A 1990 theft of historically significant Native American remains by a national monument superintendent entrusted with protecting them was larger and more harmful than previously acknowledged, internal National Park Service documents show. "We need a head on a plate," one tribal representative told monument officials, accusing them of a cover-up. Current superintendent Jim Nepstad, who finally helped uncover Munson's theft, wrote in a memo that the case "has, and will continue to cause, profound damage to the credibility and reputation of the National Park Service." He will also pay $108,000 in restitution to the park service for costs of the investigation and repair of the bones. After decades of investigations and cover-ups, the case is scheduled to end in a federal courtroom Friday when retired Effigy Mounds National Monument superintendent Thomas Munson is sentenced for carrying out the theft.

Source: ABC News July 04, 2016 16:18 UTC