Economics professor set to pay for manure

A Harvard economics professor accused of stealing horse manure from a 98-year-old Rockport farmer received a market lesson yesterday as charges against him were dismissed but restitution was set at an amount he once deemed ''artificially inflated."

Martin Weitzman, 63, agreed to pay $600 to Charlie Lane for one truckload of manure Weitzman took from the farmer on April 1. The going rate for a truckload of manure is about $20.

The professor was charged with larceny, trespassing, and destruction of property in a case that drew international attention. The case in Gloucester District Court was put off as Weitzman insisted on either a trial or a settlement that did not call for him to admit guilt. The settlement also requires Weitzman to pay $300 to the Rockport Boy Scouts, instead of performing community service.

''I learned a lot, but it wasn't worth the agitation," Weitzman said after yesterday's hearing.

Essex Assistant District Attorney Stephen Patten objected to the deal, saying that a professor from Harvard, ''one of the finest institutions in our nation," should be held responsible for his actions. The prosecutor said he wanted, at the very least, an admission from Weitzman that he took the manure without permission.

Weitzman, an avid gardener who sought the manure for his Gloucester flower beds, has contended he received permission several years ago from another farmer, which he interpreted as a blanket approval for removing manure from the Rockport fields.

''If he shouldn't be held accountable, either by exercising his right to a trial or admitting to what he did, then who should be held accountable?" Patten asked Gloucester District Court Judge Richard Mori.

But the judge, who recalled fond boyhood memories of traveling with his grandfather to get manure for the garden, said he didn't expect Weitzman would run afoul of the law again. ''I have many cases to try," Mori said, adding that he accepted the settlement ''in the interest of justice."

Lane also said he was satisfied with the deal. The farmer said ''no trespassing" was clearly posted on his land and he believes Weitzman drove off with manure from his fields several times, not just on the day he was arrested.

But Lane said it didn't matter to him that Weitzman did not have to admit any guilt.

''I don't care what they do as long as I get my $600," said Lane.