Rare document thief sentenced to year in prison

BALTIMORE — A man who helped a presidential memorabilia collector steal rare and valuable documents from historical archives nationwide has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

Jason Savedoff, an assistant to the collector, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Baltimore. The 25-year-old acknowledged in a plea deal earlier this year that he helped Barry Landau research documents and steal them from numerous institutions.

Prosecutors say the pair referred to each other as “weasel 1” and “weasel 2” and would distract staff, sometimes with cookies and donuts, and stuff valuable documents into secret clothing pockets.

The pair’s thefts were exposed last year after they were caught stealing documents from the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Landau pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June to seven years in prison.