I stole a $550,000 gold bar from a shipwreck museum, man admits

A California man has admitted to stealing a 17th century gold bar worth $550,000 from a Key West museum eight years ago.

Richard Steven Johnson, 41, of Rio Linda, pleaded guilty on Friday at U.S. District Court in Key West to two felony counts related to the theft. His plea was in exchange for a lighter sentence, which wasn't defined.

Johnson agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they pursue a second suspect, Jarred Goldman, who awaits trial. His sentencing date hasn't been set.

The two were charged with theft of major artwork and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States after they allegedly swiped the gold bar in 2010 from the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum, 200 Greene St.

The bar was never recovered.

"His arrest in January 2018 rekindled our hope that the thief would be apprehended, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.," museum director Melissa Kendrick said on the museum's website. "Museums around the world experience brazen thefts, and captures like Johnson serve as a much needed deterrent."

According to the indictment, filed Jan. 23, Johnson stole the bar while Goldman acted as a lookout. The two men had driven from West Palm Beach to Key West to commit the crime, and then drove back. Video surveillance caught Johnson inside the museum at about the time of the theft.

The bar was recovered from the Santa Margarita shipwreck in 1980 by the late Key West shipwreck treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his crew while they searched for the Margarita and Nuestra Señora de Atocha galleons.

It had been on display in the museum for more than 20 years.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 11:55 AM with the headline "I stole a $550,000 gold bar from a shipwreck museum, man admits."