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October 10, 2007

FBI tracks down missing Pulitzers

By Jeffrey Blyth

Newsday’s three gold Pulitzer medals, allegedly stolen from the newspaper’s archives, have been recovered by the FBI.

The Long Island newspaper, which was awarded the medals for ‘public service”, is looking forward to their return. But first the authorities want to authenticate the medals and are still looking for whoever might have taken them.

The medals – awarded to Newsday in 1954, 1970 and 1974 – were sold at an auction in California last month for a total of $15,500 The sale took Newsday by surprise. When they looked in their locked storeroom the found the medals were missing.

It is believed to be the first theft of Pulitzer gold medals in the 90 year history of the awards – the worlds most highly regarded journalism prizes

Two of the medals had already been shipped to buyers in Florida. The third was still in the possession of the company that held the auction.

The FBI said they are now in the process of checking their authenticity with the company that made the medals. They know, they say, the identity of the person who consigned the medals for sale. But he has hired lawyers and has not spoken to the police. Earlier the auctioneers said the man was a coin dealer who lives on Long Island where Newsday is published and who has claimed he bought the medals at an estate sale in 2001

A number of employees of Newsday have been questioned by the police.

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