[CPProt.net] FBI sets up first national art theft squad in US; The eight-member team will model itself on similar units in Italy, France and Spain

[MSN and CPProt list (Ton Cremers)]

FBI sets up first national art theft squad in US
The eight-member team will model itself on similar units in Italy, France
and Spain


By Jason Edward Kaufman 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has set up the first national art
theft unit in the US. The eight-member Rapid Deployment National Art Crime
Team (ACT) consists of two agents in New York, two on the West Coast, one in
Philadelphia, and three in the middle of the country. Each will oversee
cases in an assigned region, collaborating as necessary, with investigations
coordinated from headquarters in Washington, DC. 

"We're going to be working on consignment fraud, fakes, and interstate
traffic in stolen property", says Philadelphia-based Special Agent Robert K.
Wittman, the team's senior investigator. His team's mission is "to
investigate and bring to successful prosecutions those who steal and deal in
stolen art and antiquities and to recover those art objects". The FBI would
not disclose how much money is going into the initiative, but Special Agent
Wittman says, "The budget will be adequate to do what we need to do". 

When asked why the FBI has set up the new unit, a spokesman for the agency
said: "One of the driving factors was the looting of the National Museum in
Baghdad. Orders were issued from senior executive management to approach
this in a manner consistent with that of our international partners".
France, Spain and Italy all have dedicated art-theft divisions, Special
Agent Wittman says, "but the US-the biggest consumer country in the world
for art-has never had one. Now the FBI recognises the need for this type of
team".

The Department of Justice has assigned two special prosecutors to assist the
art theft unit: Robert Goldman, assistant US attorney in the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania, and Jane A. Levine, assistant US attorney in
Manhattan. They will advise other US attorneys and local law enforcement
officers, give opinions as to whether or not there is a violation of federal
law, and prosecute cases if a local prosecutor cannot be found.

The FBI prosecutes art theft under the same laws that apply to thefts of
automobiles, jewellery and other consumer items. But as Special Agent
Wittman explains, "You can't investigate stolen art or antiquities the same
way you would a stolen tractor-trailer load of DVD players. It requires
specialised training and knowledge about antiquities and the art world, how
works of art are bought and sold. Also you're dealing with international
borders so you're going to have to liaise with police departments
worldwide". 

Interpol, the international police agency, ranks art theft fourth in
international crime, behind arms sales, drug trafficking and money
laundering. But after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, US Customs
was folded into the newly formed anti-terrorist Homeland Security Office and
it disbanded its art unit.

Special Agent Wittman says his team will "cover the whole gamut of cultural
property protection, from paintings to Native American material to Iraqi
antiquities". In January, he and his team trained for a week in
Philadelphia. Barnes Foundation security director Nicholas D'Agostino
tutored the agents on Impressionist paintings, Philadelphia Museum of Art
conservator Mark Tucker gave a lecture on conservation techniques, and
University of Pennsylvania Museum archaeologist Clark Erickson discussed
looting in Peru. The team also met with other industry experts. Further
training relating to the federal Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act is planned in the Southwest. 

"We've had one recovery so far", says Special Agent Wittman, describing the
retrieval last November of 85 paintings and sculptures worth $1.5 million
stolen from a Saint Louis art storage warehouse. The team is about to
announce other recoveries. "We're interested in information on art thefts",
he adds. "If someone knows a situation that has occurred we wouldn't mind a
phone call. We're here to work."

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/