This Moon rock had been given to Honduras by President Nixon, fallen into private hands, and then offered to the Agents for $5 million. For the first time in history the sting operation recovered an Apollo era Moon rock, the Honduras Goodwill Moon Rock. The sting operation was led by NASA OIG Senior Special Agent Joseph Gutheinz. The Agents were targeting individuals selling bogus Moon rocks, which con artists sell to the elderly and to space enthusiasts. Agents posted a quarter page advertisement in USA Today asking for Moon rocks. This sting operation was later expanded to include Agents from the United States Customs Service, namely, Special Agent Dwight Weikel and Special Agent Dave Atwood. Originally two undercover agents were involved in this sting, Senior Special Agent Joseph Gutheinz of NASA's Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG), posing as Tony Coriasso, and Inspector Bob Cregger of the United States Postal Inspection Service, posing as John Marta. This sting operation was known as Operation Lunar Eclipse. In 1998, a unique federal law enforcement undercover operation was created to identify and arrest individuals selling bogus Moon rocks. Moon rocks have been subjects of theft and forgery as well. The location of the rocks has been tracked by researchers and hobbyists because of their rarity and the difficulty of obtaining more. Many of these rocks that are accounted for have been locked away in storage for decades. Of the 270 Apollo 11 Moon rocks and the Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rocks that were given to the nations of the world by the Nixon Administration, approximately 180 are unaccounted for. Summary of lunar material samples stolen or misplaced Sample from NASA's lunar surface collection at Johnson Space Center's vault in Houston, Texas
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