BIZARRE! MORE DURER/BOSTON LIBRARY stuff missing!

HERE’S MORE OF THE CRAZINESS BEING REPORTED ABOUT WHAT ARE NOW MORE HEISTS:

FIRST THIS APPEARS: Apparently more than just valuable artwork is missing from the Boston Public Library’s archives.

A library spokeswoman says a retired employee who now volunteers told administrators last week that gold coins originally placed in the cornerstone of the main building have been missing for decades.

The spokeswoman said the library has informed police.

The coins were apparently placed in a time capsule in 1888 which was opened in the 1990s. No estimate of the coins’ value was disclosed.


THEN THIS GETS REPORTED-OH THOSE EMAILS:

A report of gold coins long missing from the Boston Public Library is now part of an expanding probe into the suspected theft of rare artwork at the Copley Square branch — a development Mayor Martin J. Walsh learned about only this week.

A retired library employee sent an email to the city May 22, urging investigators to look into valuable gold coins that went missing decades ago, according to a source close to the investigation.

“The mayor was made aware on Tuesday (by library brass). The mayor is very disappointed in yet another breach of security,” said Laura Oggeri, spokeswoman for Walsh.

The former employee, who was not identified, said the coins were placed in the original cornerstone of the library’s iconic McKim Building, BPL spokeswoman Melina Schuler said in a statement.


PERPLEXING ONLY?

“He alleged that these coins are missing from library collections,” Schuler said. “Based on his limited information, it is our estimation that these items went missing several decades ago. It is perplexing why this is only being shared now with library administrators, but we are taking this inquiry seriously.”

The library is “checking our records on the status of these items, and the Boston Police Department has been notified,” Schuler added.

The library declined to share the email because it is part of an ongoing police investigation. It was unclear why or precisely when the gold coins were placed in the cornerstone, and when they went missing.

Schuler stressed that it’s “unverified” that the coins are gone. “This is an accusation from a retired employee,” she said.

GEE, WHERE’S HITCHINGS SPOUTING OFF WHEN YOU NEED HIM-IF GOLD COINS MISSING, THEY WERE UNDER HIS WATCH

The library and its president, Amy Ryan, have been under fire since the revelation last week that two works of art — a 1504 engraving by Albrecht Durer worth $600,000 and a 1634 Rembrandt etching worth between $20,000 and $30,000 — are suspected stolen. The FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Boston police anti-corruption unit are investigating.

The library’s special collections keeper, Susan L. Glover, who makes $107,000 a year, has been placed on leave. No charges have been filed.

The library also gave away its only copy of the historically significant 1800 book “The Prospect Before Us” by James T. Callender in March to a non­profit group, only to ask for it back once the group flagged it as valuable. A similar title was up for auction on eBay for $19,500, triggering the alert.

All the missing art — and the lax security that led to it — is set to be addressed at an emergency meeting of the library trustees to be held possibly next week. The session was ordered by an angry Walsh.

City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, chairman of the public safety committee, yesterday called for Ryan’s resignation after hearing about the report of gold coins missing from the library collection. He also said library trustee board chairman Jeffrey Rudman should step down.

Walsh has called on the trustees to address Ryan’s job performance in light of the suspected thefts.

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