Blanding Teacher Reaches Deal in Artefacts Case

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It seems there has been yet another plead deal in the Four Corners looting case. David Lacy, a mathematics teacher of Blanding, Utah, was one of the 26 people indicted in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado recently as a result of the Operation Cerberus investigation into artefact looting and trafficking. Lacy, who is the brother of San Juan County Sheriff Mike Lacy, was set for a six-day jury trial on July 11.

He was indicted on accusations that he sold a woman's prehistoric loin cloth, a turkey feather blanket, a decorated digging stick, a set of knife points and other artefacts for more than $11,000. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and, until Thursday, it appeared his would be the only case to go to trial. [...] Lacy fought the charges in part because a felony conviction could disqualify him from his job as a high school teacher.

Though admitting to being in possession of these 'injun' artefacts presumably will not? Most of the remaining 24 defendants (including two co-defendants charged alongside Lacy), reached plea agreements with federal prosecutors. None has been sentenced to prison (though Kevin Shumway has yet to be sentenced - that will happen Sept 16th). Two of the accused committed suicide rather than face charges.

On Thursday, both Lacy's attorney, Matthew Lewis, and assistant U.S. attorney Richard McKelvie declined to comment on the details of the "agreement in principle" they had reached. McKelvie said a change of plea hearing will be held in July, although no date has been set.

Source: Jennifer Dobner, 'Blanding teacher reaches deal in artifacts case', DeseretNews, June 30, 2011

Vignette: Goodbye Mr Chips

Utah fires its state archaeologists

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It seems that in the US antiquity collectors and dealers are not the only ones who disapprove of archaeologists. In Utah, the scene of recent clashes between archaeology and collecting, the Salt Lake Tribune announces that Utah has fired its state archaeologists

The Utah Department of Community and Culture on Tuesday laid off the state archaeologist and two assistants, leaving the Antiquities section with just two employees: those responsible for maintaining a database necessary for development of roads, railways, buildings and other projects. Department acting Director Mike Hansen said he was simply carrying out budget cuts ordered by the Legislature to eliminate programs that receive state funds and that do not carry out requirements of state or federal law. [...] Assistant state archaeologist Ronald Rood, who was among those dismissed, said in a professional association website post that Utah "showed its disdain for archaeology and Utah’s vast cultural heritage." In a separate interview with The Tribune, he said that no other programs in the state Division of History had been cut and suggested there may have been a political motive behind the change: to eliminate employees who sought to protect archaeological sites threatened by development

[hat tip to BAJR]

Vignette: Kevin Jones, formerly Utah State Archaeologist

ACCG Lund Defence Fund

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As reported widely in the US media, through what he describes as a miscommunication, a member of the US coin-collecting brotherhood is in serious trouble with the authorities in Israel and has lost an entire ancient coin collection to them and it seems to me that he is is dire need of some support from fellow ancient coin collectors. As we all know,

The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild is a non-profit organization committed to promoting the free and independent collecting of coins from antiquity. The goal of the guild is to foster an environment in which the general public can confidently and legally acquire and hold any numismatic item of historical interest regardless of date or place of origin. ACCG strives to achieve its goals through education, political action, and consumer protection.

Dr John Lund is doing research for an upcoming book and unthinkingly took a binder containing a collection of ancient coins with him when he travelled on business to Israel which has been seized by Israeli authorities. We are told that the book is called "Bible Coins of Interest to Christians". This meant that Lund's lost coin binder contained a collection of "many coins, including Greek, Persian, Roman and Egyptian coins in addition to Jewish coins". These objects were he stresses legally purchased and exported "on previous trips around the Mediterranean region" and legally owned in the United States where he lives (in Utah). The Israelis are challenging this, so this seems like a forthcoming battle right up the ACCG's street. It challenges everything they say about ancient coin ownership, "collectors' rights" and property rights.

This was the second batch of antiquities from his collection which Dr Lund had had confiscated by the Israelis in a fortnight. According to an Israel Antiquities Authority press release, he was detained in Jerusalem about "two weeks" before his arrest at Ben Gurion airport and had had a collection of "hundreds of antiquities" (including coins) seized when authorities searched his room. Again, coins he says were legally owned and brought as private property through Israeli customs from his home in America.

Lund said he had been questioned at customs about the items when he entered Israel and allowed to pass without any problems. The problems arose when he tried to take the same collection of objects back home. He claims that nobody had explained to him anything about Israeli law on the passage of such items across international borders. Lund said he's concerned for American tourists in Israel who are in the dark like he was.

"Innocently, all over the place, people are buying items, hauling them out of the country and not even aware that they're technically smugglers," he said. "I think Israel has an obligation to let us know that".

Well, although I think Israel does that already some may agree with Dr Lund (a collector of 'Biblical coins") that more could be done. I think therefore this is somewhere the ACCG could supply advice notes for collectors who might be faced with similar problems during their travels abroad. Just how do the laws of popular US holiday destinations affect the ability of collectors to own ancient coins while abroad? I think this case shows all too transparently that collectors need to be informed, and who better to accomplish this task than the Ancient Coin Collectors' Guild.

Dr Lund now has to get his property - including his "biblical coin" collection - back from the Israelis, because if he does not this is a huge blow against the "rights" which US collectors claim.

Lund plans to appeal to the U.S. Embassy and find a lawyer versed in international antiquities laws to fight the charges, which he says stemmed from a simple miscommunication..

It seems to me that this is a task for Peter Tompa and his firm Bailey and Ehrenberg, the legal firm in the nation's capital with a lot of experience of fighting governmental injustice and intransigence specifically in the field of the legality of coin imports and exports.

So, I assume that in the next few days in their efforts to uphold US "collectors' rights", to promote the free and independent collecting of coins from antiquity and "foster an environment in which the general public can confidently and legally acquire and hold any numismatic item of historical interest regardless of date or place of origin" we will be seeing the creation of an ACCG John Lund Fighting Fund. Maybe a topical Benefit Auction - legally owned and previously collected "Biblical coins" only is in order? Let us see some expression of coiney collecting solidarity - or are the ACCG going to concentrate on those dealery things like the MOUs and leave a US collector to be pushed around and victimised by a foreign government?
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Utah Man Denies Antiquity Smuggling Accusation

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As we have seen, the artefact collector and antiquity dealer are all to frequently keen to play the victim. Another such victim seems to be the case of Utah tour guide John Lund, reportedly accused in Israel of selling artefacts without the required permits, and attempting to remove them from the country without an export permit (apparently on Monday May 16th, but he says 14th) . He signed some papers ("in Hebrew") admitting this, but upon his arrival in the States, he began protesting his innocence. See Sarah Dallof, 'Utah historian accused of smuggling antiquities out of Israel', May 19th, 2011. There's a video from KSL Broadcasting Salt Lake City (can't seem to embed it) in which he makes light of the charges, comparing himself to Goody Two Shoes encountering a "dragon". See also Matthew Kalman, 'Retired U.S. Academic Is Arrested in Israel on Suspicion of Antiquities Trafficking', The Chronicle of Higher Education May 18, 2011.

There is also a May 19th text by Sheena McFarland in the Salt Lake Tribune: 'Utah tour guide accused of smuggling Israeli artifacts'. (updated May 20th), and another in the same vein by Molly Farmer and Sarah Dallof, 'Murray resident John Lund accused of smuggling Israeli artifacts disputes allegations', Deseret News,May 20, 2011 (this one seems to have mysteriously vanished from the Internet, but is in Google cache).

He claims he'd brought these antiquities INTO Israel from the US as "teaching material". "Dr Lund admits he lacked the proper paperwork for some of these artefacts, but says he had no idea he needed it". That is a bit odd for somebody who has been leading tour groups there over the years. Part of the qualifications for which job should surely be familiarity with all local laws likely to affect the customers of the company which employs him in matters such as this. The information about needing export licences for antiquities from Israel is in many tour guides both printed and online.

A group of (American?) tourists was reportedly stopped and their 'property' seized on the Israel/Egypt border because they'd allegedly bought them from Lund and tried to remove them from the country without the proper formalities. Did Dr Lund not inform them about export procedures for these items? Did they REALLY not know that what they were doing was illegal? Or did they just not care? Did they lie when they said they had bought the items from Lund? I am surprised we have heard nothing from these people who are now out of pocket and labelled law-breakers due to the lack of information from the travel firm's agent.

I am unclear how Lund can claim he did not know of the legal requirements when, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority press release, he was detained in Jerusalem for allegedly selling antiquities about "two weeks" before his arrest at Ben Gurion airport and had "hundreds of antiquities" seized when authorities searched his room. This would presumably be when he was guiding this 14 day tour. Did he fail to enquire then why in fact he was having to surrender his 'property'? Or did he just hand hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars' worth of his property to the Israeli authorities with a shrug?

However, having once had all (?) the stuff in his room reportedly taken away, how come he was then in the middle of May two weeks later arrested taking more antiquities out of Israel without the paperwork? Where did he get them from? He is now stating he brought them into Israel from the States, so why were they not seized at the beginning of May with the rest, but ended up being seized two weeks later? If he could earlier prove legal import why was he no longer able to do so when he left the country? All very odd.

Journalist Chi-Chi Zhang of Associated press has a number of articles syndicated which present Lund's side of the story: 'Utah man accused in Israel of smuggling artifacts', and 'US tour guide says he didn't know bringing antique oil lamps, coins broke Israeli law', May 20th and on ArtDaily.com on May 23rd: ' Utah Tour Guide David Lund Accused by Government of Israel of Smuggling Artifacts'. The man's name is - apparently incorrectly - given there as "Tour guide David Lund" . Apparently:

the retired lecturer from Murray, Utah, said he was never informed of any wrongdoing in more than 30 years of guiding thousands of people to visit holy sites in the Middle East and bringing antiquities with him to tell biblical stories."They're saying I was trying to sneak these items out of Israel, and it's just a gross misrepresentation of the facts," the 70-year-old Lund said. His latest trip began earlier this month when he led a group of 96 tourists to Israel. Like his previous outings, Lund brought along antiquities such as oil lamps and coins to help illustrate the history and tell stories about the region. They were antiquities he said he had purchased on previous trips around the Mediterranean region. Lund said he was questioned at customs about the items when he entered Israel and allowed to pass without any problems.

So he's done this before? The logic of a tour guide "bringing antiquities with him to tell biblical stories" as he takes tourists around the sites and museums of the Holy Land beats me. Are there not enough objects in the museums to tell those stories? ("Helped tell biblical stories as part of the trip designed to highlight sites important to Christians", "He incorporates the artifacts into the tours by explaining the travelers the parables of Jesus" - so how many lamps and Roman glass vessels do you need to do that then? ). The photos show he had quite a few duplicates of each object type. Would not a powerpoint presentation on his laptop be enough for evening cultural talks? Why then do the Israeli Antiquity Authorities say they saw him selling these items? Are they not telling the truth? What would be the connection, if any, between the alleged sale watched by IAA staff and the reported seizure of artefacts from tourists, allegedly from the same group, at the Israeli border? If I understand what he is saying, Lund asserts that these artefacts were purchased from legitimate Israeli dealers - so why could those carrying them not show documentation of that fact? Why are these people not now coming forward to claim their property?

Elsewhere there is talk about Lund having seized from him a "binder of ancient coins he's using as research for an upcoming book" and we are told that he is writing a book "Bible Coins of Interest to Christians, which is why he had so many coins, including Greek, Persian, Roman and Egyptian coins in addition to Jewish coins". So he had these "Egyptian coins" when he was in Egypt too and managed to get them across the border? Lucky for him he was not stopped, eh? (I am not sure the Egyptians would let him go so easily). This of course raises the question of how many books on "["Biblical"] Coins of Interest to Christians" can the market take? I thought there were plenty of them - and websites, though none of the ones I have seen discuss the question of the sources, licit and illicit of the material they encourage people to acquire and collect. I find the fresh reports difficult to reconcile with the photos of the coins as seized, none are in a "binder" but there is at least one in a decorative olive wood box - hardly the sort of container I'd use to transport "research material" and several packaged with descriptive cards of the type attached by dealers to make an item more attractive - again, hardly necessary I would have thought for a "researcher". But... it takes all sorts I guess.

Lund said "he had no idea a visa (sic) was required to bring antiquities in and out of the country and was never told by any authorized dealers in Israel to do so". Concerning items brought into the country, there is a quite detailed customs notice online which lays down the procedure to be adopted when importing personal property worth more than 200 dollars and not falling into certain groups (which Mr Lund's travelling antiquity collection does not), and reminding travellers that "the exportation of [....] all antiquities [...] is subject to special authorization". If he was "questioned at customs about the [antique] items [in his baggage] when he entered Israel" (and he asserts and stresses that after questioning he was "allowed to pass without any problems"), would that not have alerted him, even if somehow previously ignorant of that fact, that the Israeli authorities take an interest in controlling the movements of such material across their frontiers? What about the requirement to declare items like this on entry? When he was "questioned" about them, was he not made aware of this? But then elsewhere Lund is confusingly reported as saying: "I understand why Israel would have strict policies on antiquities, but I don't understand why they didn't stop me when I entered the country if they had a problem with the items I had". Did he openly declare when he entered the country that he had the items or not?

But in fact if he was accompanying the tour he was supposed to be accompanying, Lund would have been entering Israel from Egypt (at least that is what this suggests), or would that be Jordan, where the trippers he was guiding ended up? Both countries which place restrictions on the export of antiquities, and both states party of the 1970 UNESCO Convention (since 1973 and 1974). If he was stopped and questioned about these artefacts when entering the country from Egypt or Jordan and was unable to show at that time (for it seems he was unable to do so on 16th May) that they had been purchased in other countries, then why were they allowed through? How did he manage that?

If Dr Lund had indeed legally and purchased and exported the items suspected of having been dug up in the Holy Land that were seized at the airport "on previous trips around the Mediterranean region", a responsible collector would have the export licences and invoices with which he will now be able to clear his name when faced with such a situation.

When he was searched at Ben Gurion airport, it is reported that Lund had recently-written "che[que]s totaling more than $20,000" on him, and authorities believed these were from "the illegal sales of ancient coins, clay oil lamps, and glass and pottery vessels". Lund denies this, he says "the checks were given to him by members of the tour group who wanted to buy antiquities legally, and he took them to legitimate dealers and paid for the items with his Visa card". This was a tourist group of Mormons or Amish? Do travelling Mormons abroad not carry their own visa cards for some reason? I do not understand this. Really I do not. In any case, again to clear his name all that is needed is for the antiquity dealers in Israel to show the records of those legal transactions. They are obliged to keep such records by Israeli law.

But the Salt Lake Tribune has another - conflicting - story. According to this one, in Bethlehem several tourists:

had run out of cash for souvenirs. He had them write him personal checks in $200 amounts in exchange for extra cash Lund had brought in case such a situation occurred. He also arranged group purchases of Bethlehem baby blankets and Bethlehem alabaster jars with spikenard inside and said he did not make money on the transaction.

Lund does however add that he

also facilitated the $2,000 purchase of a silver Tyre shekel, also known as a Judas coin, for one of the tour participants.

"We were buying antiques as souvenirs from legitimate dealers just like what normal tourists would do and no one ever told us we needed a special visa (sic)", of course if tourists buy antiquities from registered dealers, they get the export licence with the object. What did Lund do, throw them away? I also wonder about the bloke who claims to be writing a book on "Biblical coins of interest to Christians" and who is himself the owner of at least one "binder" of them, who would not tell a tour party member to save his money because he can buy a decent example of that shekel back in the states for about a quarter of the price.

Lund said he's currently gathering affidavits to build a defense case. He's in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Israel, and is seeking legal counsel. Despite the hiccup, Lund said he loves Israel, and now that he understands the laws, he'll try to make it right. "You wont' find a greater advocate for Israel then me and for sustaining the laws of the land," he said. Lund said he's concerned for American tourists in Israel who are in the dark like he was. "Innocently, all over the place, people are buying items, hauling them out of the country and not even aware that they're technically smugglers," he said. "I think Israel has an obligation to let us know that."

Umm, I think they do. How can anyone ignoring cultural property laws, Americans or not, claim to be doing it "innocently"? Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Surely it is also the responsibility of travel companies to employ as guides people who are knowledgeable about local laws that may affect their clients? Dr Lund has at best showed himself woefully ill-informed in this regard.

More about Lund:
Books by Lund include, 'Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon' and 'The Church and the Negro' ("A discussion of Mormons, Negroes and the priesthood"). On the latter see also: Darth J, "The Church and the Negro" Friday, May 20, 2011, at 07:28 AM here.

Journalists have been confused about who he is, see Rogueclassicist, 'Journalists Just Aren’t Trying Any More', May 19, 2011
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Israel Accuses U.S. Man of Antiquities Trafficking

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Judge Waddoups says looting and disrespectful treatment of archaeological sites, including 'injun' burial sites is OK in Utah, so it need not surprise us that when some Utahans go abroad, they see nothing wrong with supporting destructive local looting and grave robbing. The Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday that they had arrested a U.S. tour guide, 'educator' and author from Utah on suspicion of trafficking antiquities stolen from Israel and attempting to smuggle antiques valued at tens of thousands of dollars out of the country. John Lund, is accused of selling stolen artifacts to tour groups he led in Israel, and was detained on Monday night at Israel’s international airport as he was trying to leave the country as a result of a joint Israeli Antiquities Authority and customs operation.

The antiquities authority said in a statement that he had stolen ancient coins in his possession and checks totaling more than $20,000 believed to be from the illegal sales of ancient coins, clay oil lamps, and glass and pottery vessels. Lund was allowed to leave after posting a $7,500 bond meant to guarantee he will return to stand trial, said Shai Bar Tura, deputy director of the authority’s theft prevention unit. Bar Tura said formal charges are expected.

The joint operation began two weeks ago when the Antiquities Authority theft prevention unit inspectors discovered that Lund had been selling ancient artefacts at a lecture he had given in a Jerusalem hotel to tour groups visiting Israel from the US. He was detained, the artefacts were seized, and the authorities searched Lund and his hotel room, where they apparently found and seized hundreds of artefacts which it was suspected had been dug up and stolen from various archaeological sites throughout the country by thieves. At the time it was thought appropriate to let Lund off with a warning. Sadly it seems he acquired a new stock of goods and carried on doing what he had been told not to. Trading antiquities without a licence is illegal in Israel.

As a result of surveillance of a tour group he was leading recently, officials at the Israeli border with Egypt at the Taba crossing in Eilat halted the tourists at the crossing and examined the bags of members and discovered 50 stolen items - alerting them to the fact they were suspected for involvement in illegal trade and export. Among the artefacts found in the tourists' suitcases were ancient silver and bronze coins from the Second Temple period (2,000 years old), ceramic lamps from the Roman and Byzantine period and various glass and ceramic utensils. The tourists said that Lund had sold the items to them. An arrest warrant was issued and Lund was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport where he was trying to leave Israel. When his bags were opened, in his possession officials reportedly found ancient coins and 70 cheques written to him by tourists (70 cheques for $20 000 - that is $260 average each customer). According to a statement by the Authority Lund admitted the offences attributed to him Lund could face up to three years in jail if convicted. He was released and allowed to fly back to the USA on bail of $7500. He is scheduled to be leading more "Funforless" tours in the near future.

The head of the theft prevention unit at the Antiquities Authority Amir Ganor said at the conclusion of the operation that "those who purchase artifacts from unauthorized sources at exorbitant prices are endangering themselves, their money and encouraging artifact theft and robbing the country of its history.

.The source of the coins with description cards should be traceable, the "widow's mite" (I assume it is, they do Pontius Pilat prutahs too) in an olive wood case is a well-known antiqui-geegaw, sold in huge quantities to the gullible collector or believer on the Internet, the source and packaging seems to be Israeli (Moriah, North of Ayalon, Israel 99785)


Dr. Lund [...] is described as having a unique combination of gospel knowledge, deep spirituality, and has a delightful sense of humor. I guess 'thou shalt not deal in stolen goods' simply is not in the book of Mormon. Are we taking bets on whether he goes back to Israel to face the consequences or decides to forfeit the seven and a half thousand from the profits he has made from selling this stuff? Or will he go back and defend himself by showing that its "OK" because the objects were looted outside Israel and he has the receipts to prove it? So how many looted and illegally sold artefacts have entered the US over the years with tourists that went on a tour with Dr Lund? Let us note there were seventy cheques in his bag, but only 50 artefacts recovered this time (not all of the group left Israel through Eilat), and what about previous trips?

Jerusalem - Israel Accuses U.S. Man of Antiquities Trafficking AP - 18th May 2011.
(getting a lot of coverage, "Israel accuses US man of antiquities trafficking" 5700 hits for this article title alone).

Zvi Lavi, 'US professor suspected of selling stolen artifacts', Israel News, 18.05.11

Photo, display by Eilat customs of coins lamps and pots found in Lund's possession.

Four Corners Fiasco: Joseph M. Smith and his Artefact Collection

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From Kimberly Alderman's Cultural Property & Archaeology Law blog:

Federal prosecutors have entered into deals in three more of the Four Corners antiquities trafficking cases. For Meredith Smith, they’ll drop the charges if she doesn’t get charged with any other crimes in the next six months. Tad Kreth had his charges reduced from 17 counts to 1, and the prosecutors will recommend probation. And Joseph Smith has had his charges reduced from 38 counts to 1, and he’ll have to forfeit the Native American artifacts he owns.

Kimberly calls this "The Four Corners Sideshow" and accuses the authorities of "overcharging" the defendants to justify the scale of the operation. She subtitles her blog "A legal resource for archaeology and cultural property enthusiasts", but I am not quite sure what sort of message she intends sending archaeology "enthusiasts" by what she writes. The United States is arguably at the moment one of the largest markets in the world for looted archaeological artefacts. As such, one would expect the cultured people of that nation would be doing something about it, reducing the damaging effects of the actions of the cowboys and dodgy dealers in their midst rather than encouraging them. But instead we can see that they cannot even deal with the destroyers of the archaeological heritage in their own country and many of those talking about the issues over there are lawyers who seem from what they write almost to side with the eroders of history. But then there is big money in collecting, isn't there?

As for the scale of the operation, what is being investigated in cases like this is usually an exceptionally clandestine process. “ARPA investigations can be as complex as murder cases,” Todd Swain said in a 2007 analysis ('Cultural Resource damage on the Public Lands, what the statistics Show' (Yearbook of Cultural Property Law 7). They do need the expenditure of considerable resources, which is what makes it frustrating that cases like this, instead of awakening concern about the ongoing looting of America's archaeological heritage, there is more criticism of the authorities for trying to deal with the problem despite the obvious hindrance the crappy US laws and lack of a centrally coordinated heritage protection system create.

Whether or not anyone was "overcharged" is debatable. I note that Joseph M. Smith , 31, from Blanding mentioned above has (had) an "artefact collection" which presumably federal authorities had reason to believe contains items illicitly obtained (I assume he'll not be losing anything which is properly 'papered' with positive proof of licit provenance). He was initially charged (together with some other people) with a number of counts of selling items which it was alleged were obtained illegally. But that is not his whole collection, and one may presume the transactions mentioned in the charge sheet are only those for which federal authorities (claim to) have documented proof. According to the Salt Lake Tribune article 'A breakdown of the artifact theft charges', they are: "17 felony counts of violating ARPA, eight felony counts of theft of government property, two felony counts of theft of Indian tribal property, one misdemeanor count of theft of Indian tribal property". Smith however admits going onto land and taking artefacts from where he should not have.

Hamilton said his client, Joseph M. Smith, intends to admit in court that he took artifacts from public lands. “But what he is guilty of is a misdemeanor.” [...] “He wasn’t like some of the others that had literally truckloads of artifacts,” Hamilton said. “He was more of a construction worker who walks through the desert.”

The additional charges were dropped because of uncertainty about the financial value of the artefacts concerned.

Then there was Carl Lavern Crites "two felony counts of violating ARPA, two felony counts of theft of government property, one felony count depredation of government property". Crites is a collector and dealer of American Indian items. Overcharged? He had just three objects in his store and collection? Or is every single other item in his store and collection papered showing undeniable licit origin? Another cultural property lawyer with an ambiguous position on this case Derek Fincham points out, there is "no obligation" in US law for them to have so (and he is right of course - US law is woefully deficient in several regards where cultural property issues are concerned). Crites however admitted to taking part in illegal excavation of an ancient (Native American) grave looking for collectable artefacts in September 2008. Was this really the first and only time he'd ever done anything like this, or was it the only occasion where Federal authorities could document it?

Then we have the Redds, James, Jeanne and Jerrica. A sad case as James - who had reportedly been in trouble with the law before over related matters, but not only - decided to commit suicide rather than face the charges. But rather oddly it was his wife that was the cause of the raid on their home in June. She surrendered a collection of over 800 artefacts in 112 boxes (it needed two trucks to take them away). Again was this collection properly papered with collecting histories showing licit origins? Mention is made in the receipt of lots and lots of artefacts, but not a single mention of any files of documentation or collection catalogue cards. She was initially charged on seven or eight counts, her husband only one of them (together with her) and the daughter with three which apparently emerged during examination of whatever evidence there was about how the artefacts in their home were obtained.

But this was apparently not the first time that the artefact collecting activities of the Redd family had brought them into conflict with the authorities ('Couple agree to pay fine for digging up Anasazi site').

In 1996, a San Juan County sheriff's deputy found the Redds and several children digging near prehistoric ruins in Cottonwood Wash near Bluff. Charges were first filed the following year. The charges included desecration of a corpse, a felony. The charge against James Redd, 52, was dismissed. Assistant Utah Attorney General Joanne Slotnik said that was because Jeanne Redd "was the prime mover and the one most interested in these sorts of relics." The state's suit alleged the Redds destroyed a prehistoric grave site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jeanne Redd's plea agreement argued that if an ancient grave had been disturbed, it was on private land.

Reportedly "They asserted they had the right to dig at an Anasazi ruin on private land, but a survey later showed the site was on state land" (Joe Bauman, 'Anasazi case is finally put to rest', Deserte news Jan. 26, 2003). They had been threatened by a $250,000 lawsuit brought by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration which James and Jeanne Redd apparently settled by making a payment of $10,000 in 2003. Despite this, the Redd family apparently continued to collect artefacts, and the raid on June 10th 2009 and the consequent charges were the results of this. In the case of the acquisition of at least seven of those artefacts federal authorities believed they could document illicit origins, and in the event Jeanne Redd pleaded guilty to all seven. What 'overcharging' was applied here?

Neither do I think it likely that the two dozen people investigated and charged as a result of Operation Cerberus are the only people in the Four Corners area involved in the illegal acquisition of artefacts from the looting of archaeological sites in the region. Judge Waddoups seems to express the idea that since everybody has been doing it, it would be invidious to give those actually caught doing it sentences as severe as the law lays down. But these people all know that in doing what they do they are breaking the law (I expect they themselves would add "technically"). This looting of protected sites is clearly a huge problem and - despite the existence of laws ostensibly to protect the US archaeological resource - the US judicial system now seems to be giving a signal that the US administration actually intends to do nothing much about it. They are just giving offenders a slap on the wrist, and an admonition 'not to do it again'. That's what, for example, the Redds got in 2003, but six years later and apparently eight hundred dugup artefacts later, that is what they seem to have been found to have been doing.

Vignette: Anasazi bowl, Chaco Canyon - this one not looted.

More Guilty Pleas in Four Corners Looting Case

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Three Utah residents have pleaded guilty in a federal court on Friday to trafficking stolen artifacts from federal and tribal lands in southern Utah. Reece Laws, Tad Kreth and Joseph Smith, Blanding residents, pleaded guilty, "taking American Indian artifacts from public lands". The mere formality of sentencing is set for July 18.

"A federal prosecutor says an indictment for a fourth defendant, Meredith Smith, will be dismissed if she doesn't commit any crimes for next six months".

Chi-Chi Zhang, 'Several Utahns plead guilty to American Indian artifact looting' Associated Press, April 29, 2011

Back in July last year (San Juan Record - 'Antiquities cases work way through court system '): "To date, there have been no trials related to the charges, but several are planned. An October trial date has been set for Blanding residents Joseph M. Smith, Meredith Smith, Tad Kreth, Reece Laws and Brandon Laws before Judge Stewart".

These cases had a bit of a 'twist' in them in that for some months there was some wrangling about the value of the objects involved and whether or not Arizona antiquity dealer Dace Hyatt could testify for the defence in the case (the prosecution argued he could not be a court expert as he had no archaeological training, and had earlier been quoted in newspapers calling the Operation Cerberus 'entrapment'), the court decided he could testify (Artifacts Dealer is an 'Expert' Says Federal Judge). The defence of the accused argued that establishment of the monetary value of the items concerned was important because there is a minimum value in federal law for felony charges. Loss of archaeological value of course cannot be measured.

Another Plea 'Deal' in Four Corners Looting Case

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Antiquities dealer Vern Crites was one of 26 people charged as a result of the Four Corners operation Cerberus investigating looting of and trade in artefacts from land protected by US laws. He has already surrendered five truckloads of Native American relics to Federal authorities.

The 75-year-old dealer was described in government affidavits as a “price setter” for antiquities because of his influence over the market. Federal agents say he had an astonishing collection confiscated from his Durango home in January.

It is now being reported that he will "settle charges" of digging up a grave and plundering artifacts from federal lands. Vern Crites had been scheduled to take a plea deal on Tuesday at federal court in Salt Lake City, but the hearing was cancelled because of a snowstorm.

Another Durango man has pleaded guilty to removing an ancient human skull, pottery and a stone knife from federal land in the Four Corners of southern Utah.

Richard Bourret pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Salt Lake City to a felony charge of unauthorized excavation. U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson scheduled sentencing for Feb. 1. Sixty-one-year-old Bourret faces a maximum of two years in prison, but prosecutors plan to recommend leniency as part of a deal that’ll drop two other charges. Crites and Bourret are expected to be ordered at sentencing to pay for damage at the San Juan County, Utah, dig site.

The newspaper helpfully adds:

The Four Corners once was the center of ancestral Puebloan culture, and it is a treasure trove of archaeological artifacts, Mark Michel, president of the Archaeological Conservancy, a national group based in Albuquerque told The Durango Herald in June 2009, when Vern and Marie Crites were arrested as part of sting operation targeting suspected illegal trades in stolen artifacts.
"There are thousands of archaeological sites in (the Four Corners), and I’ve never seen one that hasn’t had some looting,” Michel, who as worked in the area for 30 years, told the Herald.

This report sits uncomfortably with the texts which the US collectors of ancient dugup coins from foreign countries are producing. They bleat on and on about how its "not their fault" that sites are looted, that foreign nations must guard their archaeological sites from looting before they will stop buying anonymously imported artefacts no-questions-asked. Yet in their own land, the United States, they cannot afford or manage to do what collectors demand from the citizens of poorer countries. The "source countries" should enforce their laws more vigorously the collectors say - and yet after a costly two year operation to strike at the network of endemic looting and illcit dealing in the US Southwest we see plea bargain after plea bargain, letting people get off with a slap on the wrist instead of the jail sentences that the law allows. US law, upheld by US judges, one of whom said in effect that he was not going to give a proper sentence because he thought looting archaeological sites was a normal thing to do.

The words "private property" figure prominently in US antiquity collecting circles, once they've bought an artefact, it is THEIRS, sacrosanct, and nobody - they insist - has a right to question its origin. Yet Vern Crites' home was emptied of a collection which took five trucks to haul off. Where are the "collectors' rights" advocates? Why has this seizure (if that is what it was) received absolutely no attention in the discussions of the "private property rights" of US ancient artefact collectors? One would have thought that they would take great interest in precisely why Crites was required to surrender his "private property" a collection built up over a number of years, and why he agreed to do so. One would have thought that ancient dugup coin collectors in the US ought to be wondering if the same thing could happen to them too. But no, complete silence on the issue, because they insist that there is a vast gulf between pot-diggers at home and coin-diggers abroad. The reasons why they see them as completely different phenomena are never articulated, personally I see none at all.

Colorado Antiquity Dealer Sentenced

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Antiquities dealer Robert B. Knowlton, 66, from Grand Junction Colorado, was among 26 people in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico who were rounded up in a two-year sting operation in the Four Corners region discussed earlier on this blog. He earlier admitted he had sold an archaeological resource, a small sandstone pipe, that had been excavated from an Anasazi site on federal land near Blanding to a federal undercover operative during an investigation in 2008 and mailed it from Colorado to Utah.

He was sentenced on Friday to 18 months of probation and "also banned from federal land for collecting purposes during the 18 months".

Knowlton was indicted in 2009 by a federal grand jury in Denver on five felony counts for allegedly selling looted American Indian antiquities worth $6,750 to the informant. In a plea deal, he pleaded guilty this year to a misdemeanor related to only the pipe, valued at less than $500.

Interestingly, Knowlton, had stated in a court filing that he had obtained the pipe after the death of Lamar Lindsay, an archaeologist employed by the state of Utah, from the latter's sister. The court document stated that the Utah Division of State History excavated the site in 1979 and 1980. So how had the pipe entered the sister's possession?

Robert Boczkiewicz, 'Colorado man sentenced for artifacts theft', Salt Lake Tribune Nov 19, 2010.

There is an interesting mention on the Lindsay episode by "Teofil" on the Collide-a-scape blog called simply "looting". It is followed by a thought-provoking series of comments. It would be interesting to know more about the manner in which this particular published (?) item reached a Colorado dealer. Was foul play involved, or were there legitimate reasons why the object was separated from the excavation archive and its intended destination was for some reason unknown to Lindsay's family?
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Another Plea Bargain in US Four Corners Illegal Artefacts Farce

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Dennis Romboy ('Indian artifacts defendant pleads guilty to reduced charge' Deseret news Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010, see also the updated version) reports that about half way through the court cases resulting from the Four Corners illegal artefacts raids, another collector has today reached for a plea bargain.

Brandon Laws, a 40-year old construction worker from Blanding, was originally indicted for allegedly stealing and selling two bone beads, a shell necklace with clay pendant, two drills and other pendants which were excavated or removed from Indian lands. Laws had argued the items came from private land and the transaction was legal. Today he admitted in U.S. District Court that he took a bead from a tribal ruin in San Juan County in 2008. Judge Ted Stewart will sentence him Dec. 20. It turns out that Laws has already served more than five months in jail pending trial, and Stewart ordered his release, pending the sentencing hearing.

Another Sentence in Four Corners Looting Case

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Paul Foy, 'Utah man sentenced for artifact looting, Durango Herald 6th Aug 2010). There were moving scenes in a Salt Lake City court, on a par with many famous courtroom scenes from sentimental Hollywood movies:

A Utah man who once bragged about taking American Indian artifacts from federal lands avoided jail time Thursday after a federal judge said he decided to show leniency after reading letters from the man's two daughters. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said he planned to give Aubry Patterson, 57, prison time but changed his mind after reading the letters, which said Patterson was an "amazing father" who had a hard life but always "provided for us and put food on the table." Patterson's teary daughters accompanied him to court. Benson instead gave Patterson three years of probation, waiving guidelines that called for more than a year in prison.[...] "I think the word is getting out whether I put you in prison or not," the judge said. "Don't do anything stupid on probation".

Patterson was accused of having dug up valuable relics on federal lands surrounding his property outside Monticello in southeast Utah, he pleaded guilty in April to two felony theft charges (involving the sale of two bowls for $1,300 to an undercover agent). Prosecutors dropped six other counts involving the sale of additional artifacts. The guy knew he was breaking the law. If I ever go shoplifting in the USA, I will make sure I have some letters in my pocket saying I am an "amazing" dad and that my kids never went hungry either.

In secret recordings, Patterson said he knew when a ranger took his days off, but worried more about running across tourists who could give him away. He dug fresh holes on his property in case "someone comes asking" about the origin of his artifacts. He said he dug up burials - but not since he lost a son - and avoided caves where he could be trapped by law-enforcement officers. He said he would rather die than get caught. He circled on maps for the government agent where he had taken artifacts from Bureau of Land Management tracts - "You aren't going to show BLM?" - then signed certificates claiming the objects came from his own land.

The Amazing Dad also surrendered hundreds of artifacts (which he had been keeping at home with the fake holes outside it where he was raising his daughters to be model citizens able to write tearful letters). Patterson promised never to dig up any more artefacts from protected sites, and apologised in court "to the federal government and American Indian tribes".

Prosecutor Rich McKelvie said the prosecution has all but shut down the black market trade, and the judge agreed that the largest-ever such federal investigation has sent a message that artifact looting no longer is acceptable.

Well, that is not exactly what Judge Waddoups said, was it? Patterson has become the eighth defendant to receive leniency and avoid prison time after the Operation Cerberus sting operation which rounded up 26 defendants last summer in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Charges are pending against 16 more defendants and an investigation remains open in Arizona and New Mexico.

I would say the real message this gives out is that although there are laws which envisage a specific penalty for stealing artefacts from and damaging protected sites in the US, it is unlikely anyone caught and convicted will actually receive the punishment envisaged by those laws. A second lesson is that in any case you are unlikely to get caught as it seems to me that the relevant authorities in the southwest are not ever going to mount an operation on this scale again after it has been proven that the US judiciary simply does not take protecting the archaeological resources of America from looting at all seriously.

Another Coiney Misleads the CPAC

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It seems that there was a veritable gabblefest of coiney misinformation at Thursday's CPAC hearing in Washington. Rick Witschonke, collector of Republican coins and staff member of the American Numismatic Society posted on Moneta-L just now the text he himself delivered at the CPAC public consultation. He's another one who thinks Italy should scrap her laws and institute something like Britain's limp-wristed nineteenth century measures. That would no doubt benefit artefact collectors, but would it strengthen archaeological site protection? (No).

Anyway in order to persuade the CPAC to recommend the US not to heed Italian requests for help protecting its archaeological heritage from being bundled up and clandestinely sold off abroad, he feels it germane to give the CPAC a lecture on the British legislation. Sadly, he obviously has no idea how it works. According to him the British Treasure Act of 1996:

provided that finders of ancient objects who had the permission of the landowner to search would receive a full market value reward for any finds determined to be Treasure, and retained by the Government. Non-treasure finds, and Treasure not retained by the Government are returned to the landowner and finder, who are then free to sell them on the licit market. In addition, the UK also passed legislation establishing a Portable Antiquities Scheme, under which finders would be encouraged to formally report non-Treasure finds so that they could be properly recorded. PAS also established a network of Finds Liaison Officers who work with metal-detectorists, museums, and other groups in each area of the country; it is their relationship with the local communities which makes the Scheme work.

Despite the fact that he is a bosom buddy of Head of Treasure Roger Bland and further parts of his text show Witschonke to be a keen consumer of PAS propaganda, it might be observed that there are as many as six errors of fact in that short passage. Witschonke also takes an optimistic approach to other factors claimed to be the effects of PAS successes, when they are capable of a totally different interpretation (such as numbers and types of Treasure reported and the Nighthawking Report both discussed here). Witschonke says that in other countries, systems:

involving market-based rewards and outreach tended to be successful in encouraging the reporting of found objects, while programs lacking those elements were largely failures.

But then the coiney has not thought through that it is not actually in the CPAC brief to recommend to foreign countries ways of increasing "reporting of found objects", but to advise the US government whether the US is in a position to help cut down on the looting and illicit trade. To those whose minds have not yet been clouded by coin fondling, this is quite a different topic. Witschonke also presumes to deny that preservation in situ - on which modern heritage management and developer funding are based - is a useful concept. The only thing he suggests replacing it with is "dig it all up now", and let the diggers be metal detectorists serving the antiquities market.

Witschonke is certainly guilty of foggy thinking when he then intones in all seriousness:

"One could argue that such a program might change the behavior of “innocent” finders of antiquities, but would do little to stop the illegal digging of professional looters. But most of this digging in Italy is done on private land, often with the concurrence of the landowner (in return for some consideration). If, instead, the landowner saw the prospect of a market-based reward for any antiquities found on his land, he would have a strong incentive to cease dealing with the illegal diggers, and protect his land from them.

Umm, and... what? Protect the site from ever being disturbed, or go over it a couple of times with deep ploughing and then get a few mates with metal detectors (in full daylight and with the landowner's full knowledge, permission and encouragement) to claim the market rewards for objects "found" on his land? Like for example organizing a commercial metal detecting rally on his land maybe? How does paying people to dig things out of them protect archaeological sites Mr Witschonke?

Witschonke concludes:

I would suggest that Italy should be strongly encouraged, if it wishes the US to continue import restrictions on Italian antiquities, to modify its antiquities legislation to: 1) provide for prompt market value rewards for reported finds; 2) support a robust, licit market for objects that are not claimed by the state; and 3) establish an effective outreach program, with representatives in each of the regions, to encourage the reporting of finds. [...] I urge the Committee to strongly encourage Italy to adopt the later course.

Well once again, Witschonke seems to think that preventing looting is all about "reporting finds" - presumably after looting. But as for the idea of urging Italy to change its legislation, just who do these people think they are? Collectors urging a US governmental advisory body to apply pressure (blackmail even: "if it wishes the US to..." it must...) to a sovereign foreign state? To do what? To make it easier for collectors to buy archaeological material taken from archaeological sites?

But Witschonke has thought of that, he asks: "how can the US justify interference in Italy’s national antiquities policies in response to an MOU renewal request?". Unfortunately that is not a rhetorical question of a culturally-sensitive someone aware of how that sounds outside the US. He instructs the CPAC (in case they have not actually read the CPIA which set up the committee):

Under CCPIA, one of the determinations which the US must make is that the requesting “State Party has taken measures . . . to protect its cultural property”. I would suggest that the measures proposed here are reasonable and necessary if looting is to be reduced. And there is clear precedent for the US to require certain actions on the part of Italy (e.g. paragraphs II.B , C, and F of the revised MOU). Italy faces a clear choice with respect to its archeological heritage. It can continue with its present policies, and have virtually all objects found in other than official excavations leave the country illicitly, with their contextual information lost forever and with little prospect of return, or it can adopt policies which will positively encourage finders to report their finds, and preserve at least some of the objects and information now being lost. I urge the Committee to strongly encourage Italy to adopt the later course.

But surely the idea of checking if objects entering the US have been legally exported is the measure that prevents illegal export to the US from being viable. Not that "finders" report or do not report finds back home before putting them in a padded envelope addressed to ANS headquarters or wherever. This is simply insulting. The Italian state has a national antiquities service, the US has not, Italy has a well-equipped specialist antiquities and art police force, the US has not. We have seen how BLM men are too thinly spread on the ground in the US to make any difference, whole petroglyphs are reportedly being stolen out there. The judiciary does not uphold the ARPA, the first sentence in the very costly Action Cerberus trials in Blanding was six months probation because the judge was of the view in effect that "stuff happens". It really is very insulting of the US to consider it has the moral right to dictate to Italy the measures it should take to protect its cultural property when the response of the US to looting at home is so pathetically inadequate and whose culture scavenging collectors (and now we see numismatic associations like the ANS and ANA) are currently screaming blue murder because somebody suggested that US collectors should be made to buy only legally exported material from Italy. The very idea !

Mr Witschonke, FIRST get your own country to adopt such a system to apply to the artefacts such as those which are currently the subject of trials in Blanding because "finders" found them on public land (public, Mr Witschonke). Why should Italy abandon state ownership at the behest ("encouragement") of US collectors when the US claims state ownership of artefacts found in the deserts of the West on public land? Look to your own house before you start dictating what others should do in theirs. [For an application of the Witschonke/ANS arguments to the US situation see the post below this].

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Three more Utahns plead guilty in artefacts theft case

Another three Southern Utah men accused after a lengthy federal crackdown on theft and trafficking of American Indian relics in the Four Corners area have admitted selling ancient artefacts taken from public land and at a hearing in Moab on Friday pleaded guilty to the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba rather than face trial.

Nick Laws and Dale Lyman each pleaded guilty to one count of violating federal laws aimed at protecting artifacts on public and tribal lands. Aubry Patterson pleaded guilty to trafficking in stolen artifacts and theft of government property.

Laws, 31, faces a potential penalty of two years in prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced July 12 in Salt Lake City.

Patterson, 57, pleaded guilty to two trafficking charges with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. He was scheduled for sentencing July 7.

Lyman, 76, who pleaded guilty to a single felony, was scheduled for sentencing July 6.

In taped conversations with Ted Gardiner working as an undercover 'source' for federal authorities:

Patterson admitted to digging up artifacts on federal land and bragged that rangers had tried to unsuccessfully catch him, according to court documents. In a plea agreement Friday, Patterson -- initially charged with six felonies -- admitted he dug up an Abajo bowl worth more than $1,000 from U.S. Bureau of Land Management Land and sold it to the undercover source in 2007. He faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Lyman admitted in his plea deal that he sold a Clovis point from BLM land. Gardiner bought the item for $1,200, according to court documents. He also told the operative about trips he'd take to dig up artifacts on public land, including one where he hiked in 10 miles after spotting a set of ruins from an airplane.

Laws admitted to taking an item called a "twin effigy" from BLM land and selling it to the operative. It was worth more than $500, court papers said. He and Lyman each face up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

All three will have to give up their artifact collections, according to the plea deal. Earlier this month, federal agents, curators and archaeologists went to Blanding to collect relics the three defendants surrendered after talking with their lawyers.

Mike Stark (The Associated Press) Three more Utahns plead guilty in artifacts case
23/4/10

Patty Henetz: 'Three more defendants plead guilty in artifacts-trafficking case', Salt Lake Tribune 23/4/10

Developments so far:
Jeanne Redd, Blanding [pleaded guilty, Sentenced to probation],
Jericca Redd, Blanding [pleaded guilty, Sentenced to probation].
Dale Lyman, Blanding [pleaded guilty awaiting sentencing July 6]
Brent Bullock, Moab [pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing July 7].
Aubry Patterson, Blanding [pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing July 7]
Tammy Shumway, Moab [pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing July 7].
Nick Laws, Blanding [pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing July 12]
James Redd, Blanding [deceased]
Steven Shrader, New Mexico [deceased]

Charles Denton Armstrong, Blanding [Sentenced to prison for threatening undercover operative].

Defendants in stolen artefacts case voluntarily surrender items

Federal agents returned to southeastern Utah on Wednesday morning reports KSL Television to collect items in connection with the infamous Four Corners stolen artefacts case. The seizure of artefacts (as well as some dinosaur bones and rock specimens) was made with the agreement with Dale and Raymond Lyman the owners of a Blanding rock shop . Investigators say they want to stress that collecting and selling ancient Native American artifacts is illegal, even if it's been a family tradition for decades.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Agents say they are visiting a couple of more stores and storage sheds in Blanding, gathering more e. Three of the four defendants who turned over the materials Wednesday (Dale Lyman, Nick Laws and Aubry Patterson) are now going to plead guilty at the end of this month.

The U.S. Attorney started out with 26 cases. That list has now shrunk to 17. The three who are pleading guilty will do so on April 23.
Four others have also pleaded out, the two Redd ladies who received probation and last month two other defendants (Brent Bullock and Tammy Shumway) pleaded guilty to two felony counts each and are scheduled to be sentenced in July. Two defendants are dead -- along with Ted Gardiner, the prosecution's key witness.

Two More Guilty Pleas in Four Corners Artefact Case

Two of the defendents in the Four Corners Artefacts case pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball to illegally trafficking in American Indian artifacts and stealing government property. Each faces a maximum of 12 years in prison and maximum potential fines of $500,000 each. Brent Bullock and Tammy Shumway, both residents of Moab, had initially pleaded not guilty to several felony charges. Sentencing is set for 7th July. After the hearing, federal officials declined to say whether they expect further guilty pleas in the case.

Bullock, 61, sold several ancient Indian items to an undercover operative in 2007, including a blanket fragment for $2,000 and a hoe- like tool for $500, according to court documents. He also offered to sell several ceramic figurines taken from U.S. Bureau of Land Management land. Bullock said he wanted to sell the items because he was in debt, according to a search warrant affidavit. Investigators said Bullock acknowledged to the informant that the items came from public land in Utah but filled out paperwork saying they were from private land in Colorado.

Shumway, who introduced Bullock to the informant, was charged because the 40-year-old woman aided and abetted the deals and signed a falsified paper about the items' origin as a witness, federal officials said.

In U.S. District Court on Monday, Bullock and Shumway acknowledged they knew the items had been illegally dug up from public land in Utah. As part of a plea deal, they each pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in stolen artifacts and theft of government property. Prosecutors agreed to seek a reduced sentence. [...] Bullock's attorney, Earl Xaiz, said his client was never into artifact collecting for the money and hadn't planned to sell any of them before he was approached by the government informant.

Bullock had reportedly displayed the blanket scrap, fire board and digging tool at the centre of this case in a frame on his living-room wall where anyone could see them, but Bullock had not dug them up himself. His decision to sell them was a financial issue: "He was introduced to someone who was looking for things to buy" said his lawyer. The figures that he also offered to sell Gardiner did not turn up in a search of Bullock's house.

These were among the earliest to be resolved following one of the USA's largest investigations into artefact looting on public and tribal lands in the Southwest. Of the 26 indicted on June 10th, two defendants committed suicide shortly after the charges were announced. Two others, a mother and daughter from Blanding, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to probation in September. The State's informant Ted Gardiner died March 1 from a self-inflicted gunshot after a standoff with police in a Salt Lake City suburb. This has apparently delayed the trial of antiquities dealer Robert Knowlton. Trials for several other defendants are scheduled for this spring and summer.

Patty Henetz "Two plead guilty in artifacts trafficking" Salt Lake Tribune 30th March 2010.
Mike Stark (The Associated Press) 2 Utahns plead guilty in sweeping artifacts case Mar 29 2010.
Fox News Video here: 2 suspects in Utah artifacts case take plea deals

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Tammy Shumway is apparently the widow of Earl Shumway, convicted 15 years ago of looting graves for artifacts to sell.

UPDATE: Derek Fincham writes (this is also featured on the new DePaul's Art and Cultural Heritage Legal Society blog):

Neither of these defendants will likely receive anything close to the statutory maximum. That is because when a defendant enters into a plea deal, they do so in most cases to achieve a recommendation from prosecutors on sentencing; which will often fall far below the maximum sentences. This should not be construed as authorities in the United States not taking these crimes seriously — rather a reflection of the general criminal procedures when plea agreements are reached.

He also fills in some of the details for his readers on notorious antiquities looter Earl Shumway:

Shumway became a national figure in the 1980's, who boasted that he began looting at three years old with his father. He sold a large collection of over thirty prehistoric baskets and sold them for a great deal. Though he was prosecuted for selling those baskets, he cooperated with authorities and only received probation. He went right back to looting, using a helicopter and even lookouts to avoid authorities. He boasted to the media that he could never be apprehended. Though he was not caught in the act of looting, authorities did secure a conviction using DNA evidence found on Mountain Dew soda cans he left in the areas he looted. In 1995 he received a 5-year prison sentence which sent a message that Federal agents and prosecutors took this kind of crime seriously.

Earl Shumway: here (New York Times), here (DNA on cigarette butt), here , picture of him leaving court, and here.

Defense in artefacts case seeks informant's records

The defense attorney representing antiquity dealers Carl Lavern Crites and Marie Crites from Durango is now seeking an address book, recordings and other information in an attempt to challenge the integrity of an undercover operative key to a multistate investigation into illegal artifact trafficking. The couple are charged in connection with a June 2009 raid that federal agents coordinated across Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The search warrant affidavit accompanying the Crites indictment, which also included co-defendants Richard Bourret of Durango and Steven Shrader of Santa Fe, N.M., says the men took the operative when they went out into the desert to dig into an ancient Puebloan burial mound on public land on Sept. 14, 2008, in a search for collectable artefacts. Shrader shot himself to death in Illinois on June 18, but Crites and Bourret have been charged and are due to stand trial soon. On Aug. 19, the Criteses voluntarily surrendered an extensive collection of artefacts assembled over 50 years. Court papers said the collection includes prayer sticks, fire sticks, a bone scraper and "cloud blowers," the ceremonial pipes that Hopi and their ancestors used in prayer offerings. It reportedly took several moving trucks to hold the collection. Their defence attorney (Walter Bugden, a Salt Lake City lawyer),

seeks complete copies of any service agreements Gardiner entered with the FBI, Bureau of Land Management, the Internal Revenue Service or any other state or federal agency. He also wants information about any criminal activity involving Gardiner federal or state authorities were aware of regardless of whether there were prosecutions. Authorities are "presenting this person as just a good citizen. We're trying to find out if that's true," Bugden said. "Generally a cooperating witness has a strong incentive, motive or bias to become a cooperator. It generally doesn't happen as a moral revelation. It's more often based on self-interest." Gardiner declined to comment for this story.

In other words they are going to try and drag Mr Gardiner's name through the mud. Interesting isn't it that collectors are generally so full of talk of their "rights" to have assorted ancient artefacts in their possession, but when challenged rarely willing to face up to any responsibilities of demonstrating the legitimacy of their holdings that accompany those affirmed "rights" but instead so prone to drop to the level of personal attacks on their critics and accusers. It happens with UK metal detectors US ancient coin collectors, and now alleged pot-diggers. Mr Gardiner however was not the only person in the desert that night, team of U.S. Bureau of Land Management special agents was observing from nearby.
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Looting is "justifiable" in Utah: Judge Waddoups supports collectors' rights

Yesterday Sept. 16, two prominent Blanding residents Jeanne Redd, 59, and daughter Jericca Redd, 37, walked out of a court free after having pleaded guilty in federal court to illegal trafficking in American Indian artifacts. This was the first sentencing to be handed down as the result of a 2½-year ("Action Cerberus") investigation into grave robbing and archaeological artefact thefts in the Four Corners region which had cost the taxpayer several hundred thousand dollars. The two had admitted to multiple felonies for excavating, possessing and selling prehistoric seed jars, pottery and personal ornaments. As part of the plea, Jeanne Redd had agreed to give up all of the artifacts in her collection, surrendering 112 boxes of artifacts, including reportedly human remains.

Jericca Redd, admitted to three felonies for digging up a seed jar, a vase and a pottery vessel in 2008, on the Navajo reservation.
Jeanne Redd had pleaded guilty to seven felonies: two counts of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, two counts of theft of government property and three counts of theft of American Indian tribal property. Each carries potential fines of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

Utah Division of Indian Affairs Director Forrest Cuch had said before the sentencing that he hoped the guilty pleas would help prevent future lootings. He said: "This is an opportunity for them [Jericca and Jeanne Redd] to be accountable for their actions [...] It's the right action to take. I hope that they can learn from this, and it will send a message to all other prospective looters that this is a very serious offence".

Prosecutors had sought a minimum 18 months in prison for Jeanne. Instead she received leniency when a U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups rejected the government's request for imprisonment, instead Jeanne got three years of probation and a $2,000 fine. That is about as much as many of the defendents were paying for a single artefact. The fine is derisive, the cost of an old pair of sandals. Jericca Redd was sentenced to two years of probation and no fine on three similar felony counts.

"This is a community where this kind of conduct" is commonly tolerated and "has been justified for a number of years," Waddoups is reported to have said. "This is a woman who has spent her life as a member of her community." I think most collectors of looted artefacts live as "members of their community". A community where grave robbing and looting of archaeological sites is accepted maybe, but JUSTIFIED Your Honour? What on earth are you talking about?

Sadly his online resume seems to be unavailable at the moment, so we cannot find out which American centre of higher education turned out an individual with such 'enlightened' views on the cultural heritage.

It would seem that the two people (James Redd and Steven Shrader) who committed suicide to escape punishment as a result of being accused of similar crimes really should have waited to see what kind of derisive sentences would be handed down by Judge Waddoups. After all there is breaking the law and "breaking the law (but it does not matter)". If the rest of the cases are going to be treated in the same way, what a waste of public money and a lot of people's hard work (and risking serious danger) the investigators of "Action Cerberus" must feel that was.

There is no record of any "collectors-rights" advocates in the courtroom, but even so Judge Waddoups seems to have decided these ladies had done nothing particularly wrong, giving a clear OK signal to looters all over the United States. Right guys, shovels out and grab yerself another piece of the Injun past. Maybe drop Judge Waddoups a line and invite him along with you?

See Patty Henez: Redds dodge prison in artifact sentencing , Salt lake City Tribune 16.09.09.

PS. What happened to the investigations of the computer of the Redds that it was suggested at the time might indicate they were involved in some "pyramid scheme" (reported in the Salt Lake Tribune and other sources back in June)? Is this still an ongoing investigation, or was this a false trail thrown out by federal sources to direct attention away from the role of the artefacts raid in Dr James Redd's June suicide? If so, was a statement later issued clearing Mrs Redd's name from these accusations? All very odd.

Photo: Judge Waddoups, who thinks looting of archaeological sites is "justified".

"Credible Market-value Rewards and Outreach"

There has been very little discussion in British archaeological circles of the latest PAS conference (though, tellingly, there was some on the detecting forums). Rick Witschonke, longtime friend and behind-your-back-informant of the PAS was however at their conference and via Peter Tompa has produced a "report" which concludes (quelle surprise):

Clearly, if the proper recording of finds is the objective, those systems which most closely follow the TA/PAS approach of credible market-value rewards and outreach are the most successful.

Well, first of all of course one is bound to ask whether conservation of a finite resource is only about "recording of finds", or whether there is a bit more to it than that. Would that not be like making sure we have digital records of all the illuminated initials of the manus cripts in a library while we let the roof leak and allow mice to make nests out of the books themselves?

Witschonke notes that "the UK metal-detecting establishment was well represented and quite supportive. The anti-detecting/collecting lobby did not seem to be present". It is quite unremarkable that the tekkies filled the conference room, PAS conferences are their traditional get-together venue, what is interesting is that the American thinks there would be an "anti-detecting/collecting lobby" in the UK and they would be there in their "I hate tekkies" scarves throwing bottles at the metal detectorists seated in the front rows. Would Mr Witschonke recognise an opponent of current UK policies of metal detecting by the colour of their skin or what? What I assume he means is nobody spoke about the problems involved in British policies. Perhaps they simply felt, given the venue, there was no point. Or perhaps they couldn't be bothered to come to a conference where it was clear from the outset what would be said by whom. We've heard it all so many times before.

Anyway Roger Bland's talk was supposed to be: The English and Welsh approach to portable antiquities: a perfect system or fundamentally flawed? Was it? I do not get the impression from Witschonke's account that he was listening when Bland delivered the bit about the "flaws" of his PAS. His presentation of the Scottish system is somewhat superficial, presumably he was not familiar with the copious literature the TTU has produced which the UK audience would have been more familiar with. I was however struck by his account of "the Northern Ireland (sic) approach". In particular in that I have myself had enormous problems getting any information out of those people who have ignored every single polite letter I have sent them asking for statistics on metal detecting there. It seems I am not the only one (below).

Cormac Bourke (Ulster Museum) explained [....] There is no state ownership of finds, but, by law, all excavators must be licensed, all finds reported, and metal detecting is illegal. Not surprisingly, illegal metal-detecting is prevalent, and only c. 2 finds per year are reported.

Now leaving aside how one defines "state ownership of finds", just compare that with what the multi-kilo-quid national "Nighthawking Report" said about illegal metal detecting in Northern Irelend. That there is none. None. Yet here we have a guy from Ulster Museum saying quite the opposite. Those of us who say that the Nighthawking Report is not worth the paper it is not printed on (and I am one of them) could I think find no more telling indictment of the conclusions.

Moving on, Witschonke is sceptical of Eamonn Kelly's claims that the Republic of Ireland does not have a significant problem with artefact hunting and collecting by observing "the presence of Irish material on eBay calls this into question". I am not quite sure how he can recognise "Irish materal" and whether it is from Northern Ireland or not, but that is by-the-by. Remarks like this interspersed in the text suggest that Mr Wirtschonke came to London determined to hear what he wanted to hear.
Proof of this is in his conclusion. Northern Ireland and Scotland both have "credible market value rewards" - a fact he omits to mention in his account. They do not have a PAS, because the legislation does not require one. They have museums which do archaeological outreach (and much PAS "outreach is done precisely through museums). What they do not have to the same degree as England and Wales are metal detecting clubs and commercial metal detecting rallies. I'd like those who keep plugging compromise with exploitive collectors as per the PAS as the way forward for all other countries to reflect on what this means for the PAS. Sadly you will not get it from PAS statistics just how important rallies and club meetings are for the "number of items recorded", but it clearly is significant. I'd like to ask Mr Witschonke, should archaeological outreach in states such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Laos, Utah set up commercial artefact hunting rallies to "get more finds recorded"? Should we set up "artefact digging clubs" in these countries so people can go along to them and record what people have dug up? We'll get lots more "finds recorded" sure, but then as i asked at the beginning, is that what we are aiming for in our dealing with the exploitation of archaeological sites as a source of collectables?

Our reporter seems to have tired of noting the details in the further parts of his account. I noted though he states, without comment, that in the Netherlands there is no PAS but "there are 5,000 metal-detectorists and 100,000 finds/year", but a lot is not reported and the institution of "outreach" is planned. In Britain, there are ten thousand metal detectorists (so twice the number in the Netherlands), and considerably fewer finds a year are reported. The statistics have only now after eleven years reached 400 000 objects in total.

Poland, I would dispute much of what is reported of what Alek Bursche said, but suspect it's misreported. I'll talk about Poland another time when the material of the conference is published (Mr Witschonke, the co-speaker's name was Rudnicki ['-ski, not -ikky]).

So, all in all, no surprises there. I bet Mr Witschonke was not the only person to leave the conference venue apparently believing firmly that the PAS is the way forward for all countries so that collectorsan continue to enjoy their "rights" to fresh dugups and archaeologists, well, they can have "more finds recorded". Diggers get financial rewards for digging into archaeological sites and finding things. Everybody's happy, yes?

Mr Witschonke, Mr Tompa, if you believe that, get the Arhaeological resources Protection Act and similar legislation abolished, and get a PAS instituted in America as quickly as possible. Starting in Utah, there are lots of finds being dug out of the ground there by members of the public which US archaelogists are "not recording" before they are sold off. Why do the coineys join up with the pot-diggers and send a lobby group along to the AIA to suggest it?