The two men accused of cannibalizing, stealing and selling millions of dollars worth of rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh stood in an Allegheny County courtroom Thursday afternoon and apologized for what they’d done.
To their families.
To the library.
And to the entire city of Pittsburgh.
“I used to think I was a good citizen, [a] generous and moral man,” John Schulman said. “The events of the last three years have humbled me and shattered the view of myself as an upstanding character.”
Greg Priore, the sole archivist and manager of the library’s rare book room, apologized to the staff, his colleagues and the volunteers with whom he worked.
"I loved that room. I'm ashamed of what became of it. I'm ashamed of what I did to that room," Mr. Priore said. “I’m appalled at my actions”
Both men appeared for sentencing Thursday before Common Pleas Judge Alexander P. Bicket. Mr. Priore pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property in January. Mr. Schulman, who operated Caliban Book Shop, pleaded guilty the same day to theft by deception, receiving stolen property and uttering a forged document.
Investigators said the men, working together for more than 20 years, engaged in a scheme where Mr. Priore would either remove entire books, or cut out maps and plates of rare collectibles, and then give them to Mr. Schulman, who sold them through his book shop or online.
The thefts were discovered in 2017 during an audit of the library’s collection. Initially, both men faced many more counts, but as part of the plea agreement, the prosecution withdrew the other charges.
The sentencing began just before noon, and the judge recessed shortly before 5 p.m. The hearing is scheduled to resume with arguments from the attorneys in the case, and presumably the meting out of punishment, at 1 p.m. Friday.
As the hearing began, Judge Bicket addressed Mr. Schulman and his attorney, Robert Del Greco Jr., directly, questioning them about an email Mr. Schulman sent to supporters Jan. 12 — the day before he entered his guilty plea.
In that message, reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week, Mr. Schulman said he was innocent but chose to plead guilty on his attorneys’ advice.
Judge Bicket — who read the entire email into the record — asked, “Why should I accept a plea from somebody who says he’s innocent?”
Mr. Del Greco said his client’s email was ill-advised and designed for Mr. Schulman to garner support as he was moving forward in the case.
“Hundreds of articles internationally have vilified this individual,” Mr. Del Greco said. “He was trying to save face and salvage a little bit of reputation.”
Judge Bicket asked Mr. Schulman if his intent was still to be plead guilty, and when Mr. Schulman said it was, he conducted the entire guilty plea colloquy of the defendant again. The hearing then moved on to the sentencing phase.
The prosecution called three witnesses during the hearing, all of them from the library. Mary Frances Cooper, president and director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, told the court that it was not a victimless crime.
“The victims are all around us, in our library, in our community and beyond,” she said.
Ms. Cooper told Judge Bicket that the defendants not only robbed the people of Pittsburgh, as well as scholars and researchers around the world, but that they also dishonored those who for generations have donated to the library.
“Sometimes victims say they want an apology,” Ms. Cooper said. “We do not want an apology. Any apology from these thieves would be meaningless. They are only sorry that we discovered what they did.”
But both defendants did apologize.
“I express complete remorse and shame in my own actions,” Mr. Schulman said. “I accept, utterly, my guilt. I don’t have any dream of innocence.”
He said he hopes to repair the damage he’s caused to himself, his family and the library.
Mr. Schulman’s wife, Emily Hetzel, testified that she and her husband — whom she described as “soul mates” — have been married 28 years. His arrest and the subsequent media coverage had led to their isolation, she said.
“We’ve been ostracized,” she said. “We’ve received hate mails and threats to our safety.”
John C. Thomson, who testified on Mr. Schulman’s behalf, said his friend has shown remorse and a desire to make right what he’d done.
“He can’t undo what has happened, but hopefully, going forward he can make amends,” he said.
Mr. Priore also apologized to his wife of 38 years, noting she and their children "have to live with the shame. I hope they forgive me for what I've done."
First Published: June 18, 2020, 11:22 p.m.
