Stipulation Puts a Lid on Litigation Over Roman Sarcophagus Cover Featured in the Becchina Archive

The Roman sarcophagus lid. ICE

A marble Roman sarcophagus lid is expected to be forfeited and returned to Italy after federal prosecutors and the potential claimant signed a stipulation last week.

Litigation over the sculptured coffin cover--the so-called Defendant in rem--was avoided when the parties finalized their September 14 agreement over the stolen cultural object, which features in the Becchina archive.

The stipulation filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York recites in part:

WHEREAS, Mr. [Noriyoshi] Horiuchi [of Tokyo, Japan] states that, by and through agents, officers and employees of Art & Archaeology Inc. ("A&A"), an entity owned by Mr. Horiuchi, A&A obtained ownership of the Defendant inrem sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, after the Defendant inrem had been publicly exhibited in a Swiss museum in 1982 and 1983, and its exhibition had been published in an accompanying catalogue; 

WHEREAS, Mr. Horiuchi states that he relied in good faith on the representations made by the seller of the Defendant in rem and the fact that it had been publicly exhibited and presented in a publication during its exhibition in the Swiss museum in 1982 and 1983, to conclude that the Defendant in rem was not stolen; 

WHEREAS, Mr. Horiuchi, by and through his attorneys, agents, officers and employees, properly declared the Defendant in rem to the United States Customs Service upon the importation of the Defendant in rem into the United States in February 2001; 

WHEREAS, Mr. Horiuchi states that he believed in good faith that the Italian Government did not claim ownership to the Defendant in rem because, as Mr. Horiuchi further states, he previously had disclosed his acquisition and possession of the Defendant inrem to the Italian Government; 

WHEREAS, Mr. Horiuchi states that the Defendant in rem was transferred to him by A&A and that in approximately 2012 A&A was dissolved; 

WHEREAS, Mr. Horiuchi, upon his receipt of notice of the Defendant in rem's seizure in the United States and the claim of ownership by the Italian Government, cooperated with the United States Attorney's Office in the above-captioned forfeiture action; and 

WHEREAS, all parties now agree that the Defendant in rem should be forfeited with the intent that it be returned to Italy....

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn filed its forfeiture complaint on February 27, a case captioned as U.S. v. One Ancient Roman Marble Sarcophagus Lid With Sculpture of Reclining Woman.

Prosecutors wrote that the sculpted cover was in the possession of Gianfranco Becchina and his Basel, Switzerland gallery. A Manhattan gallery later displayed the $4 million lid in May 2013 before transferring it to a storage unit in Long Island City, NY in October that same year. Homeland Security Investigations uncovered the lid in its crate at the storage facility in February 2014.

Federal attorneys built their case around 19 U.S.C. § 1595a(c)(1)(A), the statute that prohibits stolen, smuggled, or clandestinely imported goods from being introduced into the U.S.

The district court in Brooklyn is expected to approve the stipulation.

In July, a federal district court in Albany, NY forfeited two other antiquities appearing in the Becchina archive in the unrelated case of United States v. One Attic Red-Figure Skyphos and One Apulian Red-Figure Bell Krater.

By Rick St. Hilaire Text copyrighted 2014 by Cultural Heritage Lawyer. Blog url: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post without the express written consent of CHL is prohibited.

U.S. v. One Ancient Roman Sarcophagus Lid: Prosecutors Present Legal Arguments in Support of Forfeiture and Offer Exhibit B

The Roman sarcophagus lid. Source: ICE

Tom Mashberg broke the story in The New York Times last week about the seizure of a Roman sarcophagus lid by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York. A review of the forfeiture complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York reveals the facts and law supporting the government's claim.

In the case of U.S. v. One Ancient Roman Sarcophagus Lid with Sculpture of Reclining Woman, Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Orenstein argues that the lid (also known as the “in rem”) is stolen property, which was illegally brought across America's borders "contrary to law."

To support its forfeiture claim, the government offers the tried and true customs statute of 19 U.S.C. § 1595a(c)(1)(A), which says, "Merchandise which is introduced or attempted to be introduced into the United States contrary to law shall be ... seized and forfeited if it is stolen, smuggled, or clandestinely imported or introduced."

Attorney Orenstein offers the familiar arguments of the McClain/Schultz doctrine, the National Stolen Property Act at 18 U.S.C. § 2314, and Italy's cultural patrimony laws from 1909 and 1939 to weave the argument that the lid is stolen property from Italy unlawfully imported into the U.S. It therefore must be returned to Italy.

The alleged facts listed by the prosecution in support of the forfeiture complaint include the following

• the lid was shipped from Italy to Switzerland in 1981;

• a Manhattan gallery displayed the $4 million lid in May 2013;

• the gallery later shipped the lid to a storage unit in Long Island City, NY on October 29, 2013;

• HSI agents photographed the lid in its crate at the storage facility on February 20, 2014 and then presented the photos to the Italian Carabinieri's Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the "TPC";

• the TPC identified the lid as cultural property obtained illegally by Gianfranco Becchina, who was convicted in an Italian court of antiquities crimes in February 2011.

The prosecution's Exhibit B showing the lid in two parts

The forfeiture complaint recites in more detail how the lid came to be in the hands of Gianfranco Becchina and his Basel, Switzerland gallery called Palladion Antike Kunst:

The Becchina archive contains images of the Defendant in rem prior to its restoration and documents relating to the piece, including:  

a. A German article about the Defendant in rem, described as a Roman kline statue of a sleeping woman, which included photographs matching the Defendant in rem, including one full-length photograph. See Exhibit B. The article appeared in a catalog that coincided with an exhibition at the Historical Museum of Bern from November 6, 1982 until February 6, 1983. In the photographs, the Defendant in rem appears to be in two pieces and other damage is visible.  

b. …  

c. A receipt dated August 8, 1981 showing that Palladion purchased the Defendant in rem, describe as a marble Roman sarcophagus in two pieces from Carlo Ciochetti in Rome.  Attached to the receipt was a Swiss customs form dated August 14, 1981 bearing the destination "Gianfranco Becchina, Palladion" in Basel, Switzerland.  

d. A receipt dated September 15, 1981 showing that Palladion sold the Defendant in rem, described as a marble kline sculpture of a girl, to George Ortiz. Attached to the receipt was a copy of the full-length photograph of the Defendant in rem in Exhibit B.

No crime has been charged in this case. The government, at this time, only seeks civil forfeiture of the statue in order to repatriate it to Italy.

By Rick St. Hilaire Text copyrighted 2010-2014 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Blog: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT INFORMATION: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com