[MSN] The federal investigation into looted Asian antiquities at Southern California museums has broadened to include a prominent Chicago industrialist and art collector who purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of allegedly stolen artifacts from a C

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Chicagoan's collection target in looted art probe
California dealer says purchases all legal

By Jason Felch and Mike Boehm

Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times

January 30, 2008

LOS ANGELES

A federal investigation into looted Asian antiquities at Southern California
museums has broadened to include a prominent Chicago industrialist and art
collector who purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of allegedly
stolen artifacts from a Cerritos, Calif., art dealer.

On Thursday, the same day federal agents raided four Southern California
museums suspected of displaying stolen art, authorities also searched the
private Illinois museum of Barry MacLean, a trustee of the prestigious Art
Institute of Chicago.

The newly revealed allegations suggest that a suspected network of illegal
art dealers extended far beyond Southern California and included objects far
more valuable than those previously revealed.

The affidavit suggests that MacLean built his well-known art collection with
substantial help from Robert Olson, an alleged smuggler of illicitly
excavated American Indian, Thai and other Asian artifacts. Warrants
authorized federal agents to seize Cambodian daggers and a sword, a bronze
mask, many objects from the ancient Ban Chiang site in Thailand and all
records relating to MacLean's dealings with Olson.

The supporting evidence for the raid was collected by an undercover National
Park Service agent who, while visiting MacLean's collection, shot
photographs of certain objects.

In a phone interview Monday, Olson confirmed that MacLean was his biggest
client, saying the Chicagoan purchased as much as $50,000 to $100,000 in
Asian antiquities a year during the eight to 10 years they did business.

Olson said the objects he sold MacLean were recently excavated in Thailand
and other Asian countries but denied he or MacLean did anything illegal in
buying them in the Unites States.

"I think everything he bought was legal," said Olson, 79. "The people I got
it from weren't doing the digging, they were buying from the diggers."

Federal authorities, however, say the transactions appeared to violate
federal laws related to the import and trafficking of looted art. The
affidavits cite instances of falsified import records and possible
violations of the National Stolen Property Act, under which objects
illegally removed from foreign countries can be treated as stolen property
under U.S. law if certain conditions are met.

The affidavit does not identify MacLean or Olson by name, but refers to
"Individual A" buying objects from "Individual B." The address of the
private museum on the search warrant is identified in public records as a
5-acre lot owned by MacLean. Olson and two other sources confirmed that
MacLean is the man involved in the allegations.

MacLean's museum and a private warehouse, both outside Chicago, were the
only locations outside of California searched, authorities said.

MacLean did not respond to several requests for comment left at his office,
his home and with his employees.

Olson said he first heard about MacLean while in Thailand, where the
businessman was described as a collector of early Ban Chiang pottery.

"I had a lot of it at the time," Olson recalled. "I called him and we
started doing business. This was maybe eight to 10 years ago."

Olson described MacLean as "a wonderful, nice guy. He just loves Asian art.
He was buying all over the world. He loved Chinese bowls, ceramics from all
over Thailand."

The most expensive objects that Olson recalled MacLean buying were six
Chinese bronze vessels. After Olson put him in contact with the Thai dealer
offering the pieces, MacLean paid the dealer $100,000 directly, Olson said.
He would not identify the dealer.

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