Inside the Scandal: University Negligence Allegedly Destroys Professor’s 380-Million-Year-Old Fossil Collection
Imagine dedicating 18 years of your life to unearthing 380-million-year-old fossils, only to have them end up in a Tennessee landfill because your university couldn’t pay its UPS bill. That’s the absurd reality Martin Becker, a professor at William Paterson University, is now grappling with, according to a lawsuit filed in Passaic County’s Superior Court. Becker, a specialist in Devonian Age marine invertebrates, claims his meticulously collected fossils—packaged into 19 boxes weighing up to 60 pounds each—were lost due to the university’s alleged negligence.
The fossils, which had been transported by glaciers over millions of years and later discovered in New Jersey’s High Mountain area, were sent to a colleague in Florida for a collaborative research project. Becker entrusted the university’s mailroom supervisor, Raymond Boone, with the shipment in June 2024. But by August, the packages had mysteriously vanished. Despite repeated inquiries, Becker was allegedly given vague excuses and a tracking number that led nowhere.
The bombshell came in September when Becker contacted UPS directly and discovered the truth: the university’s account had been canceled in April 2024 due to unpaid invoices, and Boone allegedly knew about the cancellation since July. The fossils, confiscated by UPS, were reportedly dumped in a landfill near Nashville. Becker’s lawsuit claims he has suffered emotional distress and incurred medical expenses over the loss of his life’s work, though the exact amount of damages sought remains undisclosed.
This isn’t just a story about bureaucratic incompetence—it’s a cautionary tale about the fragility of scientific legacy. Becker’s fossils, which could have provided invaluable insights into Earth’s ancient ecosystems, are now buried under modern trash. One can only hope this lawsuit sparks a broader conversation about how institutions handle irreplaceable scientific treasures.
And to think, all this could have been avoided if someone had just paid the UPS bill.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine
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