A New Hampshire state prosecutor was arrested Friday for possession of three works of art reported stolen from the College's collections in March 1995.
Assistant Attorney General William McCallum of Londonderry was charged with possession of stolen property, a class A felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
McCallum was fired Thursday and is now being prosecuted by a former colleague, Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Ramsdell.
Hood Museum Director Timothy Rub said McCallum was in possession of three prints made from an etching by Piernase, an 18th century Italian artist. The prints were stolen from the walls of Carpenter Hall.
Rub said the prints are "items with a relatively low value."
McCallum was released on $50,000 personal recognizance bail.
Ramsdell said the prints are worth more than $1,000. Hanover Police seized many works of art other than the Piernase prints from McCallum's home.
McCallum may face additional charges when the other works are identified, Ramsdell said.
"We haven't been able to identify all of them yet," he said. "We don't have a real art connoisseur who is able to identify things on sight."
Prosecuting Attorney William Hart was quoted in Saturday's Manchester Union Leader as saying more than 100 works of art filled McCallum's two-story house. The investigation began when Hart received a tip, the article states.
Rub said he is unsure whether other works stolen from the College were in McCallum's possession.
Rub said the theft of art from the College is not an unusual occurrence.
"In the past several years, objects have been stolen from various places on campus: the library at Carpenter Hall, [Amos Tuck School of Business Administration], the Dean of the Faculty's Office," he said.
Rub said no works of art have been stolen from the Hood Museum.
Art on public display is usually well-secured, Rub said.
"Most of the objects are carefully installed, covered by plexiglass, and in some cases there are alarms," he said. But he said it is very difficult to discourage a determined thief.
Rub said College administrations have grappled with the question of whether the desire to display art outweights the security risk.
"We recognize there is a greater risk involved in presenting these works on campus," he said. "But that has to be balanced with the goal of having works from the College's collection visible to students, faculty and staff." McCallum and his lawyer, Stephen Jeffco of Portstmouth, were unavailable for comment.