posted 04-12-2005 10:15 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Spacepsycho:
Is there a single person who posts in support of Max who's given a seconds thought to the dozens of people who've lost thousands of dollars?

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For that alone, he deserves the respect by this community enough that we do not jump to conclusions, however "painfully obvious" they may appear now.

posted 04-13-2005 10:23 PM               

I'd just like to state the following: I've known Max for over thirty (30) years. When I was a high school student, I worked with him in Hutchinson when the Cosmosphere was still an idea of his. Later, after I had a degree in history and he'd begun to create one of the world's foremost space history centers, I had the privilege of working as an exhibit researcher/writer/designer of his. He has been a mentor to, confidant of and inspiration to me for all those years.

Having read many news accounts of the accusations and indictments against him, I can see how many of you might simply assume he's guilty. Such is human nature, to assume the worst.

Perhaps we should assume the worst. But not of Max Ary, a man I'm certain I've known far longer and know far better than anyone here. At the age of 46, having myself felt the sting of pettiness, jealousy and betrayal, I can tell you there's far more to this story than any of you know.

Max is the rare person who can both conceive great ideas and then make them happen. He's been admired by many... and, without doubt, envied by many. Such people, who must deal with myriad bureaucrats, city fathers, taxpayers, board members, employees and fellow professionals, inevitably become targets of vitriol for one reason or another. And usually for many reasons.

I've not been in the high-profile positions Max has occupied. But I know what pettiness, jealousy and back-stabbing can do; I have yet to work for an organization where such base characteristics of human nature were not somehow at play. I have, myself, been unjustly accused of improper actions as a professional... by, as a matter of fact, people who understood nothing of my profession.

I suggest that something similar is playing out in this case.

posted 04-14-2005 12:41 PM               

I really enjoy collecting books about the space program and I have a copy of Lost Spacecraft by Curt Newport. Curt has signed this book and so has Jim Lewis who was the helicopter pilot that had to drop the Liberty Bell 7 when his engine threatened to quit. I have been in contact with Max's staff at the Ominplex hoping to be able to send him the book. Unfortunely the book came back from Jim Lewis the same week that Max was indicted. My guess is that Max will not sign anything for me for some time. Still I hope that I can add his signature to the book.

posted 04-14-2005 12:55 PM            

The goods that Novaspace sells on the Astro-Auction for the Gene Cernan Garage sale for the last three years are goods loaned to the Cosmosphere during Max's tenure. When Max left, Cernan asked for everything back. We have a very complete inventory list, and everything, however inconsequential is tagged and bagged, all done during Max's watch. All accounted for.

posted 04-14-2005 02:29 PM               

The risk of tainting a jury's judgment on a case, through gossip and opinion prior to the case 'being heard' is considered too great a risk within the British legal system.

posted 04-14-2005 05:39 PM               

Sure, a member of the public may have an opinion on someone's guilt or innocence. They are entitled. We have seen that time and time again of late, have we not?

posted 04-14-2005 06:15 PM            

I had heard of the Cosmosphere investigation but never would I have thought that a man I consider to be a friend be accused of such a thing. Any person that would steal NASA artifacts, sell them at auction, and expect to get away with it is an idiot. Max Ary is no idiot and all I can say is that there is probably far more to this story than I, or any one of us will ever know.

I have known Max for about 20 years, primarily through our mutual interest in seeing the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury spacecraft recovered and restored for public display. In addition, Max and I shared a cabin on the MV Ocean Project for about two weeks during the recovery of Grissom's Mercury spacecraft. I can state with some confidence that Max Ary is probably one of the "straightest arrows" I have ever met. I think that men like Max are bred that way in the Midwest. For Max to do what he has been accused of goes against everything that defines him as a human being, in my opinion.

I am not saying that Max Ary is at fault. I am not saying that the Cosmosphere is at fault. I am not saying that the Department of Justice is at fault. What I am saying is that everyone needs to keep an open mind on the subject and realize that the Federal Government is not always right when they accuse private individuals of crimes; does anyone here remember a man named Richard Jewell?

posted 04-15-2005 12:35 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Danno:
I'd be interested in hearing the Max Ary side.

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posted 04-23-2005 01:34 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Danno:
...and as a side note, if Max is found innocent, all the people who had their artifacts taken as evidence will get them back.

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posted 04-23-2005 02:02 AM               

Does it make sense that someone in as high a profile as Max would steal items only to sell them on the open market at a highly visible auction and expect no one to notice? That would be like the director of the New York Museum of Modern Art lifting a Picasso off the wall, then auctioning it off from Sotheby's hoping not to get caught.

What I have heard beyond the newspaper accounts, would suggest that this was all a case of very sloppy bookkeeping and little more. The Cosmosphere has title to a lot of stuff and can do with it what they please, including selling it. They also have a lot on semi-permanent loan (theirs to keep, but not to sell). If the paperwork gets mixed up, or a new staffer comes in and shuffles things around... it would be easy to lose track of ownership.

At one auction an Apollo IVA jacket was sold that was actually on NASA loan. Some staffer had accidentally traded it away for something else, and it eventually worked its way to Superior. The Cosmosphere was going to try and buy it back, but I got to it before they did.

There was nothing special about the jacket, as they had a number of them, but that one specific item was not theirs to sell. They very quickly contacted me, and we made a nice trade as a result.

On another time, I purchased one of the "stolen" items, then contacted the Cosmosphere to get a COA for it. I did not deal with Max, but with one of his assistants, who apparently managed the sales at the auction. So obviously the sales were hardly a secret having been vetted through a number of people. This fellow had full knowledge of all of their lots and expressed amazement that I was able to get this item at such a good price.

posted 04-23-2005 08:10 AM               

Really, how could Max have expected to get away with such a thing? He's NOT stupid. It underscores the obvious nature of the allegations that many seem not to appreciate.

posted 04-27-2005 01:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
United States Attorney Eric Melgren said today that defendant Max Ary is set for an initial appearance in federal court at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 27, 2005.

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posted 04-27-2005 01:26 PM               

Max Ary, who helped create and build the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, pleaded not guilty this morning in federal court to 11 charges of fraud, theft and transporting stolen property in connection with items missing from the Hutchinson museum's inventory...

"My defense is very, very simple: I'm not guilty," Ary said.

posted 05-04-2005 02:53 PM               

Max Ary, 55, Oklahoma City, Okla., who is charged in a 19-count superceding indictment with stealing artifacts from the space flight museum in Hutchinson, Kan., and selling them. The superceding indictment adds eight counts to the original 11-count indictment filed April 6, 2005.

The most significant differences with the original indictment are:

Three additional counts (counts No. 5, 9 and 14) of mail fraud in which Ary is charged with using the U.S. Postal system to commit fraud against the Kansas Cosmosphere, denying the Cosmosphere the intangible right to his honest services.

Three additional counts of money laundering (counts No. 7, 11 and 16) in which Ary is charged with depositing checks into his personal accounts after selling artifacts that belonged to the Cosmosphere.

One additional count of interstate transportation of stolen property (count No. 17) based on evidence recovered during a Dec. 18, 2003, search of his home in Oklahoma City. Some items obtained in the search are identified in the superceding indictment. Another list identifies items recovered Dec. 23, 2003.

One additional count (count 19) seeking the forfeiture of property involved in the crimes alleged in the money laundering counts.

Ary now faces the following counts: three counts of wire fraud; two counts of mail fraud; three counts of theft of government property; two counts of mail fraud and denial of honest services; four counts of money laundering; two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property; and two forfeiture counts. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NASA's Office of Inspector General.

If convicted, Ary faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the wire fraud and mail fraud counts. He faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine on each count of theft and each count of transportation of stolen properties.

A complete copy of the superceding indictment will be posted on the U.S. Attorney's website.

posted 05-14-2005 05:37 PM               

When the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center first reported artifacts missing from their collection in late 2003, the items were said to number more than 100. In fact, federal investigators searched for more than 400 pieces of space memorabilia after an internal audit failed to locate them, writes Chris Green in the May 13 issue of The Hutchinson News.

posted 06-15-2005 01:41 AM               

A U.S. District Court judge denied a motion Tuesday that would've required federal prosecutors to provide defense attorneys more specifics about the charges against former Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center director Max Ary.

Judge J. Thomas Marten said he thought the 19-count superseding grand jury indictment filed by prosecutors in May provided enough details for Ary to defend himself against charges he stole, sold and mishandled artifacts from the space museum he led for nearly 27 years...

Thompson expressed concern during Tuesday's hearing that the indictment did not properly spell out which allegedly mishandled artifacts provide the basis for the federal charges against Ary.

That's important, Thompson said, because Ary needs to know if he's being charged for selling or possessing space artifacts that were gifts to him from astronauts or his own personal property.

To prove his point, Thompson provided the court a letter from astronaut Charlie Duke apparently saying that one of 10 Kansas flags he donated to the Cosmosphere - which had been flown to the lunar surface - should be given to Ary.

Ary is accused in the indictment of selling one of the Cosmosphere's flags in a May 2001 space auction.

posted 06-29-2005 09:20 AM            

Federal prosecutors in Wichita, Kansas are not commenting about a new loan agreement of space artifacts from the Kansas Cosmosphere to the Oklahoma City Omniplex... artifacts which the government says were illegally loaned by former Cosmosphere director Max Ary.

Omniplex spokeswoman Nancy Coggins confirms the three space artifacts are among those named and identified in the federal indictments against Ary who faces the charges in Wichita federal court.

"There are three artifacts that are listed in the indictments against Max Ary as illegally loaned artifacts to our museum as well as other artifacts illegally loaned to other museums," said Coggins in an interview with KTOK. She explained the artifacts have been on loan for nearly 20 years from the Cosmosphere based in Hutchinson, Kansas. And a new loan agreement was signed in recent days.

"We did. We sign it each June. We just recently signed the paperwork to renew our loan for all of our Cosmosphere loaned artifacts," added Coggins. "Each and every year we sign a loan agreement, a renewal with the Cosmosphere. So the items that they have listed in the indictment that were illegally loaned continue to be loaned to us every year."

The three items on loan to the Omniplex are a 'fecal containment system' used on the Apollo spacecraft. But the federal prosecutors are not answering questions about the legality of the new loan agreement and whether the new director of the Cosmosphere could also face charges for doing what Ary did in loaning the articles to other museums.

Contacted by KTOK, a spokeswoman for the U-S Attorney in Wichita, Kansas said she could not comment. A call to the Cosmophere has not been returned to KTOK News.

posted 09-21-2005 09:22 PM               

Former Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center director Max Ary filed a civil lawsuit Friday against the museum, seeking more than $300,000 in damages.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by Ary's attorney Lee Thompson, claims the Cosmosphere breached Ary's contract after his 2002 departure from the museum.

Furthermore, the suit claims, the museum is in possession of "space artifacts, and various personal property" belonging to Ary worth more than $300,000 now combined with the museum's collection.

Ary is under federal indictment for allegedly selling artifacts that belonged to the Cosmosphere.

posted 09-25-2005 04:29 PM            

On Monday, Max Ary, founder and former chief of the Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center, will go to the federal courthouse in Wichita and ask that much of the criminal case against be him be thrown out.

In documents submitted to U.S. District Judge Thomas Marten, Ary claims that authorities illegally searched his home nearly two years ago and that prosecutors used private communications with his lawyer to compile their criminal case against him.

At Monday's hearing, Ary's lawyer will ask that all of the evidence gathered during that raid be thrown out.

The government, meanwhile, says it's prepared to defend the search and denies it violated Ary's attorney-client privilege.

posted 09-28-2005 04:33 PM               

A federal judge decided Tuesday to allow the use of evidence collected during a search of former Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Director Max Ary's house.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Thomas Marten ruled Tuesday that the government's search of Ary's then-Oklahoma City home in December 2003 was legal.

Ary's attorney, Lee Thompson, had argued Monday that the search was improper and evidence collected during it should be thrown out.

Ary, 55, has pleaded innocent to 19 charges of stealing and selling artifacts housed at the Cosmosphere. He was the Cosmosphere's president for more than 26 years before leaving for an Oklahoma museum in 2002.

In denying a defense motion to suppress the evidence, Marten said that Ary had waived the privilege to keep seized documents he had prepared for his attorney out of the hands of the government.

Those documents, collected during the search, included a list describing various space artifacts Ary claims he owned and how he came to possess them.