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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>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<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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