Ex-director of Revere library arraigned

Robert Rice of Rowley, 45, was ordered to surrender his passport at his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. He faces 21 charges including larceny over $350, embezzlement by a city officer, and procurement fraud, according to the office of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

Prosecutors said Rice, while serving as the library chief, used city funds to purchase more than 70 items between 2005 and 2009 and asserted in purchasing documents that the expenditures were for books for the library.

His lawyer, Stephen Tassinari of East Boston, did not immediately return a call yesterday.

The items Rice allegedly bought included a 3-foot replica of a Thompson submachine gun, which he described in a purchase order as “Thompsons Machine Gun Encyc (4 vol. set),’’ according to Conley’s office, as well as a Leica camera, which he recorded as “The Leica V-Lux Encyclopedia of the Camera (6 book set).’’

During searches of his home and his parents’ residence, Revere police detectives allegedly discovered dozens more items billed to the library, including computer software, furniture, coins, diving gear, statues, decorative glass pumpkins, and birdhouses, Conley’s office said.

Authorities said Rice resold some items on the website eBay. More than 1,500 online auctions were conducted on the site under his account during the period in question, Conley said.

Monetary bail was not set yesterday at the request of prosecutors, but Rice cannot leave the country while his case is pending and must tell prosecutors if he is planning any “extended travel outside New England,’’ Conley’s office said.

The allegations surfaced in 2008 when the city auditor noticed some questionable purchases and the items could not be found at the library, said Conley’s spokesman, Jake Wark.

Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com.