Thad Roberts

Thaddeus Ryan Roberts
Born 1977 (age 37–38)[1]
Utah
Residence Bowling Green, KY
Nationality American
Occupation public speaker, astrophysicist
Religion The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (former)
Criminal charge
 theft of government property, transporting stolen goods across state lines[2]
Criminal penalty
 100 months federal prison, 3 years probation, 150 hours community service.
Criminal status served

Thad Roberts is a physicist best known for his role in the theft of 17 pounds (7.7 kg) of lunar samples from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas while an intern at the facility. Roberts served 100 months in a federal prison for the crime. Today he lists public speaking for the American Program Bureau as his occupation[3][4]

Early life

Roberts grew up in a strict Mormon home. While at the Missionary Training Center Roberts admits to church leaders that he had engaged in pre-marital sex. Church leaders remove Roberts from the training center and he returns to his Salt Lake City, Utah home where he was shunned by his family. Roberts then marries Kaydee and enrolls in the University of Utah triple majoring in Geology, Geophysics and Physics and setting his sights on becoming an astronaut. That marriage fell apart during his internship at NASA where he met another women.[5]

Roberts earned Bachelor of Science Degrees in Physics, Anthropology, and Philosophy from the University of Utah.

NASA co-op

In his junior year, Roberts was selected for an internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He began his internship in astrophysics before moving to Geo-astrophysicst. He put his training and certifications as a SCUBA diver in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory assisting with training dives with astronauts with underwater mockups of the International Space Station. Roberts fell for a fellow biology intern, Tiffany Fowler, and came up with a plan [6]

Lunar sample theft

Priceless Moon Rocks Now Available!!!

"Orb Robinson" orb_robinson@hotmail.com

If you have an interest in purchasing a rare and historically significant piece of the moon, and would like more information, then please contact me by e-mail and leave your contact information and an explanation of your interest.

Sincerely,

Orb

—Robert's posting to a mineral collector website[6]

On July 20, 2002, the 33rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, FBI agents filled Italianni's restaurant on Orlando's International Drive, a popular family tourist destination, for a breakfast meeting with Roberts.[7][8] The highly intelligent Roberts became suspicious when he noted there were no children in the restaurant. The meeting then moved to a nearby Sheraton Studio City Hotel where 40 FBI agents arrested Roberts and Fowler and recovered the missing lunar samples. Nearby busy highways were shut down during the arrest to prevent escape.[9][10]

Fossil theft

Roberts was also charged with stealing dinosaur bones and other fossils from his school, the University of Utah.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, Thad. "NASA JSC Co-Op: Thad Roberts". JSC Cooperative Education Program.
  2. ↑ Ruz Gutierrez, Pedro. "FBI charges 4 in moon rock conspiracy". Chicago Tribune.
  3. ↑ "Thad Roberts". American Program Bureau.
  4. ↑ "Four students arrested in NASA moon rock and Mars meteorite heist". CollectSpace.
  5. ↑ "Wife-Cheater Steals NASA Moon Rocks, Goes to Jail: Book Review". Bloomberg Business.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 GOLDSTEIN, MICHAEL. "Sheer Lunacy". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑ Ruz Gutierrez, Pedro (2003-07-22). "Fbi Charges 4 In Plot To Sell Moon Rocks". Orlando Sentinel.
  8. ↑ "The Case of the Stolen Moon Rocks". FBI.
  9. ↑ "THE CASE OF THE STOLEN MOON ROCKS: Last of 3 NASA interns sentenced for grievous theft". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2003-11-08. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  10. ↑ Meltzer's, Brad. "Lost History: Missing Moon Rocks". History Channel.
  11. ↑ Kanaley, Reid (October 30, 2003). "Moon rock thief sentenced to more than eight years in prison". Financial Times.

External links