FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Dozens of Olympic medals, trophies and pictures are on the way back to South Florida's International Swimming Hall of Fame after a sting uncovered some of the stolen items and the prime suspect.

The Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale houses thousands of pieces of swimming memorabilia, including the world's largest collection of Olympic medals.

Slideshow: Items Stolen From Hall Of Fame

Over the last few weeks the vast display suspiciously started to shrink, with over 100 items stolen without a trace.

"It's devastating," curator Bob Duenkel said. "It's the worst nightmare of any hall of fame or any museum, that part of the collection would be taken."

Duenkel realized the Hall of Fame had been robbed after he found that 18 medals were missing. The thief carefully tried to cover up the missing items.

"A cup was removed from a base that dated back to 1896 and a cup of lesser value was placed in its place," Duenkel said.

At the same time the discovery was made, an Olympic collector from North Carolina contacted Duenkel about some medals he had bought on eBay. The medals belonged to Olympic champion Johnny Weissmuller and the collector suspected they belonged to the museum.

Soon after, Fort Lauderdale police were able to identify the suspected thief, Paul Nicholas Cristow, who had been working for a few months on the museum's maintenance staff.

Cristow was arrested when he sold some items to a rare coin shop in Hollywood, police said.

"They set up an operation to meet the suspect who represented himself as an attorney to negotiate buying the rest of the collection," Sgt. Andy Pallen said.

At least half of the stolen items are still missing.

Duenkel said a new security plan has been put in place at the museum, and from now on employees will receive a thorough background check to protect the valuable pieces.