[veggieWHITES]

Isn't the most surprising thing is that a curator would sell a $15,000 item for $40??? Was he addicted to meth and just really needed an easy $40 or what?

Or perhaps he really was a moron and was just breaking the stones out, selling the gold for melt value, and selling the stones for whatever worthless sum he assumed they were/just rocks?

[ayewo]

Much more likely he was trying to stay under the radar. The article mentions more than a thousand items went missing under his charge.

He typically removes the gold casings and sells that to dealers directly.