U.S. wins back moon rock
MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has won back a tiny lump of 3.9-billion-year-old moon rock brought to Earth by the crew of Apollo 17 and stolen years ago from the government of Honduras, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
A U.S. judge in Miami issued a ruling this week granting the U.S. government forfeiture on the grounds that the moon rock, about the size of a grape and encased in plastic, was stolen and then smuggled into the United States in violation of Customs laws.
The rock, given to the government of Honduras three decades ago, was being offered for sale for $5 million when it was seized in 1998 from Florida businessman Alan Rosen, who said he bought it from a retired Honduran military officer, U.S. officials said.
U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled that the ownership of the moon rock, which was given to Honduras by President Richard Nixon in 1973 as part of a NASA program to inspire future generations, had never legally changed.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
