Prosecutors: Part of stolen 17th century gold bar recovered

KEY WEST, Fla. – Federal prosecutors say part of a 17th century gold bar stolen from a Florida maritime museum has been recovered.

Prosecutors wrote in a court filing Wednesday they have informed defence attorneys they recovered an unspecified portion of the 4.5-pound (2-kilogram) bar stolen in 2010.

Salvagers found it in 1980 onboard the wreck of a Spanish galleon that sank off the Florida Keys in 1622. The late salver Mel Fisher displayed the bar in an acrylic case at his Key West museum, where visitors could touch it.

Richard Steven Johnson of Rio Linda, California, pleaded guilty recently to conspiring to steal an object of cultural heritage and stealing a major artwork.

Alleged co-conspirator Jarred Alexander Goldman, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is scheduled for trial this month.

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Online: Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, http://www.melfisher.org