Stephen Carrie Blumberg (born 1948 in Saint Paul, Minnesota) is best known as a bibliomane who lived in Ottumwa, Iowa. After being arrested for stealing more than 23,600 books worth in 1990 (equivalent to about $M in ), he became known as the Book Bandit and was recognized as the most successful book thief in the history of the United States.
Blumberg's arrest came as a result of his friend, Kenneth J. Rhodes, turning him in for a $56,000 bounty he negotiated with the Justice Department. Rhodes and Blumberg had known each other since the mid-1970s. A known criminal, Rhodes accompanied Blumberg on several of his road trip collecting sprees. He said he would never sell them because he thought that would be dishonest. He envisioned the items would be returned to the rightful owners after his death, or at least to another repository that could care for them. Despite these claims, Blumberg was convicted in 1991 as guilty, without reason of insanity. After serving a -year sentence, Blumberg was released and resumed his collecting and stealing habits.