[CPProt.net] FW: FBI Art Crime Team - Smithsonian Conference

[MSN and CPProt list (Ton Cremers)]

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Sazonoff [mailto:saz at saztv.com] 
Sent: 26 February 2005 20:43
To: toncremers at museum-security.org
Subject: FBI Art Crime Team - Smithsonian Conference

Dear Subscribers,

The Smithsonian Institution presented the 2005 National Conference on
Cultural Property Protection, in Las Vegas last week.   Of particular
interest to our readers, the FBI introduced their new Art Crime Team
(ACT) in an enlightening presentation.  Here are some highlights from that
presentation.

Organized under the FBI's major theft unit, the art crime team covers both
theft & fraud in the big money (and often crime wrought) field of art and
antiquities.  

For some insight, in art terms, the US is major consumer country in the
multi-billion dollar art trade.  So it does have a place in the world's
traffic of illicit cultural material (stolen and looted art & antiques).
Most US thefts however, are residential burglaries of lower valued objects.
Thefts are usually not organized and are often just crimes of opportunity.

The greatest threat to museums is internal crime, that being the theft of
objects from collections in storage.  This accounts for eighty per cent
(80%) of all museum thefts.  For applicable laws, statutes, and other
pertinent information visit the FBI's web-site
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/arttheft.htm

Now, the most stolen artist in America (drum roll please) Erte (a.k.a.
Romain de Tirtoff - Russian-born French artist, 1892-1990) known for his art
deco representations of women. (Note - The LAPD has some good examples of
stolen pieces by Erte on it's web-site)
http://www.lapdonline.org/get_involved/stolen_art/files/paintings/e/erte_ain
dex.htm

Next, terms of structure, the new Art Crime Team (ACT) consists of eight
regional agents as well as legal and support staff.  For privacy sake we
shall not name the agents (Press inquiries should go through the FBI 's
Washington D.C. press office) but readers of this list do need to know
appropriate professional contact points.  If your institution has to report
a theft do it at the local level.  The police will notify the FBI if the
situation warrants it.

NB - If any of these addresses and phones are incorrect, I'm sure the
appropriate switchboard contact will track down the correct ACT point
person.  From http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

FBI Art Crime Team:

Main office - contact
FBI Washington
935 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535
 (202) 324-3000

Regional Agents:

US Northeast - contact
FBI New York
26 Federal Plaza, 23rd. Floor
New York, New York 10278-0004
 (212) 384-1000

New York - contact
FBI New York
26 Federal Plaza, 23rd. Floor
New York, New York 10278-0004
 (212) 384-1000
 
US Southeast - contact
FBI Philadelphia
8th. Floor
William J. Green Jr. FOB
600 Arch Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
 (215) 418-4000 

US Midwest - contact
FBI Indianapolis
Room 679, FOB
575 North Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-1585
 (317) 639-3301

US Mid-south - contact
 FBI St. Louis
2222 Market Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2516
 (314) 231-4324 

US Mountain West & 4 Corner Area - contact FBI Salt Lake City Suite 1200,
257 Towers Bldg.
257 East, 200 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111-2048
 (801) 579-1400 

US West Coast, Alaska, & Hawaii - contact FBI San Francisco 450 Golden Gate
Avenue, 13th. Floor San Francisco, California 94102-9523
 (415) 553-7400 

Los Angles - contact
FBI Los Angeles
Suite 1700, FOB
11000 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90024-3672
 (310) 477-6565 

American Association of Museum (AAM) readers on this list, will appreciate
that the FBI will be putting on a presentation at this year's meeting in
Indianapolis. http://www.aam-us.org/am05/welcome.htm

Beyond that, other conference highlights included Don Hrycyk (Detective, Los
Angles Police Department) receiving the annual Burke Award for his exemplary
work in the field of cultural property protection.  Our congratulations go
out to him.  Also Steve Keller gave a fascinating presentation on state of
the art security technology.  Details from that presentation (and lots of
other valuable information) are available on his web-site
http://www.stevekeller.com

There were of course other sessions we did not cover, and an insightful
discussion about post 911 security, but for the sake of security, it's best
not to file that report.  For information on this past & future National
Conferences on Cultural Property Protection see
http://www.natconf.si.edu/2003welcome.html

My thanks to JJ McLaughlin (Smithsonian's Director of Security) for his
courtesy and hospitality.  It was pleasant to visit with old friends and
meet new colleagues.

Hope you find this information of interest,

Jonathan Sazonoff
Saz Productions, Inc.
http://www.saztv.com

Contributing US Ed.
Museum Security Network
http://www.museum-security.org