HARWICH, Mass. (AP) _ Police have arrested a man they say was stealing valuable books from Cape Cod libraries and selling them to a local antiques dealer, who in turn auctioned them on eBay.

Arthur Souza was arrested at the Brooks Free Library in Harwich on Tuesday after librarians noticed him browsing through a rare books collection, then going to the bathroom. Police say they found six old books in his back pack.

The 52-year-old Souza was charged with larceny.

Harwich Detective Marc Harris tells the Cape Cod Times that police think Souza stole books from the Sturgis Library in Barnstable as well libraries in Hyannis, Brewster and Yarmouth.

A librarian at Sturgis tipped off other libraries after she got a call from a man who spotted a book bearing the library’s markings on eBay.

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Information from: Cape Cod Times, http://www.capecodonline.com

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