Man sentenced for stealing human remains
A retired National Park Service official was sentenced Friday to one year of home detention and 10 weekends in jail for stealing Native American remains from Effigy Mounds National Monument in 1990.
Thomas Munson, 76, of Prairie du Chien, was the superintendent of Effigy Mounds north of Marquette in 1990 when he ordered another employee to pack the bones into two cardboard boxes. He then drove the boxes to his home where he stored them in his garage.
The remains of the Native Americans, who died hundreds of years ago, stayed in Munson’s garage for more than two decades and suffered damage due to inappropriate storage conditions.
Munson agreed to plead guilty in federal court last year after negotiations with prosecutors. As part of the plea agreement, Munson will pay a $108,000 fine for investigation and restoration costs. He has also written an apology to Native American tribes who were outraged by his mishandling of their ancestors’ bones.
