NEWS FROM THE DIVING COMMUNITY!!


Over Labor Day weekend, 3 divers were caught stealing artifacts off 
the Steamer NEW YORK at Port Sanilac.  A boater saw a lift bag come 
to the surface, and reported it to the local sheriff.  The divers
were apprehended by the local sheriff and the DNR and taken to
Sanilac County Jail.  Apparently caught red handed.  Their diving 
equipment was confiscated, but their boat wasn't. It is also
reported that these same divers were also recently caught stealing 
from another wreck by the by the Canadian Coast Guard and let go, 
with no action.  However, a report was written efforts are being
made to obtain a copy.  The theft from the NEW YORK  was reported 
in the Sanilac area newspaper on Monday.

     Jim Stayer called me Tuesday night asking for ideas and requesting 
support to help insure that this case is prosecuted, rather than
disposed of with a plea bargain.  Last night Jim gave me the fax 
number for the Sanilac County Prosecutor's Office.  The number is
     
     810-648-2332.

 Jim has asked me to forward the above fax number to 
club members, asking them to fax some letters to the Sanilac County 
Prosecutor, expressing their concern over the theft of artifacts
from our shipwrecks, and urging that the case be prosecuted to the 
fullest extent of the law.

I don't know that all club members feel quite this strongly, but I 
believe that most of those members who dive in the Great Lakes are 
concerned, and could at least urge that the case be prosecuted,
rather than pushed aside with a plea bargain.  It is probably a
sure bet these divers won't go to jail.  Shipwreck artifact theft 
is not a serious enough crime to warrant that, but I would hope
these divers get dealt with seriously enough such that they'll
think long and hard before they attempt stealing from another one 
of OUR shipwrecks.  The problem we have is that artifact theft is 
not viewed as a serious crime, and is normally not dealt with in a 
very serious manner.  As a result this destruction to OUR
shipwrecks continues.

Anyway I request that all members of the Ford Sea Horses and Ford
Sea Lancers who read this weigh the issue  in their own minds, make 
their own individual decisions, and write whatever letter they feel 
appropriate to the Sanilac County Prosecutor.  Jim Stayer tells me 
that a response from the diving community will be of assistance to 
the prosecutor in making his decision whether or not to prosecute
this case.  This is OUR opportunity as Great Lakes Divers to send 
OUR message that we care about the preservation of Great Lakes
Shipwrecks.

Arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 13th (Monday), so  any letters 
that get written should be written and faxed out quickly.  Please 
fax your letter to:

Sanilac County Prosecutor -  fax  number  810-648-2332. 

Thank you for your consideration. 
 
Underwater Outfitters
(by way of Adventures in Diving, Inc.)


====================================
 
 Hi Guys,
 
 Here is today's paper.  It looks like the faxes have helped.
 
 
 3 Arraigned in Theft from Shipwreck
 
 County commissioner's son among those charged
 
 Times Herald
 SANDUSKY - Three men, including a son of St. Clair County
 Commissioner Pat Acciavatti, were arraigned Tuesday on 
charges of pilfering from a Lake Huron shipwreck.
     Rinaldo "Ron" Acciavatti, 33, of St. Clair;. Bradley Sanford,
 29, of Clinton Township; and Lawrence 3. Miller, 41, of 
Washington, Mich., face up to two years in prison and 
$20,000 in fines if convicted of stealing items off the 
123-year-old ship wreck New York.
 	     They pleaded innocent. District Judge James 
Marcus of Sanilac County set a preliminary hearing Sept. 30, 
during which it will be determined whether there is enough 
evidence to warrant a trial.
     Prosecutors said the case has ignited a flurry of public 
comment since a boater on Sept. 4 reported the three men 
brought a dive bag to the surface near the wreck. The boater 
called authorities, who said the trio removed a pulley worth 
$1,000 from the New York.
  	"We have been receiving numerous contacts (from
) people who encourage us that these individuals be given 
stiff treatment because of the significant historical nature of 
these items," said James V. Young, Sanilac County prosecutor.
 	    Defense lawyer Gary Fletcher of Port Huron said the
 preliminary examination  will show his clients are innocent. 
"The three  individuals involved are all very responsible people," 
he said. "They are business owners, and at no time did they 
ever attempt to remove anything from that preserve. They 
explained that to the police.
    "If you were going to take something off a wreck, would you do 
it if a witness was going to watch you do it? It doesn't make a 
lick of sense."
      Mr. Fletcher also does some legal work for St. Clair County.
 As chairman of the St Clair County Board of Commissioners, Pat
 Acciavetti, R-St. Clair Township, is the county's top elected official. 
He said the case has been blown out of proportion.   "Nobody had 
any intention of taking anything or disturbing anything,"   Pat 
Acciavatti said. "I don't know what they would do with a piece of junk
 wood." 
The New York was taking lumber from Georgian Bay to Buffalo when
 it sank in Lake Huron about four miles off the coast of Forester Township.
      The wreck happened on Oct. 14, 1876, after the ship started leaking
 during an autumn gale.  All 15 crewmembers were rescued a few hours
 later by the Canadian schooner Nemesis except one. The ship's fireman drowned
 while trying to climb aboard the Nemesis.
        The wreck is protected as the property of the state of Michigan.
 
 SHIPWRECK CASE
 
 Here are the charges against three men in connection with the theft of a
 pulley from the shipwreck New York:
 * Count I, removal of abandoned property worth more than $100
 from state land. The count is a felony punishable by up to two years in
 prison and a $5,000 fine.
 
* Count II, conspiracy to commit removal of abandoned property worth
 more than $100 from state land. This can bring the same prison time as the
 first count, but the maximum fine is $15,000
 
 

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