The Book Bandit: Thomas Pilaar Accused of Selling $35K Worth of Denver Library Books on the Internet

Just when you have thought you have heard of all of the internet selling scams, along comes a new one. 33 year old Thomas Pilaar is accused of selling hundreds of books, tapes and DVD’s that he borrowed from The Denver County Libraries.

Thomas Pilaar is accused of obtaining 7 different library cards under different identities and then checking out 300 items per each card. Of course this begs the question, how in the 21st century was there not a library database or any checks in place to indicate that one person had 300 different items checked out at the same time? Pilaar then sold his ill gotten library gain on the internet, selling many of them via the Web site Craigslist.com

“It appears his intent was to sell 2,100 (items) from the Denver Library collection,” Denver Public Library spokeswoman M. Celeste Jackson told the station. She estimated the losses at about $35,000.

Arapahoe County library administrators said Pilaar obtained three library cards and checked out 250 to 300 items.

James Larue, Douglas County’s head librarian, said Pilaar checked out more than 300 items from two county libraries and had $11,000 worth of overdue items.

Authorities were tipped by a woman who recently bought books through Craigslist.org and noticed the library identification stamps. (Fox News)

One really does have to wonder how it took a person to have $11,000 worth of overdue items before a flag went up notifying the library that there was a problem.

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