Man who stole artifacts from burial cave sentenced to prison

[Wayne Harrison]

HONOLULU (AP) _ One of two men convicted of stealing Hawaiian artifacts from a Big Island burial cave has been sentenced in federal court to eleven months in prison.

Daniel Taylor had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in 2006. He could receive up to one year in prison and a 100-thousand-dollar fine for violating the Native American Protection and Repatriation Act.

Taylor's co-defendant, John Carta, was sentenced in January to one year in prison. But he died the following month, before he could begin serving his sentence.

Federal officials say Taylor and Carta stole about 157 artifacts from Kanupa Cave in Kohala in 2004.

Last month, Taylor was indicted by a state grand jury on one count of felony theft.

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[ScottM]

This reminds me of a Brady Bunch episode where Greg and Peter stole a Hawaiian idol from a cave. They didn't get thrown in the joint though, they just had some serious bad juju.

[Wayne Harrison]

You had me looking up that one. I'd forgotten about it. Actually a three-part series...

Whitehead, Prof. Hubert (Vincent Price)
Paranoid archaeology professor who holds the Brady boys hostage in an ancient burial cave on Oahu when he suspects them of stealing artifacts. Shamed by Mike's discovery of his deed, he pledges to report the cave's location to the state and is later named developer and curator of the Whitehead Wing of a Hawaiian museum.

Prof. Whitehead (to the boys): "I've turned my back on the academic world. There are treasures buried in this cave that are worth a fortune -- a fortune! And they're mine, all mine!"

[NZcaver]

Yeah, I'm still trying to find that Brady Bunch treasure cave!

Taylor's co-defendant, John Carta, was sentenced in January to one year in prison. But he died the following month, before he could begin serving his sentence.

One word - karma.