U.S. Department
of Justice
United States Attorney Files Suit To Forfeit Ancient Italian Sarcophagus Lid
A civil complaint was filed today in federal court in the Eastern District of New York seeking forfeiture of an ancient Roman marble sarcophagus lid featuring a high-relief sculpture of a sleeping woman. According to Italian authorities, the piece matches photographs found in the files of convicted antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina. As alleged in the complaint, the antiquity is the property of Italy and is therefore forfeitable as stolen property that was unlawfully introduced into the United States.
The filing of the complaint was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), New York.
Becchina, an Italian citizen, operated an antiquities gallery in Basel, Switzerland. In February 2011, he was convicted in an Italian court of illicitly dealing in antiquities. During the investigation that led to his conviction, Swiss and Italian authorities searched Becchina’s Swiss gallery and warehouse and seized Italian archeological artifacts, commercial documents and photographs of thousands of artifacts that Becchina had sold. Among the documents in Becchina’s archive were photographs, commercial records and customs paperwork pertaining to the marble sarcophagus lid. According to these records, Becchina purchased the marble sarcophagus lid in Italy and shipped it to his gallery in Switzerland in 1981. Thirty years later, the marble sarcophagus lid, now restored, reappeared at a public exhibition in New York. On February 20, 2014, HSI agents located the antiquity in a storage facility in Long Island City, New York.
“Whether looted cultural property enters our ports today or decades ago, it is our responsibility to see that it is returned to its rightful owners, in this case, the Italian people,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We will continue to use all legal tools available to us to seize, forfeit and repatriate stolen cultural property.” Ms. Lynch thanked the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Italian Carabinieri Protection of Cultural Heritage Command for their assistance.
“The forfeiture of this sarcophagus lid brings us one step closer to returning this stolen treasure to its rightful owner, the Italian people,” said James T. Hayes Jr. special agent in charge of HSI in New York. “HSI is committed to intercepting and recovering stolen cultural artifacts and repatriating them to their rightful owners.”
The government’s case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Karin Orenstein.
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CV-1318