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Thief sentenced in Vermont art-as-scrap heist

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July 18, 2008

NEWPORT, Vt.—A man who was part of theft ring that stole $1 million worth of sculptures to sell as scrap metal has been sentenced to as many as 20 years in prison.

Roger Chaffee, 32, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property and grand larceny and was ordered to serve a five- to 20-year term.

According to police, Chaffee and two other people stole 30 sculptures from Joel Fisher's studio in North Troy last year while Fisher -- whose works have been exhibited in New York's Museum of Modern Art -- was out of the country.

The break in the case came when the owner of a scrap metal yard saw a news report about the thefts and alerted police.

Joshua Staples, 18, has pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property. Bradford Earnest, 30, has pleaded guilty to grand larceny and burglary and was sentenced to 15 months to eight years in prison.

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