PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Brown University has hired a former FBI special agent to help it retrieve a Civil War-era sword.
The Providence Journal reports ( http://bit.ly/nNXQAb) that Robert K. Wittman is a specialist who worked on investigations that included the theft of one of 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights and the theft of Francisco Goya paintings in Spain. Brown has paid him $200 an hour.
Brown says it's the rightful owner of a 19th century Tiffany silver ceremonial sword. The university says the sword has been on display at the Lee Hall Mansion in Newport News, Va., where it is on loan from the collection of Donald R. and Toni M. Tharpe.
The couple's lawyer says Brown has not proved ownership of the sword.
A trial is set to begin in January in Virginia.
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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.projo.com/
