A one-time director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association stole and tried to auction off one of its prized artifacts _ a 1918 letter the former president wrote about his son Quentin's death in World War I, prosecutors said.

Edward Renehan Jr., a historian who has written six books, was charged Wednesday with charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of a forged instrument. The last charge referred to what authorities said was a phony letter claiming the association had given Renehan the Roosevelt note.

Renehan was released without bail until an April 21 court date. His lawyer, Peter Brill, said the 51-year-old had been diagnosed last summer with bipolar disorder.