11/02/2006
Human Remains and Artifact Traffickers Sentenced to Prison
EUGENE, OREGON - MICHAEL ORF, who was charged with theft of human remains on public lands, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $20,000 as restitution to the tribes in U.S. District Court in Eugene Wednesday. The sentencing comes as a result of Operation Bring’em Back, the largest artifact prosecution of its kind in United States history. United States Attorney Karin J. Immergut, BLM Special Agent in Charge Craig Magill, U.S. Forest Service Special Agent in Charge Thomas Lyons, and tribal representatives made the announcement.
Operation Bring’em Back has targeted the illegal excavation and trafficking of Native American human remains and artifacts. To date, Operation Bring’em Back has resulted in 13 federal and state convictions for violations of the Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA), Conspiracy, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Theft of Government Property, and possession and distribution of a controlled substance (methamphetamine).
LOOTING AND TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN REMAINS
* 7 defendants convicted for looting a Native American grave in Central Oregon and attempting to traffic the remains (first NAGPRA prosecution in Oregon history)
* Recovery of two skulls of Native American children from a convicted grave robber
ARTIFACT TRAFFICKING
* 26 search warrants served in January 2005
* Seizure of over 100,000 artifacts, including human remains, obsidian knives, spear points, stone/effigy bowls and ground stone tools, some over 10,000 years old
* Identification of hundreds of sites and thousands of acres of federal land looted
* Undercover purchases from 12 defendants
* Investigation continuing and focuses on the black market sales of illegally acquired artifacts and human remains
ASSOCIATED WITH METH TRAFFICKING
* Several defendants are methamphetamine addicts and traffickers
* 6 defendants convicted of drug trafficking
* Search warrants yield 4 meth labs and 3 indoor marijuana grows
ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF FIREARMS
* 57 firearms seized during search warrants including assault rifles, modified firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and explosive devices
AGENCIES INVOLVED
Operation Bring’em Back is a joint investigation involving law enforcement and archaeologists from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); United States Forest Service (USFS); Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); Oregon State Police (OSP) Wildlife Division; and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Cardani and Tim Simmons in the Eugene U.S. Attorney’s Office, 541-465-6771.
