Moron of the week

[Securb]

A U.S. Customs agent and his friend face up to 10 years in prison on theft charges after trying to auction a customs declaration form signed by the notoriously autograph-shy astronaut Neil Armstrong, prosecutors said.

On yesterday’s 41st anniversary of Armstrong’s famous “small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” moon landing, federal prosecutors charged the document was pinched from Logan International Airport March 13 by Thomas Chapman, 50, of Malden, a Customs agent who’d helped Armstrong carry his luggage to a bus.

Armstrong, 79, of Ohio, was returning from an overseas tour to boost troops’ morale when his London-New York flight was diverted to Boston due to bad weather. The form contained his signature, date of birth and passport number.

Paul Brickman, 50, of Chelsea, Chapman’s co-defendant on charges of stealing an official government record, allegedly set Chapman up with an auction company. Bids were up to $1,026 on May 22 before a bidder questioned the legality.

Chapman declined to comment, but his brother David said, “This whole thing has been blown out of proportion. My brother got starstruck. He wanted his autograph and he got it on the wrong piece of paper.”

Brickman said, “I don’t understand what’s going on . . . it seems to be a media frenzy.”