Bad Bookscout Goes Back To Jail!

There's bad bookselling, and there's thievery. This guy combines both!


A book thief who served a four-year jail sentence should have turned over a new leaf. Instead, he has been sent back to prison after targeting one of Britain's most distinguished libraries. The case highlights a little known, but widespread crime.


When William Jacques pilfered books from a London literary collection his punishment was far worse than a library fine. But as prosecutor Gino Connor put it: "We are not dealing with Penguin books."


Nicknamed the Tome Raider, William Jacques had form in library crime - having already served a four-year sentence for stealing books worth £1m in the late 1990s.


Despite his prison term, it seems Jacques could not give up his habit of lifting notable works of literature.


The 41-year-old has been sentenced to another jail term, of three-and-a-half years, after targeting the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley library. Signing in under the false name of Santoro, he simply stuffed books under his jacket before marching out.


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He escaped with rare volumes of Nouvelle Iconographie des Camellias, by Ambroise Verschaffelt, before a suspicious staff member alerted police.


Link:
BBC Article On Book Thief