Federal courthouse letters missing due to replacement, not theft

The letters are missing from the cornerpiece outside the Rush Hudson Limbaugh U.S. Courthouse today, but not because they were stolen.

Charlie Cook, spokesman for the General Services Administration regional office, which is responsible for the federal building, said the letters have been replaced with new versions because they weren't put on correctly before.

"It didn't look as we intended," Cook said of the letters on the cornerpiece — a six-foot brick-and-concrete structure which displays the name of the new federal courthouse. They were placed there a few days before the building's dedication ceremony earlier this month.

In July six letters were stolen by vandals, leading to the letters being replaced others that were fastened more securely to the cornerpiece.

The courthouse was dedicated Oct. 6 after a series of lengthy delays in constructing the building and preparing it for use.