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Posted on Wed, May 18, 2011 : 10:40 a.m.

Own a piece of the 'Unabomber': Online auction of personal items starts today

By Paula Gardner

"Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski once topped the FBI's most-wanted list for his national bombing spree that killed 3 and injured 23 - including two researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

He's now housed in a federal prison for a life term but still owes his victims at least $15 million in restitution, a figure that prompted officials to put about 60 of his personal items up for auction starting today, according to CNN.

KACZYNSKI.jpg

Some letters from Theodore Kaczynski, a.k.a., Unabomber, a U-M alumnus, are already cataloged in University of Michigan Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library's special collections unit.

AnnArbor.com files

Bidders have a chance to win 58 lots of items like Kaczynski's driver's license, transcripts, typewriters and 20,000 pages of documents, according to CNN. The handwritten copy of his "manifesto" already was selling for more than $5,000 as of 10:30 this morning.

Kaczynski was arrested in 1996 after his brother alerted authorities with his suspicions. His ties to Ann Arbor include years spent here in the early 1960s when he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

His bombing targets also included the late U-M Professor James McConnell, who was injured when his colleague, Nicklaus Suino, opened the package bomb on Nov. 15, 1985.

The online auction runs through June 2, officials said.

Read the full CNN report here.

Comments

Jimmy McNulty

Thu, May 19, 2011 : 11:28 a.m.

Ahhh. The pride of UM. Go Blue!

loves_fall

Wed, May 18, 2011 : 4:47 p.m.

That's creepy. Maybe they can maintain a list of anyone who buys it, just in case.

Roadman

Wed, May 18, 2011 : 2:53 p.m.

Interestingly, he faced a possible death penalty but via manipulation of a mental incompetency issue, forced federal prosecutors to offer a life term in exchange for waiving any further defenses. It was only via the actions of the Unabomber's brother in notifying authorities that the case was solved. He declined reward money.