PHILADELPHIA – More than five years after he allegedly stole a thumb from a statue of a Chinese warrior in a local museum, a Delaware man has admitted guilt to a misdemeanor.
Michael Rohana, 28, once faced a potential prison term of up to 30 years for the theft, which occurred during an ugly-sweater party at The Franklin Institute in December 2017.
But the Bear resident reached a plea agreement after a mistrial on more serious charges last year. His maximum penalty now is one year in prison and a $1,000 fine, a court record says.
The terracotta statue, known as The Cavalryman, was part of a 10-figure exhibit on loan from China.
The clay pieces, which date to the 3rd Century B.C., were found at the burial site of China’s first emperor in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.
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Terracotta warrior lost his thumb at The Franklin Institute
In a court filing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia asserted Rohana went past ropes to enter the statue exhibit, which was closed during the after-hours party.
Surveillance video showed Rohana, wearing a green sweater and a red Phillies cap, stepping over more ropes to take a selfie with one warrior. He reached over ropes to break off the left thumb of the Cavalryman, the filing said.
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Additional videos showed Rohana visiting other exhibits during the party, “including climbing up into the ‘Brain’ exhibit and taking cellphone photos and videos.”
“These videos do not show that the male had any difficulty in moving through the museum or that he appeared impaired in any way,” it claimed.
FBI agents went to Rohana’s home on Jan. 13, 2018, and “asked if he had anything in his possession that he wanted to turn over,” the filing recounted.
It said Rohana brought the agents to his bedroom, where he retrieved the thumb from a desk drawer.
Rohana initially was charged with the theft and concealment of an object of cultural heritage from a museum, as well as interstate transportation of stolen property.
The prosecution had to show the thumb was worth at least $5,000 to prove the most serious charge in that case. A jury could not reach a verdict after a five-day trial and two days of deliberations in Philadelphia federal court.
Under the plea deal, both sides agreed to value the thumb, which was re-attached to The Cavalryman, at “not more than $500.”
A higher value would have exposed Rohana to a sentence of up to two years and a $20,000 fine.
The statue had an insured value of $4.5 million, authorities said.
Rohana admitted guilt on April 17 to violating a federal law against interstate trafficking of wrongfully obtained archeological resources. He is to be sentenced on Aug. 17.
The Franklin Institute noted improvements to its security system since the incident.
“While we don’t share specific details of our security protocols, in the time following the incident we have worked with internal and external experts to review and update all our security measures to ensure they meet and exceed industry best practices,” it said in a statement.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
