Missing Washington letter may be tied to man accused of Md. theft

As archivists comb their collections to make sure they're not missing artifacts after a presidential historian was charged this month with stealing millions of dollars in documents from the Maryland Historical Society, the accused author's name has turned up in the investigation of a George Washington letter that went missing in Philadelphia.

Author Barry Landau and companion Jason Savedoff visited the Historical Society of Pennsylvania 17 times, said Lee Arnold, senior director of the library and collections there.

Arnold said the archive in Philadelphia received information this week that Landau may have tried to sell the missing letter signed by Washington. Its records show Landau's assistant, Savedoff, checked out a box that contained the letter in the weeks before it was offered for sale.

The Baltimore Sun first reported that Landau, 63, and Savedoff, 24, were arrested July 9 in Baltimore after an employee of the Maryland Historical Society saw Savedoff tuck a document into a portfolio and walk out of the library, authorities say in court documents.

Investigators say they found 60 historical documents, many of them signed out by Landau, inside a locker Savedoff was using at the library. The documents included papers signed by Lincoln worth $300,000 and numerous presidential inaugural ball invitations and programs worth $500,000.

Landau's attorney, Steven D. Silverman, says there's no evidence against the historian. Savedoff's attorney did not return calls for comment. Attorneys for both New York City residents have asked for a review of why each was denied bail while being held on a charge of theft over $100,000.