A student who stole 299 rare bird skins from the Natural History Museum to fund his studies has been ordered to pay back £125,000 (€142,821).
Edwin Rist, 22, from the US, was given a suspended jail sentence in April after admitting burglary at the museum in Tring, Hertfordshire, in June 2009. He also admitted money laundering and yesterday at St. Albans Crown Court was told to pay back £ 125,150, Hertfordshire police said.
A spokeswoman said the amount is estimated to be what he made by selling the bird skins, stolen from a private collections area in the museum, on sites such as eBay. He was caught when a collector who was aware of the robbery, was offered Skins by Rist.
Source: Irish Examiner, Saturday July 30th, 2011