Buried Treasure Trouble

A group of men who made national headlines by claiming they found a buried treasure worth up to $125,000 was charged Friday with stealing the collection of old currency from a barn where they were working.

The pair of men seemed to be overnight celebrities. CBS News Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reports that the pair had a story that made the media salivate. So they took their show on the road, appearing on television shows and in countless news headlines.

But when their unbelievable story became inconsistent, it drew police attention.

Barry Billcliff, 27, and Timothy Crebase, 22, were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Methuen Police Lt. Kevin Martin said.

The two were arraigned Friday in Lawrence District Court. Bail was set at $5,000 for Billcliff and $1,000 for Crebase.

Warrants also were issued Friday for Kevin Kozak, 27, and Matt Ingham, 23, on the same charges. It was unclear whether they were in custody.

Police said Crebase confessed to finding the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair in Newbury. Authorities declined to identify the owners of the barn nor would they comment on whether the money had been reported missing.

But lawyers for Billcliff and Crebase said the men insisted they found the box under a tree in the back yard of a house Crebase rented from Kozak.

"There is no evidence, none, that my client committed any crime." said Alexander Kain, who is representing Billcliff.

The men had made several appearances on national television this week, and police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.

Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.

"Had they just put the money away or, you know, gone somewhere outside of the area and sold a little money at a time, I don't think anybody would have known or suspected anything," Solomon said. "Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people."

Investigators said Crebase, Billcliff and Ingham found the money stuffed in rusting tin cans in the barn's gutter and persuaded Kozak to go along with their story. The men claimed they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.

The materials had a face value of about $7,000, but prosecutor Gabrielle Clark said the men had been offered $125,000 by a collector.

The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.

The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.

Billcliff insisted the discrepancies in the story of how the money happened found could be explained.

"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."

Christine Tetlow, who identified herself as a longtime friend of Billcliff, defended him and said the pair did not steal the money.

"If you need money, he'll be the first person to step up and give it to you and never ask to get it back," she said.