When I walk into the Hard Rock Cafe, I always joke with my friends about the various autographed guitars and how they better be bolted onto the walls well. I say "If they aren't, I'm walking out of here with one."

Well, an author and historian just got 18 months in prison for stealing letters written by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

The 52-year-old Edward Renehan Jr., was also ordered to pay more than $86,000 in restitution to a Manhattan gallery, where he tried to resell the letters.

Now, that's the part of the story that confuses me. At that point, he's just a thief and a loser. If this guy was just some hardcore autograph collector, and he stole something from a gallery for his own collection, I would be a tad more sympathetic. Believe me, I'd never steal from someone elses collection. But I've certainly seen things in another persons collection that made me think...if this person ever dies, would it be in bad taste for me to approach their family saying I was interested in buying those items.

A friend of my step-father told me he had a basketball signed by the 1973 New York Knicks. A team that has 5 or 6 Hall of Famers. He won it in a competition, and also had Joe Namath sign it (since Broadway Joe was standing nearby when it was presented to him). He told me he'd give it to me. A few months later, he said he was going to get it out of storage.

Then I got a call from his daughter, saying he passed away. Of course, I said nothing about the basketball. Although I regret not at least explaining the story to her and then saying, "I'd be glad to buy it from you." Since she'd certainly understand it's valuable, no sense trying to get it when she could easily sell it.

But back to Renehan Jr.

He has written six books, and said the crime sprees hapened during a manic phase of bipolar disorder.

Now, the details of the items:

A handwritten letter by Lincol, dated March 1, 1840. It was written to a friend and related to an 1840 election.

Two letters written by Washington, one dated August 9, 1791, the other Dec 29, 1778. One pertained to the treatment of some property, and the other dealt with day-to-day concerns of the American people.

He also tried to auction off a 1918 letter President Roosevelt wrote about his son Quentin's death in World War I.

The charges against Renehan include "interstate transportation of stolen property."