Thursday, October 07, 1999
Scofflaw's Books Bound Up in Probe By MIKE CLAFFEY Daily News Staff Writer
New York University's library will have to wait even longer to get 570 of its long overdue books back. After the arrest Tuesday of the library's Public Enemy No. 1 - alleged scofflaw George Szamuely - the library thought the tomes finally would be returned to its stacks.
But cops and prosecutors said yesterday that they need to examine thoroughly the books seized from Szamuely's lower East Side apartment.
"We can't be pinned down on a time," Wayne Brison, a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney, said of his best guess for the books' return. "But it probably won't be until the case goes to trial."
NYU librarians have waited more than two years to get their hands on the books Szamuely checked out but never returned. They sent out numerous warnings to the bookworm that were ignored and made phone calls that went unanswered.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said the school was extremely grateful for the Police Department's action on the case, which marked the first time the library called in the cops to catch a delinquent borrower. "Obviously, our gratitude would be increased if we can get the books back and get them on our shelves," he said.
Szamuely, 44, a freelance writer for the weekly New York Press, was charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property. He was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment Tuesday night in Manhattan Criminal Court. Szamuely also faces $31,000 in library fines for the books, which he checked out as a continuing education student at NYU from 1994 to 1997.
Contacted at his apartment on Stanton St. yesterday morning, Szamuely said he didn't want to discuss the case. "I don't want my name in the newspaper," Szamuely, whose byline often appears in the New York Press, said through his apartment intercom system.
New York Press editor John Strausbaugh said Szamuely's colleagues were shocked to hear about the legal troubles of the commentator on politics and international affairs. Strausbaugh said he hopes Szamuely uses the experience as fodder for his next contribution to the weekly. "I'd love to know what he was doing with all those books," Strausbaugh said.
Cops said Szamuely's private library was full of scholarly works, most the rightful property of the NYU library, which boasts 3.8 million volumes. Library officials said many of Szamuely's overdue books were frequently requested classics that are out of print or hard to find. The books made up a major portion of the library's political science collection.
Among the borrowed books Szamuely had stashed in his apartment were "Thoughts on Machiavelli" and "Modern Philosophy." He also had "The History of Hungary."
Most Wanted Bookworm
George Szamuely, 44
Occupation: Writer for New York Press; his work also has appeared in American Spectator and the London Sunday Telegraph.
Sample of unreturned books: Georg Hegel's "Phenomenology of the Spirit," "Thoughts on Machiavelli," "Modern Philosophy" and "The History of Hungary."
Fines: $31,000 ($10 maximum fine on each book, plus a $10 processing fee, plus the cost of the book).