http://www.nytimes.com/20...ssil.html?_r=1&ref=us
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In October 2006, a respected amateur paleontologist, Nathan L. Murphy, took a large rock containing the well-preserved bones of a new species of dinosaur to be X-rayed at the Dinosaur Field Station here.
He called the fossil, a raptor the size of a wild turkey, Sid Vicious. The find was a coup, bringing Mr. Murphy prestige and potentially hundreds of
thousands of dollars from the rights to cast the fossil for sale to museums and collectors.
Ms. Frary called Mr. Murphy's downfall "a tragedy of Greek proportion." He was a friend with "a real passion for paleontology," she said, one of 14 founding members of the museum and good at finding dinosaur fossils.
Dr. Bakker and other researchers are furious that Mr. Murphy lied about the specimen's provenance. "That's a sin" because so much information is lost, Dr. Bakker said.
Ms. Frary said she was worried that the scandal would affect the respect and popularity of the museum, which moved to a new, larger building last June and has cut its ties with Mr. Murphy.
Federal officials would not comment on their investigation. Dr. Bakker said that like some other fossil excavators, Mr. Murphy was unable to separate the nonprofit museum world from the for-profit world of a collector.
"That's wrong," Dr. Bakker said. "You need a Chinese wall between them."
