Ex-museum employee accused in thefts

A former employee of the New Bedford Whaling Museum has been accused of stealing dozens of small items from the museum and selling them for a total believed to be in excess of $75,000, officials said Friday. Robert M. Burchell, 42, of New Bedford, was arrested Jan. 5 and arraigned the next day in New Bedford District Court on a charge of larceny from a building, the Bristol district attorney’s office said in a statement. His bail was set at $5,000 cash and he was ordered to stay away from the museum and not have contact with museum employees. He is due back in court Jan. 31. Burchell’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday. Amanda McMullen, president and chief executive of the museum, said Burchell was fired immediately after his arrest and the museum is cooperating with police and prosecutors. “The Museum has always employed security measures that are above the industry standard, including tech-enabled and human monitoring of our collection,” McMullen said in a statement. “We have swiftly responded to this incident with increased security measures to further protect our collection.” Burchell had worked at the museum as a facilities associate for the past two years and during that time he allegedly stole multiple pocket-sized artifacts and sold them at local antique stores and pawn shops for more than $75,000, prosecutors said. A West Bridgewater shop owner tipped off police after he bought some items from Burchell that were rare and that he believed had been stolen, according to the statement. Most of the stolen artifacts have now been returned to the museum, prosecutors and museum officials said. The investigation is ongoing.