NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

INCIDENTS

Richmond NBP

Park Recovers Civil War Mortar Stolen In 1970

A Civil War mortar stolen from the park's Cold Harbor battlefield 40 years ago has been found, seized and returned to the park. In April 1940, the United States Army's Watervliet Arsenal transferred a Civil War era Coehorn mortar to the National Park Service. The mortar remained in the care of the NPS until the winter of 1970, when it was unlawfully removed from the Cold Harbor battlefield. The incident was originally investigated by the FBI in 1970 but without results. In August, 2011, the person who unlawfully acquired the mortar back in 1970 sold it for $8,000 to another party. This transaction was brought to the attention of the park historian at Petersburg National Battlefield by an individual in Detroit, Michigan. The Petersburg historian notified protection rangers there, who in turn notified rangers at Richmond National Battlefield Park. A check of records revealed that the mortar was stolen from Richmond. A case file was opened and an investigation was begun. When the scope of the investigation became apparent and the multiple locations involved in the case exceeded the park's ability to effectively investigate the case, rangers contacted NPS Investigative Services Branch special agents for assistance. Through the tireless work of Richmond rangers and numerous ISB special agents, the mortar was located in Kittery, Maine. It was seized on September 15, 2011 by rangers from Lowell NHP, where it was stored as evidence until being shuttled back to Richmond by ISB agents. In January of this year, the mortar was returned to its Richmond home after a 40 year absence. Plans are for the mortar to be eventually placed on display at the park's newest unit, Totopotomoy Creek Battlefield at Rural Plains, where a battery of Coehorn mortars saw extensive use in 1864. [Tim Mauch, Chief Ranger]

Bent's Old Fort NHS

Employee Sentenced For Embezzling Government Funds

On March 5th, L.G., ex acting facility manager at Bent's Old Fort, was sentenced to a year's probation and restitution of the $1,238 he embezzled through the use of government credit cards. L.G. used the fleet credit cards from six different government vehicles to purchase gas and parts for his personal vehicle. L.G. pled guilty in December to one count of 18 USC 641 for the thefts, which occurred between October 2010 and June 2011. He was previously convicted in Otero County, Colorado, in 1998 for theft of government funds from Bent's Old Fort. At that time, L.G. stole approximately $1,000 from the park's donation box. [Investigative Services Branch]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Office of Communications - Last week, the Department of the Interior Valor Award and the Citizen's Award for Bravery were awarded to NPS rangers and staff and to several citizens for their heroic, life-saving actions during rescues at Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Yosemite, and Zion.

Biscayne NP - Biscayne National Park hosted a new citizen naturalization ceremony on February 29th, the first time such a ceremony has been held in a South Florida national park.

Montezuma's Castle NM - A celebration of Arizona's 100th birthday was held in the park in mid-February. It focused on research, science, history, and the special people whose contributions helped document the nation's 48th state.

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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