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<DIV>Dear List,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The article couches the crime(s) in terms of tax fraud but says nothing about the positions of the governments from the Southeast Asian countries from which the antiquities were stolen. Some of us remember the lintel incident in the 1980's, which was an irritant in US-Thai relations until a (presumably) wealthy American donor stepped in, compensated the Chicago museum in possession of the lintel and sent it back to Thailand. (At least I think that was the train of events.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It has been interesting in recent months to watch the Italian government bring the Met and the Getty Museums to heel to recover Greek and Etruscan artifacts and other priceless items that were looted, laundered and sold to major museums. Does anyone know if the Thai government has a similar inclination or policy with regard to Thai antiquities?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Best,</DIV>
<DIV>Catharin</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=seamm@nus.edu.sg href="mailto:seamm@nus.edu.sg">Michael Montesano</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=tlc@lists.ucr.edu href="mailto:tlc@lists.ucr.edu">tlc@lists.ucr.edu</A>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc: </B><A title=haydon.cherry@yale.edu href="mailto:haydon.cherry@yale.edu">Haydon Cherry</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 1/25/2008 6:39:22 PM </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Tlc] FW: LA Art Museums - raided - did you hear about this</DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Authorities Raid California Museums</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial color=black><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=black size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">By GREG RISLING</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=black><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV>
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<P><B><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal agents raided several Southern California museums on Thursday in search of Southeast Asian antiquities believed to have been illegally obtained, smuggled into the U.S. and donated so collectors could claim fraudulent tax deductions. </SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial color=black><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Agents also investigated American Indian artifacts at one museum. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Search warrants were executed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bowers</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:City w:st="on">Santa Ana</st1:City>, the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Pacific</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Asia</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:City w:st="on">Pasadena</st1:City> and the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mingei</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">International</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Diego</st1:place></st1:City>, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Authorities said no arrests had been made and no charges had been filed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Court documents portray a five-year scheme in which the owner of a Los Angeles art gallery worked with a smuggler to bring in artifacts from Thailand and China, offered them as charitable contributions and then tried to claim the donations as tax write-offs by boosting their value. In some cases, museum officials initially questioned how the artifacts were obtained but eventually accepted them, according to affidavits filed in support of the search. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The investigation is the latest public relations debacle for museums in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> that have been accused by foreign governments of housing treasures stolen from their countries. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region> has been negotiating with various museums, including the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Metropolitan</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State> and the J. Paul Getty Museum in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:City>, to have various statues, vases and other items from Roman and Greek times returned. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Michael Govan, director and chief executive officer of LACMA, estimated about 60 items donated to the museum over the past decade that have come under suspicion. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">``They were seemingly quite regular objects to be gifted,'' Govan said, adding the museum is cooperating with the investigation. ``They came from sources who were members of the museum for many years and regular donors, so no, there was no reason for the museum to know ahead of time.'' <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Mingei director Rob Sidner said the museum was cooperating fully with the investigation. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">``If the results of the investigation show that these objects were improperly donated and - we were assured they were acquired properly - they will be returned to their rightful owner,'' Sidner said in a statement. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Representatives from the Pacific Asia museum did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">A statement from the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bowers</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType> said items on display from El Malpais National Monument and <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Chaco</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Culture</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Historic</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:place></st1:State> were being examined by agents as to whether they were removed without a permit. Items from the Ban Chiang area in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region> also were being reviewed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">All of the artifacts will remain at the museums, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman with the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> attorney's office. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The warrants stem from an undercover investigation by a National Park Service special agent who posed as a collector interested in various artifacts. The agent targeted Robert Olson, who is alleged in an affidavit to be a smuggler, and Jonathan Markell, who co-owns an Asian art gallery in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:City> with his wife. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The agent said the artifacts passed through <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> customs because they had ``Made in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region>'' labels affixed to them, making it appear they were replicas. Olson, 79, allegedly boasted to the agent he had more item from the Ban Chiang area than <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region> itself, according to an affidavit. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Court documents said Olson, Markell and the agent met more than a dozen times and regularly e-mailed and called one another about the ``sale, importation, and donation of stolen archaeological resources from China and Thailand and antiquities illegally imported from Burma.'' Some of the calls and meetings were recorded, the warrants said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">In the case of the Pacific Asian Museum, Markell, 62, and the agent met with museum staffers in March 2006 to donate items recovered from the Ban Chiang culture in northeast Thailand. Two museum officials questioned the agent about how one of the artifacts was obtained. After Markell assured them that the Thai government wouldn't miss the item because it wasn't ``an earth-shattering piece,'' the museum accepted the donation, the documents said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Investigators also searched Markell's gallery and home. A phone and e-mail message left for Markell wasn't immediately returned. A call to a phone listed as Olson's went unanswered. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The warrants also detail a relatively simple scam in which Markell allegedly sold antiquities worth a few hundred dollars at a markup to the undercover agent and then used false appraisals to increase the value of the pieces to just less than $5,000 - the Internal Revenue Service's floor for requiring written appraisals to support tax deductions on donated art. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">At the Mingei in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Diego</st1:place></st1:City>, museum officials accepted five Ban Chiang ceramic vessels, along with two other pieces, in June 2006. The undercover agent allegedly paid $1,500 to Markell, who declared a value of nearly $5,000 to the museum, according to the warrants. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Markell allegedly sent an e-mail to Sidner claiming that his Ban Chiang pieces had come from a now-deceased former curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and were all imported before Thai export restrictions went into effect. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Olson allegedly told the agent that he was being sent Ban Chiang antiquities as they were being dug up in northeast <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Thailand</st1:place></st1:country-region>, in violation of Thai and international law. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">It was unclear in court documents whether Mingei officials were aware of the provenance of the artifacts it accepted. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">With the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Markell allegedly told the agent he lied to museum officials so they would accept his items. He allegedly also indicated museum officials had found a ``loophole'' to import restriction on some items but couldn't elaborate. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">According to the court documents, the agent who worked with Markell said he didn't seem worried about being caught. The agent said that after providing Markell a news article about someone getting arrested for false tax returns dealing with antiquities, the dealer shrugged it off and laughed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The documents quoted Markell as saying that ``people who had been caught had to have done something stupid.'' <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Associated Press writers Gillian Flaccus in <st1:City w:st="on">Santa Ana</st1:City> and Allison Hoffman in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Diego</st1:place></st1:City> contributed to this report. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=black size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">01/24/08 21:49</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=black><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> <SPAN class=readmore>© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
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