British book dealer cleared of theft of Shakespeare plays, but guilty of handling stolen goods

UK dealer cleared of theft of Shakespeare’s plays

LONDON — A book dealer has been cleared of stealing a rare first edition of Shakespeare’s plays, but was found guilty of handling stolen goods and removing stolen property from Britain.

Raymond Scott had been accused of theft after the 1623 folio was stolen from Durham University in 1998. He was arrested after the volume was taken to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington.

Scott claimed he found the folio — which has been described as part of England’s “cultural heritage” — in Cuba.

At Newcastle Crown Court on Friday, Judge Richard Lowden remanded Scott in custody, warning “there will, in due time, be an inevitable substantial custodial sentence.”