Accused manuscript thief Filippo Bernardini appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, after pleading not guilty, surrendering his passport, and being released on a $300,000 cash bond. A long article in Vulture by Reeves Wiedeman with Lila Shapiro says that Judge Colleen McMahon expressed “confusion about the case,” asking the prosecutor “What exactly did he do?” Wiedeman and Shapiro write, “The prosecution said it was not aware of any attempt to remarket the stolen manuscripts, and it didn’t offer an alternative explanation for the alleged crime.” “So he wanted to read books before they were published?” Judge McMahon reportedly […]