Hollywood Galleries, SoCal Museums: Illegial Antiquities, Tax Fraud in FBI Sting
Submitted by bat400 on Thursday, 31 January 2008 Page Views: 2289
MuseumsCountry: United States Four prominent Southern California museums and gallery owners have been caught in an extensive FBI web that brought a 500-agent federal raid down upon them Thursday. The raids came after an ongoing investigation came to fruition regarding looted and smuggled art, allegedly taken from Thailand, China, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma) and Native American digs within the United States. The case also alleges charges of tax fraud against its perps.Federal agents moved in on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The Charles S. Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Mingei International Museum in San Diego and Pasadena’s Pacific Asia Museum, after a five-year long sting operation begun by an unidentified National Park Service agent who used the moniker Tom Hoyt to go undercover back in early 2003.
According to the warrants, agents were primarily looking at items and records tied to suspects in a long-term investigation tied to the two men. One man is Robert Olson, 79, owner of a Los Angeles Asian art gallery specializing in Native American and Thai antiquities. The art dealer sold artifacts to museums, dealers, collectors, and even peddled his wares on eBay. The other suspect is Jonathan Markell, co-owner of the Silk Roads Gallery on La Brea Avenue. He runs the gallery with his wife Cari and specializes in Asian and Buddhist art.
Accordingly, federal agents sent a loud and clear message, saying they are watching their every move and they should clean house today.
The undercover agent posed as Hoyt, a tech executive and avid art collector, described as a thin man with a mustache who wanted to expand his personal collection. Over time, the agent gained the trust of his suspects and learned about their illicit practices after about 24 interactions. Authorities identified the two men following a tip from an unknown smuggler who pointed the finger at Olson, leading to a 2003 import seizure originating from Thailand.
According to the warrants, Olson fostered Hoyt through the art world, making introductions to museum curators and collectors, who would enable Hoyt to make highly-inflated tax-deductible donations to their non-profit entities.
The FBI now has the authority to scour the museums and other related business establishments top to bottom, after serving the far-reaching warrants, justified by the agent’s lengthy footwork. No stone will be left unturned in the FBI’s effort to catch the dirty art dealers and buyers involved in the embarrassing scandal. The federal agents even served warrants on some of Olson’s private collector clients.
For more, see Hollywood Today.
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