Judge rules that indicted document collector can go home pending trial

Barry Landau headed back to Manhattan

Landau has roughly $1,544 to his name and no real estate or other significant interests other than the legitimately obtained portions of his collection, White said. A half-dozen items have been put aside to sell so Landau can pay his attorneys fees.

The defendant also claimed he made $11,000 on his 2010 tax return, according to prosecutors, who question whether Landau's assertions are correct. His apartment lease alone costs $32,400 per year, and Savedoff told law enforcement officials that Landau sometimes wore a Rolex watch.

That "raises a big red flag as to the accuracy of the financial picture that we know," Cunningham said, suggesting Landau might have money stashed somewhere "that would provide an opportunity [for him] to abscond."

There was not enough evidence to support those concerns, however, Judge Blake found, ordering Landau released back to the home he's had for the past 30 years.

"I just don't see that the government has met that burden," she said.

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