GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Carload upon carload, former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed allegedly tried to sell civil war and other artifacts at Gettysburg Militaria and Antiques over the past few months.
Craig Carroll is the store owner and said Reed brought in items ranging from the Civil War to Egyptian periods. Carroll said he did not purchase any of the items from him because he believed many were fake or altered. "Unfortunately there's a lot of dealers out here who sell fake things," Carroll said. Carrol instead allowed Reed to put his items up for consignment.
"Every item was written down on paper, receipted, and was all to be sold on consignment," Carroll said.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane issued nearly 500 criminal charges against former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed Tuesday.
Some of the charges stated Reed allegedly used public money to buy 10,000 artifacts which were to be used for museums, but instead sat in his home.
"One of my employees called me up in the morning and said Mr. Reed won't be coming in," Carroll said. "I said I think he will, he is going to bring another load in on consignment." Carroll said he was expecting Reed to come into his shop with more items but instead was told by another employee to turn on the news. "Agents were raiding him home," he said. Carroll then called the cops. Agents [with a search warrant] took back most of the items.
Court documents back up the claim that Reed traveled to Gettysburg in an attempt to sell several firearms. Carroll said Reed brought in hundreds of items to the store. Court documents show that twenty items have since been seized from the store with a total value of over $36,000. Some of the items seized by investigators included a Russian Miquelet and Leman Indian trade rifle.
Now, Carroll and his employees are contacting people who bought Reeds' items in an attempt to get them all back for investigators. "If they bought it with a credit card we have a chance of following it down," Carroll said.
Carroll concluded by saying he was surprised by the situation.
Reed said he is vowing to fight the charges.