St. Paul Man, Who Killed Son, Now Accused Of Stealing Treasure

MIAMI, FL – A Minneapolis man, previously convicted of shaking his 6-month-old son to death, now is accused of stealing a 17th Century gold bar from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West. An indictment alleges that Richard S. Johnson of St. Paul, Minnesota, and an accomplice Jarred A. Goldman stole the bar, worth a reported $550,000, in August 2010, according to federal court documents.

Johnson, who was arrested in January in Sacramento, is scheduled to go on trial in May for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and theft of major artwork. Johnson is accused of breaking into a display case and taking the gold bar. Goldman, of West Palm Beach, stood watch while Johnson pilfered the gold bar, the indictment alleges.

Photos of the gold bar posted online show the oblong gold bar in a museum display case.

Johnson, now in federal custody in Florida, has requested to be freed from jail while he awaits his trial. Federal prosecutors, though, argued against his release and responded last week to his request, noting his criminal past, including a conviction for first degree manslaughter.

Johnson was arrested in 1996 and accused of shaking his baby son to death when he would not quit crying, reported The Minneapolis Star Tribune. The death occurred in his St. Paul, Minnesota, home, reported The Star Tribune. He went to prison for more than six years on the conviction, The Star Tribune reported.

Prosecutors also cited convictions on fraud, forgery and criminal damage for reasons to deny Johnson's request for release.

Meantime, the gold bar has not been recovered. The bar was recovered from a shipwreck off the Florida Keys in 1980. It had been on display at the Mel Fisher Museum for nearly 20 years before vanishing.

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