posted 11-01-2005 02:21 PM               

For those of you who do not know my father, it is truly impossible to convey to you how good of a man he really is. For those of you who do know him, you know he has a heart of gold and would never do what he was just found guilty of doing. He is truly the most honest, trustworthy, humbling, and unselfish person you will ever meet, and I know those of you that know him will back me up on that.

Many of you say "Well, the government found him guilty, so he must have done it." Well, just as an example, how many "convicted" people have been freed due to the advent of DNA testing (or how many executed people have been found innocent since DNA testing was invented?) The answer? Thousands. Unfortunately, there is no fail-proof test like DNA testing that can be applied here...if there was I can guarantee the outcome would have been different. The jury (which half of them slept through the trial) only had the lawyers and the cases they presented to go on, and that's why so often, innocent people are found guilty while people like OJ walk free.

This is not an excuse, but unless you personally experience the rigors and uphill battles you face going against the US Government, you have no idea how truly imbalanced the scales are. The government has unlimited resources (I heard the government has spent roughly $750,000 on my father's case, compared to only $723,000 on the CIA leak investigation), unlimited power, and every resource available to them. My father did not. Just in the last two years, his house, his retirement, his savings, and almost everything he owned was sold to simply afford his pre-trial legal bills. That alone is penalty enough. Everything that was built up over 26 years was ruined by some very shameful souls with an evil vendetta at the Cosmosphere, and he literally had 1% of the power do defend himself that the Government had to prosecute him.

Unfortunately, the government dragged this on (literally) as long as possible, to drain my father of money, resources, and therefore, possibilities. While he had three very skilled lawyers throughout the investigation, the bank ran dry and he was forced to cut two lawyers right before trial. The government had five lawyers to my dad's one. The government had five times the manpower that my dad had. The government also had an unlimited piggybank... the US taxpayer, to which my dad had very limited and dwindling resources. They also had access to many resources that my dad didn't. Remember, this is the US Government, the most powerful entity in the entire world... literally. Had the scales been truly balanced going in, I guarantee the verdicts would be quite different.

To point the fingers at the three souls at the Cosmosphere that instigated this is pointless, it does no good. But I hope when you lie down at night, you feel shame for turning on the man that created everything you have. You know who you are. Every day you sit back and smile with what you have, knowing you have done NOTHING to earn it. My dad spent a quarter of a century creating all of it, and turned it over to you. It will always be his museum, never yours. My father put the Cosmosphere and Hutch on the map....and you respected him so much...you thought of him so highly like a father (as you testified), you never even simply called him when you noticed "some strange things"...the first two calls you made were to the FBI and the press. You slandered him like a villain at Prairie Dunes, to members, and anyone else who would listen. You will have to answer to your maker someday, and he knows the truth. May God have mercy on you and your shameful souls.

You robbed a wonderful man of everything he ever had. Our family has been robbed of everything. There's a good chance I won't be able to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, or go to a Chiefs game with him this year, or maybe ever again. He faces the rest of his life in prison, and more money in penalties than he'd make in five lifetimes. He may never be able to see his grandkids at their first recital, my wedding, or the other memories that make life worth living and families so important. I hope it was worth it to all of you. I swear on my life and soul he did not do what he was charged with today. God help this world and what it has become.

The son of the most amazing man in the world,

posted 11-01-2005 03:13 PM               

I share Max's passion for space, and especially his interest in the artifacts that either made the journey or were ready to make it. I also know Max well enough to trust that he did not purposely do anything wrong. I believe he has unfortunately been found guilty of simple human error.

posted 11-01-2005 04:26 PM            

However, I do know Max Ary well and we worked together for almost 20 years to make the Liberty Bell 7 recovery a reality. I cannot speak highly enough of an individual such as Max who supported me in what can only be termed as an obsession to find and recover Gus Grissom's Mercury spacecraft. Max listened to me and helped my efforts when everyone else thought I was nuts to even consider such an idea. I think the success of the Liberty Bell 7 project speaks volumes for Max's ability to think "outside of the box" and make the impossible, possible.

What the readers must remember is that juries have been wrong before, as has the federal government (does anyone here remember Richard Jewel?). Just because someone has been convicted does not mean they are guilty. What it may mean is that a private individual has been outspent by the unlimited resources of the United States.

posted 11-01-2005 04:39 PM               

I will always consider the Kansas Cosmosphere the "House that Max Built".

posted 11-01-2005 06:31 PM               

Your "argument" that your father had to face the side with infinitely deeper pockets is true here as it is always, over and over and over.

posted 11-02-2005 11:06 AM               

It was obvious what the prosecution was trying to paint: a former CEO who felt he was owed retirement funds and stole artifacts as compensation. Much of the testimony was tedious; much of the jury appeared bored and disengaged, something that concerned me.

The lead prosecutor displayed an attitude of spite and condescension. As would be expected, her lack of experience with regard to such artifacts was evident; unfortunately, this conveyed to the jury suppositions that may have sounded reasonable, but certainly were not valid.

I imagine most of us usually consider the verdict rendered in a trial as reliable, reasonable and truthful. After watching this debacle, I cannot say I hold such a view now.

Much testimony and evidence apparently was ignored by the jury, including the actual alteration of Cosmosphere inventory records that suggested Max's culpability; dubious claims made during the grand jury testimony; the fact that some of Max's own collection was sold as the Cosmosphere's and went to its pocket; and the ludicrous claim that no one at the Cosmosphere knew Max had a personal collection (hell, I knew this thirty years ago).

Max's impeccable reputation as a professional in the fields of history, education and artifact preservation evidently had little effect on the jury.

Two of the prosecuting attorneys often spun their wheels, pressing certain issues when questioning Max and others, trying to score points. At one point this got to be so aggravating that the judge reprimanded the prosecutor, who gave up.

Walking out of courtroom on Friday, I now understood why Max had been so upbeat when I spoke with him earlier in the week. Clearly, the prosecution, who had to prove intent, among other things, was in trouble; several reporters we spoke with concurred.

Having been in Hutchinson when Max arrived some thirty years ago, having handled Max's personal collection and been involved with the first transfers of artifacts from NASA to the Hutchinson Planetarium, I can see exactly how all this came about.

Money and ego. That's what this really is all about. And that's the pathetic part of it. A very telling bit of testimony included an allusion to the wonderful Robert McCall mural Max commissioned in honor of Patty Carey, founder of the Hutchinson Planetarium and co-founder of the Cosmosphere. The KCSC board objected to the cost. But Max knew how much Patty loved McCall's work; could anyone imagine a more suitable way to honor the very person without whom the Cosmosphere would not have been? So it cost $110,000; big frickin' deal. This is pettiness in the extreme. The board objected to Max's broad authority and set about to curb it. This, also, was parlayed into an indictment of Max's ethical conduct by the prosecution and gleefully willing board members.

Of course, I have no idea how all this will shake out in the end. Sadly, Max's reputation probably has been besmirched in the eyes of those who don't know him. Also sad is that the Cosmosphere, the institution Max create, will suffer... and perhaps worse.

The simple fact is that there are very few who can successfully lead and cultivate such a thing as the Kansas Cosmosphere. Someone who embodies the particular combination of interests, vision, initiative, talents and altruism that Max Ary does is extremely rare... especially where the compensation is so modest. (I know of several occasions when Max was offered much greater salaries by other enterprises, yet he turned them down because of his commitment to the KCSC.)

Needless to say, Hutchinson, Kansas will never see the likes of Max Ary again. And the result will not only be the cessation of growth and development at the KCSC. Indeed, if that were the only result, I think its board of directors and the people of Kansas should count themselves lucky. But I think the Cosmosphere is likely to not just stagnate, but to regress. It certainly will lose its reputation as a place and source of innovation in its field. After all, with Max at the helm, the KCSC was more than a building full of space hardware -- it was a wellspring of talent, ideas, techniques, strategies, as well as exhibits and restorations.

But the word to remember here is "was." Not that there aren't good and talented people currently on staff at KCSC. But the unprecedented, requisite leadership is gone and almost certainly will not be replaced.

posted 11-02-2005 06:54 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JBinKS:
But I think the Cosmosphere is likely to not just stagnate, but to regress. It certainly will lose its reputation as a place and source of innovation in its field.

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However, I find the above statement to be without basis. It's not that Max Ary wasn't unique to his field; he was and regardless of this trial's ultimate outcome, he will be respected among his peers for his accomplishments.

Max Ary departed the Cosmosphere in 2002, more than a year before this investigation and resulting indictment. His ability to influence the museum ended when he moved to Oklahoma.

In the time since, the Cosmosphere - without Ary at the helm - has successfully planned, implemented and opened the Early Space Exploration gallery. The very attributes that you suggest that the museum lost with Ary were embodied in this exhibit, most evidently innovation. More than one well respected museum curator has said it will serve as the model to base future space exhibits at institutions nationwide.

posted 11-02-2005 09:03 PM               

Max's capacity to conceive, coordinate, fund and execute projects is nothing short of awe-inspiring. In a world that tends toward specialization, his gift is an ability to do many things very, very well.

posted 11-02-2005 11:43 PM               

There are still good people there. But, I've seen the new gallery. Those museum people who saw it and praised it are probably devoid of vision themselves. There are a few new graphic pieces that copy what was already there in other parts of the Hall. Otherwise, much of it is just rearranging craft and materials already on display. They are now more remote from the visitor. I'm certainly no Ary, but I get around and have seen a lot of space displays and have a strong background in space history.

What the Cosmosphere has is an incredible legacy of the American and Russian space programs. That legacy is there because of one man and the people who believed in him. I was proud to call Patty Carey friend long before Max Ary started the Cosmosphere. She's the one that made this possible. And she would not approve of the direction this has gone. Far too much injury will result on all sides and to no one's good.

I too share a fear that there is little appreciation of space history among the people of that region. And the fact this site has used the Hutchinson News for a source is not a good sign. If you want fair reporting, the Wichita Eagle is far more comprehensive and unbiased. All their reporting on the trial is archived on their website and makes very good reading.

posted 11-03-2005 07:18 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by PlanetariumGuy:
And the fact this site has used the Hutchinson News for a source is not a good sign. If you want fair reporting, the Wichita Eagle is far more comprehensive and unbiased. All their reporting on the trial is archieved on their website and makes very good reading.

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quote:

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Let's put it this way, I'll take Gene Cernan's word over most other people you can mention.

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posted 11-03-2005 09:16 PM               

Likewise, maybe because you didn't follow some of the court reporting in the Wichita paper, you missed my Cernan reference as well.

To take the latter first, Cernan mentioned that he found out about the items under contention and told the Cosmosphere immediately that their first action should be to contact Ary. This all could probably been avoided. Now you have not only the negative publicity about Ary, you also have a lot of divided and sore feelings out there over this that can't do anyone any good. I say if Cernan had been heeded, all this probably could have been avoided.

The Cosmosphere has a major handicap - it is in Hutchinson. This is no slight on the people of Hutchinson as I have many roots around there. But the closest Interstate is 26 miles away. The town's population numbers haven't changed in my memory going back some 40 years. It is one thing to build a major world class facility in Houston, for example, and quite another to do so in a small Kansas town. Sustaining that kind of a facility is also a major task.

Think of the resources and money and all the elements it takes to operate and maintain a first-class museum. It took someone to rally community support in the first place to make people believe it could be done in the most unlikely of places. Patty Carey had the respect of the community and she managed the impossible. She's gone now. Even if Ary were there or any innovator, keeping that support level and drawing the funding would be a huge task.

The current operators of the Cosmosphere were handed this facility already built and with a stock of artifacts. They can live for a time nationally on the reputation of "Apollo 13" and "Liberty Bell 7." But you have to keep recreating a miracle to keep something like the Cosmosphere alive. Will the current leadership be up to this daunting task? Maybe they can do it. But we have no evidence yet. One exhibit doesn't tell us anything.

You assume they are like a museum in Houston or Chicago and can just carry on for a while with no sweat. It's not going to be that easy. (Actually, it isn't even that easy for the museums in Chicago and Houston, but imagine the task of doing it a prairie town in Kansas).

posted 11-03-2005 11:01 PM               

What's done is done and there is no point in debating the "what ifs" now.

You and I do not disagree over what it takes to run a successful museum. I do however, put more faith in the Cosmosphere staff than it appears you are ready or willing to do. As you say, time will tell of the success (or failure) of their efforts, though I still fail to see how this trial altered their present situation. The Smithsonian is still sending its spacecraft there to be restored; astronauts are still supporting its growth; Hollywood is still turning to it for its space history-based projects; and, if I am not mistaken, their attendance figures have only grown in the years since Ary departed.

It appears that Ary didn't agree with you that Jeff Ollenburger was your "average museum executive". Knowing how much he cared for the Cosmosphere, it is unlikely Ary would have surrounded himself with people he didn't think were up for the job. (Admittedly, his opinion may have changed since, but that doesn't change what he thought before being biased by recent events.)

posted 11-03-2005 04:41 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by CNewport:
What the readers must remember is that juries have been wrong before, as has the federal government...

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posted 11-03-2005 08:54 PM               

If the details you refer to are from what you have read, which I assume it is, then I must break out the iceberg analogy. You have only seen the tip of the iceberg. A quote I read once summed it up best. "It is the media's job to report the news, not make the news, but that's what they are doing in an effort to be first".

Hardly any coverage was given on the fact the Cosmosphere altered and forged documents to make my father look guilty, that people on behalf of the prosecution lied in Grand Jury testimony, and that over $100,000 worth of my dad's private collection was mistakenly sold in the Cosmosphere's name, with them pocketing the proceeds. Thanks to JBinKS for pointing them out in a wonderful posting the other day, he's been one of the few to do so, and it is no coincedence he was one of the few on here who actually attended the trial. (Excellent political cartoon as well, JB).

posted 11-03-2005 09:43 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by jarykc:
Unless you were in that courtroom, you do not know the story and the "details".

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posted 11-04-2005 12:41 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
You and I do not disagree over what it takes to run a successful museum. I do however, put more faith in the Cosmosphere staff than it appears you are ready or willing to do.

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Actually, the Cosmosphere staff has some great people. I just said doing miracles is hard. As to how museums like this one are doing, I'll discuss that with you more privately. As a consultant, there are things not to be discussed in a public forum.

posted 11-04-2005 08:13 AM               

I suggest that a jury can lose interest in evidence and testimony and cease to follow the defense's arguments; that was one of my chief concerns watching the trial.

posted 11-04-2005 02:32 PM               

I feel bad for Max, his life is ruined, I feel bad for Max's family, I feel bad for the victims who were forced to return the stolen merchandise without compensation and I feel bad for the loss to the space collecting community as a whole.

Max is a very nice guy who did some REALLY stupid things and for that he'll be punished. The points that Max's son makes about the Cosmosphere's current leaders has validity and it makes me think that even if Max did steal & sell artifacts, how much more should he be punished? The museum and many artifacts would have been lost if not for Max, so how much punishment is enough?

I don't know if there was a conspiracy to get Max and I don't understand why those who were mentored by Max would turn on him. Regardless, something was going on at the Cosmosphere and if there was a conspiracy to "get Max", their judgment will come in due course.

Trust me, I take no pleasure in being proven right in my first post, where many of you screamed at me for jumping the gun in my opinion about the case against Max. Hopefully the auction houses, museum coordinators and others who have access to rare artifacts, will be more diligent in proving the legitimacy of artifacts coming up for sale.

posted 11-22-2005 12:03 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by PlanetariumGuy:
But, I've seen the new gallery. Those museum people who saw it and praised it are probably devoid of vision themselves.

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Go sit under that Gemini rocket, feel the vibrations of it as it prepares to launch, listen to the chatter of the ground crew, and rethink, my friend.