Leonardo A. Patterson, a globe-trotting antiquities dealer who is called a canny treasure hunter by friends and a tomb raider by detractors, has long excelled in two areas: acquiring pre-Columbian artifacts and confounding investigators. Across four decades, Mr. Patterson, 73, has been investigated multiple times by the F.B.I., Interpol, and the police in Mexico, Spain, Peru and Germany. Even when he has been convicted, it has been for lesser offenses for which he served little or no jail time. Now, in one of the most serious cases brought against him, a court in Munich, where Mr. Patterson lives, found him guilty last month of two crimes — dealing in fakes and possessing looted artifacts. He was sentenced to probation and home confinement for three years, and fined about $40,000.Tom Mashberg, 'Antiquities Dealer Leonardo Patterson Faces New Criminal Charges', New York Times December 6th 2015.
A blog commenting on various aspects of the private collecting and trade in archaeological artefacts today and their effect on the archaeological record.
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