Anson Conger Goodyear, documents rightfully belonging to the museum. Instead of alerting authorities to their historical significance, Witek saw dollar signs and began shopping them around to autograph dealers in New York City and New Jersey.
The feds caught wind of Witek’s side hustle, and a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, led by Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen, and the United States Secret Service, under Special Agent-in-Charge Lewis Robinson, quickly zeroed in on the document thief. While the Secret Service usually deals with currency, their expertise in fraud investigations proved crucial in this case. It’s a reminder that protecting a nation’s heritage sometimes falls outside the usual purview.
Witek’s scheme was simple, but his greed was blatant. He exploited his position of trust for personal gain, turning a piece of Buffalo’s past into a commodity. The relatively light sentence raises questions about how seriously the courts are taking crimes against cultural institutions, even when financial gain is the motive.
The Department of Justice, Western District of New York, handled the prosecution. While Witek is technically paying for his crime with restitution and time served, the real loss is the damage done to the Buffalo History Museum and the potential loss of valuable historical context. This case serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly innocuous volunteer positions can be exploited by those driven by self-interest.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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