Men who claimed to find buried treasure arrested
Friday, April 29, 2005 Posted: 10:23 AM EDT (1423 GMT)
Timothy Crebase, above, and Barry Billcliff said they found old bank notes and billls in a backyard.
METHUEN, Massachusetts (AP) -- Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.
Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Massachusetts, found old bank notes and bills in a house where they were doing roofing work.
Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.
The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928, with a face value of about $7,000.
Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, New Hampshire, examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 to $75,000.
The men's stories, though, prompted some suspicions because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.
The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.
They told one reporter they were digging a hole to plant a tree.
In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.
Timothy Crebase, front, on Wednesday holds a sample of some of the vintage bills he and friend Barry Billcliff, right, told the media they found at the house of Kevin Kozak, left. On Friday, police arrested Crebase and Billcliff.