Former Kansas Cosmosphere Operator Sold Artifacts Belonging To Museum

Max Ary, the popular former operator of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, was sentenced Monday to three years in prison on charges he stole artifacts from the museum, and sold them for his personal benefit.

Turning down his request for leniency, Judge J. Thomas Marten sentenced Ary to the prison term, as well as three years of supervised probation after his time in jail.

The Wichita Eagle reports Ary will also have to pay back the money authorities say he received from selling the artifacts. While an exact amount hasn't yet been determined, US Attorney Eric Melgren said that total will fall somewhere between $200,000 and $400,000.

Ary, 56, was convicted last year on 12 federal charges stemming from his sale of museum artifacts. Those charges included mail and wire fraud, theft of government property, interstate transport of stolen goods, and money laundering.

Ary's problems began in August 1999, when the Cosmosphere board told Ary to sell some of the museum's artifacts in order to raise money to restore the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule in its collection. Ary told the court he decided to sell some items from his personal collection at the time, as well, and he organized both sets of artifacts for auction at his home.

During that process, Ary told the jury, those two groups became mixed -- and that he mistakenly pocketed some of the money raised from selling the museum's items, believing the objects were from his private collection. Prosecutors rebuked that claim, calling Ary a liar.

However, several of Ary's friends and associates -- including astronauts Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan and Wally Schirra, who set up a website to collect funds for Ary's defense (below) -- believed Ary's claim that it was an honest mistake.

The Cosmosphere "really was my life" for the better part of 50 years, Ary told the court Monday before his sentencing. The Eagle reports Ary -- who built the former Hutchinson, KS planetarium into one of the nation's premier space museums -- told the judge that he poured his livelihood into the museum, in a heartfelt attempt to take the Cosmosphere "to the next level."

"Did I make mistakes? Sure," Ary said before his sentencing, adding the trial had been a "surreal experience."

Judge Marten acknowledged the high level of support of Ary, and he admitted that was a factor in his deliberations.

"This is not a day for vengeance and retribution," Judge Marten told Ary. Nevertheless, "I think a prison sentence in your case is important."

Lee Thompson, Ary's attorney, had argued for probation for his client -- adding that would better allow Ary to pay off his debt to the museum.

FMI: www.cosmo.org