WASHINGTON - John Moore and Christine Rhodes, employees at the Library of Congress retail store, have pled guilty to stealing money, on numerous occasions, from the store in fraudulent sales transactions, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and Karl W. Schornagel, Inspector General for the Library of Congress, announced today.

Moore, 47, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Rhodes, 61, of 200 block of Douglas Street, NE, Washington, D.C., entered their misdemeanor pleas to one count at a hearing, respectively, today, and on November 6, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Moore pled guilty before the Honorable Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola and Rhodes before Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. Moore and Rhodes each face up to 1 year in prison under the relevant statute when sentenced early next year, but under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, they face a likely sentencing range of probation to 6 months in prison. Moore and Rhodes also agreed to pay restitution to the Library of Congress, respectively, of $2,183.94 and $2,000.

According to the factual proffer of evidence by the government at the hearing for Moore, which was agreed to by Moore, the Library of Congress, a part of the federal Legislative Branch whose budget is approved by Congress, serves as the research arm of Congress and has the largest library in the world. Moore was a Library of Congress employee in the Library's Retail Marketing Office's store ("the store"). His title was Sales Counter Attendant. The store sells retail items to members of the general public.

For the period May 1, 2008 to June 25, 2008, the computer database for Moore's cash register showed a total of 70 returned items which resulted in cash refunds. A review of live and recorded closed circuit television videos from a visible camera that was directed at Moore's register for this same time period showed no customer at the counter at or near the time of 56 of the alleged return/refund transactions.

On July 7, 2008, Moore gave a signed, sworn statement to an investigator in this matter. Moore admitted creating false returns and pocketing the cash refund. Moore stated that, on most occasions, he entered into the register the stock keeping unit number for merchandise from items near the counter to create a fraudulent return and refund. On other occasions, Moore entered into the register a stock keeping unit number he recalled from memory. Moore initialed a printout of return/refund transactions acknowledging them as fraudulent.

The government's proffer of evidence at Rhodes' hearing last month was similar, with the following difference: Over the past two years, Rhodes on a routine basis wrongfully took for her own personal use cash from the cash drawer of the register assigned to her at the store. That is, Rhodes took cash on numerous occasions, approximately $30 to $40 on each occasion, over the past two years. Usually, when the store was busy near the end of the business day, Rhodes would not enter into her register the amount of a customer's purchase, but instead would simply take for her own use the money from the purchase. Rhodes, although knowing that her actions were wrong, did so, in part, because she believed that others were similarly pocketing money from sales and there was a certain amount of discontent among employees because they had not received a bonus at the end of the year, although such bonuses had been common in other years.

In announcing these two guilty pleas, U.S. Attorney Taylor and Inspector General Schornagel praised the hard work of the investigative agents involved in this matter, especially Assistant Inspector General, Investigations, Kenneth Keeler, Investigative Analyst Michael Peters, and Special Agent Hugh Coughlin of that same office. They also acknowledged the efforts of Legal Assistant Lisa Robinson, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Butler, who is prosecuting these matters.