Man suspected in serial library thefts, Net sales
Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 3, 2007 at midnight
Authorities say they have busted a serial book bandit who roamed Front Range libraries checking out thousands of books, tapes and DVDs and then sold many of them online.
Library losses are estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, CBS 4 News reported.
The borrowing habits of Thomas Pilaar, 33, were anything but subtle, officials say.
He took out seven library cards from the Denver Public Library under different names, then checked out 300 items per card, officials told CBS 4. The library says Pilaar then began selling many items on Craigslist.com.
In Douglas County, librarian's were stunned to discover one patron had $11,000 worth of overdue material, mostly pricey coffee table books and DVDs.
"One day when he tried to check out a 100 (items) or so, we said: 'That's probably enough,'" James LaRue, Douglas County's head librarian told CBS 4 News investigator Brian Maass.
"So, we stopped him at that point and said, 'You know other people want these things, too,'" he added.
The suspected abuse of libraries' honor systems angered officials.
"He stole from his neighbors. He stole from this community," Denver Public Library spokeswoman M. Celeste Jackson told CBS 4 News.
Pilaar was arrested Saturday on an unrelated parole violation, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office.
He's being investigated for theft and is being held without bond at the Denver County Jail, Kimbrough said.
Anyone who may have accidentally bought library material from the man, or know anything about the case, is asked to call the DA's office at (720) 913-9163.
Pilaar declined a CBS 4 request to discuss the library thefts.
Authorities were tipped after a woman who recently bought books through Craigslist noticed the library identification stamps.
"It appears his intent was to sell 2,100 (items) from the Denver Library collection," Jackson told CBS 4's Maass. She estimated the losses at about $35,000.
Librarians from Aurora and Arapahoe County say they also have been victimized in recent months by the mustachioed Pilaar. Arapahoe County library administrators told CBS 4 that Pilaar obtained three library cards and checked out between 250 and 300 items.
gathrighta@RockyMountainNews.com
or 303-954-5486
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