INTERPOL General Assembly Discusses Stolen Art - Attention Focused on Protecting Cultural Heritage in Churches

Prosecutors and police are talking more about cultural heritage crime.  Global antiquities trafficking was discussed at the International Association of Prosecutors annual meeting held in Bangkok last month.  And this week INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) addressed art theft at its 81st general assembly in Vatican City.

INTERPOL President Khoo Boon Hui told the 1000 delegates in attendance that the global police organization "has recognized the need to collaborate with a whole range of partners in the public and private sectors to deal with emerging threats, such as ... trafficking."

Domenico Giani, Vatican City's Inspector General of the Corpo della Gendarmeria (chief of police) specifically addressed the threat of art theft aimed against churches. Giana observed that "[h]umanity's spiritual thirst and desire to praise God 'have given life to works of inestimable value and to a religious patrimony that gives rise to greed and the interest of art traffickers,'" according to the Catholic News Service (CNS).  Giani noted that objects of cultural heritage are particularly vulnerable "in countries where revolts are under way or there are internal struggles fed by a hatred so strong that people try to destroy anything that represents 'the enemy.'"

The trafficking of art and cultural objects is a worldwide priority for INTERPOL.  It maintains an information clearinghouse for police on the topic.  Last month the organization hosted  a workshop in Manila on the prevention of cultural property trafficking.  INTERPOL also assembled a conference in Lyon to confront the growing problem of forged and faked cultural objects.

General Assembly meeting in Vatican City.
Courtesy INTERPOL

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States of the Vatican State Secretariat remarked to conference attendees that "criminal activities are now articulated at a global level, with systems of coordination and according to criminal pacts that go beyond the boundaries of States. Hence, globalization has come to shape even this dramatic realm of human life. Sophisticated technical means, huge financial resources, at times dark political complicity, are elements that concur to furnish deleterious support . . . ."

To safeguard cultural and religious objects found in churches and religious institutions of the Roman Catholic faithful, the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church in 1999 issued a document titled Necessity and Urgency of Inventory and Cataloguing of the Cultural Heritage of the Church. The statement (found here in English) urges churches to accurately take stock of and to provide stewardship for the cultural and religious articles maintained and utilized by Catholic parishes worldwide. The Commission addressed a similar document to religious orders in 2006 called Inventory of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Cultural Patrimony: Some Practical Considerations.

Dioceses, parishes, and religious orders in the United States needing advice about cultural property theft prevention are urged to contact certified members of the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection. Our professional goal is to safeguard objects maintained by museums, churches, zoos, and other centers of cultural heritage.

[UPDATE 11/13/12]: This link describes examples of church theft and the trafficking of relics from Bolivia.


This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Defendants Plead Guilty in Stolen and Switched Matisse Painting Case

A pair indicted for their role in receiving a stolen Henri Matisse painting will be sentenced following a guilty plea hearing held on October 30.  A federal grand jury in Miami handed up indictments in July against Pedro Antonio Marcuello Guzman and Maria Martha Elisa Ornelas Lazo for their involvement with the Odalisque in Red Pants, reported stolen from the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas (MACCSII) in Caracas, Venezuela in or around December 2002.

Henri Matisse

The two signed off on proffers that describe their role in the possession, transportation, and sale of the painting.  The proffers state that Marcuello Guzman brokered the sale of the $3+ million painting to undercover FBI agents for a discounted price of $740,000.  Ornelas Lazo later flew from Mexico City to Miami International Airport carrying the Matisse painting in a tube.  The proffers go on to describe the following details of the transfer, switch, and sale of the artwork:

" ... Ornelas and co-conspirator Marcuello met the FBI under cover agents ("UCs") at a Miami Beach restaurant. During the meeting . . . Ornelas explained that she had taken multiple precautions to minimize being stopped by U.S. Customs and to minimize being inspected, such as in the manner of her packing, dressing lightly, and bringing no food into the U.S. Ornelas admitted taking the photographs of the painting that were sent to the UC's. Ornelas advised that she was present for prior inspections when experts inspected the painting and found it to be authentic. Ornelas added that one specialist said the painting was worth $3.7 million. During the meeting, Ornelas indicated that the experts were nervous because they seem to be aware of the painting's history. When one of the UCs asked if the experts were nervous because the painting was stolen, Ornelas replied affirmatively. During the meeting, Ornelas stated that she knew everything in regards to the painting.

"The following day, July 17, 2012, co-conspirator Marcuello, Ornelas, and the UCs met at a Miami Beach hotel to conduct the sales transaction for the stolen Henri Matisse painting. ...

"During the July 17, 2012 transaction, Ornelas advised the UCs that she had researched the history of the stolen painting online when it showed up years ago at her residence in Mexico. Ornelas further indicated that she had had the painting inspectedby experts in Mexico City, but that none had been willing to authenticate the painting in writing given its origins [referring to the painting having been stolen.]  Ornelas stated that employees at the museum in Caracas had done a "switch'' [referring to the replacement of the original painting with an imitation].

"At the conclusion of the July 17, 2012 meeting, the UCs agreed to purchase the painting and followed through with an ostensible attempt to conduct a wire transfer payment to a bank account supplied to the UCs by Ornelas. Ornelas and co-conspirator Marcuello were then arrested and the painting seized."


This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Prosecutors Discuss Antiquities Trafficking at International Conference

IAP President James Hamilton of Ireland.

Global antiquities trafficking is a crime that often goes undetected, unreported, uninvestigated, and unprosecuted. That was the message conveyed to over 400 prosecutors from approximately 80 countries during last week's convention of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference focused on organized crime.

Antiquities trafficking was featured during a panel examining commodities crime and its funding of organized criminal networks. It was a privilege for me to have been invited to address the conference.

Prosecutors in attendance were informed about operating techniques used by artifacts traffickers, and how cultural contraband remains visible in the stream of commerce after being illegally dug up, transported, smuggled, laundered, and sold. 

"Impunity undermines the rule of law," said UN Special Rapporteur Gabiela Knaul as she advocated for accountability of organized crime participants. One method of enforcement suggested by Kier Starmer, head of the United Kingdom's Crown Prosecution Service, is to prosecute offenders and seize criminal assets, followed by post-conviction financial reporting by defendants in order to deter repeat offenses.

One of the IAP's stated objectives is "to improve cooperation between prosecutors to more readily combat international criminality."


This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text and photo copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Register Now! - The Untold Story of Cultural Heritage, WWII, and the Pacific

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A Conference Marking the 70th Anniversaries of the Battles of of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal

Thursday, November 8, 2012 – Friday, November 9, 2012 THIS WEEK!

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This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Shipwreck Ethics

Edward Rodley, senior Exhibit Director at Boston's Museum of Science (MoS), has written an article titled "The Ethics of Exhibiting Salvaged Shipwrecks," published in October's issue of Curator: The Museum Journal.  The article coincidentally appears as the MoS hosts a special exhibition sponsored by commercial maritime salvor Odyssey Marine Exploration called SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure.

Curator magazine describes Rodley's article as follows:

"The contentious relationship between cultural heritage professionals and commercial entities is nowhere more fraught than in underwater archeological sites. More and more often, museums are drawn into this conflict through hosting traveling exhibitions. This article explores the ethical issues in two shipwreck exhibitions, Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds, and Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship, and the specific responses museums have made to address the ethical issues around commercial exploitation of cultural heritage. The article calls for museums to be more thoughtful and deliberate consumers, and embrace their potential as safe venues for exploring ethical dilemmas these sites embody."

Ed Rodley is a museum professional with a background in archaeology.  I spoke with Rodley about why he wrote the article.  He replied in an email excerpted below.

"Museum exhibitions are one of the main venues where the general public encounters archaeology, yet ethical issues get little to no acknowledgement or discussion in most exhibitions. In my experience, responses by the broader museum community to ethical issues tend to break down into either A) avoiding anything controversial, or B) pretending that there is no controversy by ignoring it. Both of these strategies deny the public the opportunity to explore these issues.

"I wanted to highlight the inadequacy of those responses and hopefully stimulate some discussion of other responses to controversy.

"I wrote the article to focus on museum responses to two underwater cultural heritage controversies; the Belitung wreck from Indonesia and the Whydah Galley. They are perfect examples of the dilemmas that face anyone working in cultural heritage. The different responses to these exhibitions are instructive for any museum thinking about hosting these kinds of exhibitions.

"Museums have the potential to be that ideal third space where people can engage with challenging ideas, and feel safe doing it. If the article encourages more conversation about ways museums can actually participate in the debate, then I'd consider it well worth the effort."

The article is worth a read.  Those wishing to learn even more about underwater heritage issues may find last year's Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation conference of interest.  The program may be viewed online here.

This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Cassirer Case Stays the Dispute Between The Getty and Armenian Church over the Zeyt'un Gospel Pages

The Los Angeles County Superior Court has agreed to follow a joint stipulation filed by the Getty Museum and the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America by ordering a suspension of the court case between the parties.

In June 2010 the Armenian Church sued the J. Paul Getty Museum for the return of seven missing pages from an illuminated Bible created in 1256.  The court last year ordered the parties to mediate the dispute. As recently as August 8, the parties told the court that they needed additional time to mediate. The parties earlier informed the court that they were discussing a possible solution to the Zeyt'un Gospel pages controversy, saying that a May 10, 2012 mediation session resulted in "substantial progress . . . toward a potential voluntary resolution of this dispute . . . ."

In their stipulation to stay the proceedings filed on October 19, the litigants both conclude that the case should be placed on hold pending the outcome of Claude Cassirer et al. v. Thyseen-Borne Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation.

Before he died, Cassirer filed a lawsuit in 2005 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the return of a painting titled “Rue Saint-Honoré, Afternoon, Rain Effect.” Cassirer's attorneys argue that the painting, now in Spain, was taken unlawfully from his grandmother.

The Cassirer case focuses on the the same statute of limitations relied on by the Armenian Church in its dispute with The Getty, specifically Cal. Code. Civ. Proc. §338(c). Signed into law in 2010, the statute was primarily designed to allow lawsuits for the recovery of Nazi looted art by extending the time period that stolen art claims could be filed--from a six year statue of limitations to a statute of limitations that begins from the time of the actual discovery of the elements of a claim.  The federal district court struck down this statute in May 2012 because the law unconstitutionally intrudes upon the federal government’s exclusive power to conduct foreign affairs, according to the reasoning of the lower court.  The matter is on appeal in the Ninth Circuit.

Given that "the resolution of that appeal may determinethe outcome of this case," the Armenian Church and The Getty have agreed in writing to suspend their court proceedings so as "to avoid potentially unnecessary litigation efforts and expenses pending the outcome of that appeal."


This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

SLAM Litigants Move Toward Resolving Ka Nefer Nefer Mummy Mask Case

The St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM), the United States government, and the Republic of Egypt appear to be in discussions to settle the contest over title to the mummy mask of Ka Nefer Nefer. Last week the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri filed an unopposed motion with the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals asking for filing deadlines to be held in abeyance in the case. The court granted the motion.

The federal government's October 17 motion tells the court that "the parties believe that continued discussions will be productive and that there is a significant possibility that they will reach a resolution that would obviate the need for the appeal to continue."  The appeals court was notified that "the United States must consult further with the Solicitor General, the Department of State, and the government of the Republic of Egypt before it can propose or agree to any potential settlement terms."

U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan appealed the mummy forfeiture case in June after a federal district court denied the government's efforts to seize and forfeit the Ka Nefer Nefer mask from SLAM.  The federal government alleges that the mask was stolen from Egypt and is in the United States in violation of the law.  SLAM asserts that they are the rightful owners of the artifact.  SLAM filed a declaratory action in February 2011 to gain quiet title to the mask followed by the U.S. Attorney's petition for forfeiture in March 2011.


This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com