FINALLY, Lawrence Small is gone from the Smithsonian

Greed and salary got the Smithsonian Institution’s secretary — it’s executive director, in essence — canned.

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence M. Small, whose pay and expenses were the subject of two recent investigations, resigned after seven years as head of the world's largest museum and research complex.

Although Small resigned two days ago, the Washington-based Smithsonian didn't announce the move until today.

Small's taxable income rose to $915,768 this year from $356,700 when he started the job, Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said in a phone interview. A report by the museum's inspector general found that Small took an unauthorized charter flight to San Antonio that cost $14,509, seven times the amount of a regular first-class flight.

But he had more reason to get canned than that:

First, as I blogged before, there’s his uncritical support of intelligent design being displayed inside the Smithsonian.

There’s also his attempt to stifle the audit that led to him getting canned.


Finally, there’s his criminal conviction being displayed inside the Smithsonian.

Small was convicted in a misdemeanor plea agreement after federal investigators found that his 1,000-piece personal collection of Amazonian tribal artifacts held at least 219 items containing feathers protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Convention on Intentional Trade in Endangered Species or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

It’s only been 3 and one half years since he was convicted, and he still hung on like old mold. Good-bye, as I called for at that time.