Former Effigy Mounds Superintendent to be sentenced this Friday

Thomas Munson, the former Effigy Mounds National Monument Superintendent who pled guilty to removing ancient human remains from the national monument, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids for sentencing this Friday, July 8. Munson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor embezzlement and theft of prehistoric human skeletal remains in a plea deal reached in early January of this year.

According to documents from Iowa's Northern District U.S. Attorney's Office, in mid-July of 1990 during his tenure as Effigy Mounds Superintendent, Munson carried a box of human remains from the monument's curatorial facility to his car, and directed a subordinate to do the same. He then drove the stolen remains to his home in Prairie du Chien, WI and hid them for more than two decades. When the boxes were finally recovered in May of 2012, investigators found that several of the human bones were broken or fragmented beyond recognition.

As part of that plea deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Munson will serve one year probation, including 12 months home detention, 10 consecutive weekends in jail, and 100 hours of community service. Additionally, he must make a written public apology to the Native American tribes impacted by the actions Munson pleaded guilty to, as well as to the National Park Service. Munson must also pay at least $108,905 in restitution to the National Park Service, the cost of repair and restoration of the mishandled remains.