Investigators Say a High-Profile Dealer Trafficked 2,000 Looted Artefacts

In an arrest warrant for Edoardo Almagià the Manhattan district attorney’s office detailed what it described as decades of illicit transactions (Colin Moynihan, 'Investigators Say a High-Profile Dealer Trafficked 2,000 Looted Artifacts', New York Times Oct. 31, 2024). Prosecutors allege that the dealer(now based in Rome), had been involved in extensive illicit dealings, trafficking artefacts that included Roman sculptures and Etruscan pottery while living in Manhattan. According to investigators, Almagià kept meticulous records of his illegal transactions in a handwritten ledger, known as the "Green Book" that he kept hidden in an apartment beneath a marble statue. This ledger purportedly listed around 1,700 stolen items that he had acquired and then sold to collectors and institutions. A significant breakthrough in the case came when an informant discovered this ledger and attempted to copy it. Almagià allegedly intercepted the informant in the act, reacting with violence, unaware that numerous pages had already been duplicated and subsequently handed to law enforcement. These copies offered a detailed inventory of the items he had trafficked, shedding light on his long-standing operation. Almagia has reportedly been under investigation sincen 2018. Authorities have already seized 221 antiquities with a combined value of nearly $6 million, many of which had been displayed in prominent institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Princeton University’s Art Museum. Investigators claim Almagià leveraged his association with a former curator at Princeton, to access high-profile collectors and curators, furthering his network. In 2010, an Italian inquiry of Almagià included Princeton’s then-curator for ancient art, Michael Padgett. He denied any wrongdoing at the time, and he went on to retire from the University more than a decade later. Though Padgett denies any wrongdoing, stating he was exonerated after an earlier investigation by Italian authorities, prosecutors contend that his reputation played a significant role in bolstering Almagià's access to prominent clients and institutions. Following a raid on his New York apartment in 2006, Almagià fled to Italy, leaving some items in a shipping container bound for Naples. Italian authorities, alerted by an informant, later seized this container, recovering further evidence and numerous artefacts, strengthening the prosecution’s case against him.

For further details, the article by Rachel Axon, 'Raider of the Lost Art' Princeton Alumni Weekly Sept. 12, 2023 is a well-researched and readable account.

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