Synagogue custodian guilty of stealing religious objects
Published April 12, 2012
(JTA) — A synagogue custodian in Massachusetts pleaded guilty to stealing gold and silver religious items from his place of employment.
Donald Spencer III, 29, stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of items from Temple Emanuel in Worcester, including Torah shields, a Havdalah set and a Kiddush cup, worth more than $70,000. Some of the items were artifacts rescued from Nazi Germany, according to The Telegram & Gazette.
Most of the items, sold to a pawnshop, were melted down for scrap before police found them.
Spencer was sentenced in Worcester Superior Court to 4 to 5 years in a state prison.
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