Trial begins for British book dealer accused of stealing rare first edition Shakespeare
By APWednesday, June 16, 2010
Trial begins for UK man in stolen Shakespeare case
LONDON — A flamboyant British book dealer accused of stealing a rare first edition of Shakespeare’s plays has appeared in court to face trial.
Raymond Scott is accused of stealing the 1623 folio from England’s Durham University in 1998. The 53-year-old was arrested after a man took the volume to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., claiming he found it in Cuba.
Scholars consider the folio one of the most important printed works in the English language.
Scott is also charged with theft and handling stolen goods in cases unrelated to the folio. He has denied all the charges.
He arrived Wednesday at northeastern England’s Newcastle Crown Court in a silver Chrysler 300 limousine. For an earlier appearance, he came in a horse-drawn carriage.
