Rhode Island Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Letter Written by Teddy Roosevelt

Renehan also awaiting sentencing in federal court for stealing and selling letters written by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Edward Renehan, Jr., the former director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, has pleaded guilty to stealing a letter written by the former president from the Association’s Muttontown office.

Renehan, 51, of Rhode Island, pleaded guilty in front of Nassau County Judge John L. Kase to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree. He faces up to seven years in prison. Renehan also awaits sentencing from a federal judge after pleading guilty in May to stealing letters written by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln from a Manhattan vault maintained by the Association, and then selling the documents for $97,000 through an auction house. He faces 24 to 30 months in federal prison on those charges. He will be sentenced by a federal judge prior to the imposition of his state sentence. He is scheduled to be sentenced federally on August 21.

The letter Renehan stole from the Muttontown office was written by Teddy Roosevelt about the death of his son, Quentin, in World War I. The letter will be returned to the Association.

“We were prepared to take Mr. Renehan to trial on these charges, but he instead took responsibility for his actions and will face the consequences of violating his employer’s trust,” Rice said. “The public deserves access to these pieces of American history. This prosecution will safeguard that access.”

Assistant District Attorney Edward Ferrity of the DA’s Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau is handling the case for the District Attorney’s Office. Renehan is being represented by Peter Brill, Esq.