[78-L] Theft of Recordings at NARA

[Harold Aherne]

I have a few practical questions regarding those who purchased Ebay items from this 
person (and I'm NOT one of them, this is just a curiosity inquiry): I know that you aren't 
legally entitled to keep stolen goods, including those that were purchased innocently. Such
items can in fact be confiscated, assuming that proper legal channels are used and that 
evidence exists to show that you received the goods. Is it likely that any of these
recordings will be tracked down and returned to the Archive, or would the cost of doing so 
exceed the monetary value of the recordings (regardless of their cultural or historical
value)?
 
In addition, how would non-U.S. buyers be handled? Can stolen goods be "extradited" or
are they beyond recovery (aside from voluntary returns)? It is worth noting that civil law
jurisdictions do approach the problem differently; as cited in "Reflections on International 
Law from the Low Countries", "Most of the common law countries follow the nemo dat
rule which denies protection in the case of acquisition of stolen goods. But in the vast 
majority of the civil law countries protection is accorded to the acquirer in good faith
of stolen property" (p. 360).
 
Inquiring minds, etc.
 
-HA