GREENBELT, Md., Oct. 5 (UPI) -- An ex-employee of the National Archives in College Park, Md., has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of audio recordings, including one of Babe Ruth's voice.
Leslie Charles Waffen, 66, of Rockville, Md., admitted he had sold some of the recordings on eBay, including the one of Ruth, recorded during a 1937 hunting trip, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Law enforcement officials recovered that recording from the buyer, who had paid $34.74, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland said Tuesday.
Waffen has agreed to forfeit at least 955 sound recordings seized from his home and to pay restitution.
Waffen had worked for the National Archives since 1969, most recently as chief of the Motion Picture, Sounds and Video Recording Branch within the Special Media Archives Services Division from 2005 to June 3, 2010, prosecutors said.
"This case is especially egregious because the defendant was a high-ranking government employee who violated his obligation to protect historical records," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement. "These items were entrusted to the National Archives to be used by all citizens, not to be auctioned for personal profit to the highest bidder."
Waffen faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 5.