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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION

United States of America, Plaintiff, v. One Etruscan Black-Figured Kalpis, Circa 510-500 B.C., Defendant.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 3:12-CV-1582 Judge James G. Carr Magistrate Judge James R. Knepp, II STIPULATION AND CONSENT TO ORDER OF FORFEITURE

NOW COMES Plaintiff, the United States of America, by Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio (USAO-NDOH), acting through the undersigned counsel, and claimant the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA), represented by Keith Wilkowski, Esq., Marshall & Melhorn, LLC (together the Parties), and hereby stipulate and agree as follows: 1. In approximately April 2011, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) advised USAO-

NDOH that it has been conducting an investigation into a claim by Italy that an Etruscan BlackFigured Kalpis (Kalpis) of Italian origin, dating from 510-500 B.C., may have been stolen and illegally exported out of Italy. HSI is a component of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). HSI determined the following facts from its investigation: (a) Based on expert opinions, the Kalpis is attributed to the Micali painter or his workshop which operated at the end of the 6th Century BC at Vulci in Etruria, a region in southern Italy; Page 1 of 7

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(b)

Under Article 44 of Italian cultural patrimony law of June 1, 1939, all archaeological finds are property of the Italian state, unless the possessor can show private ownership prior to 1902, and the discovery of every archaeological item must be reported to Italys Ministry of Culture;

(c)

An export license, issued by Italys Ministry of Culture, and payment of custom duties are mandatory for any export from Italy of cultural property protected by Italys patrimony laws;

(d)

On or about August 26, 1982 as established by an invoice, the Toledo Museum of Art (Museum) purchased the Kalpis for $90,000 in good faith from Antike Kunst Palladion;

(e)

Antike Kunst Palladion, an art gallery based in Basel, Switzerland, was owned by Gianfranco and Ursula Becchina (Becchinas);

(f)

The Kalpis, currently valued by the Italian government at 500,000 (approximately $665,435), is presently in the Museums custody, and on display, at 2445 Monroe Street, Toledo, Ohio 43620;

(g)

In 2001, after conducting an investigation, the Italian authorities arrested the Becchinas based on evidence which established that the Becchinas were selling looted archaeological items to Antike Kunst Palladion in violation of Italian patrimony and export laws;

(h)

Other purchases by museums in the United States from the Becchinas have proven to be looted resulting in the subsequent return of such identified items to Italy (e.g. the Assteas vase purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum located in Los Angeles, California);

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(i)

The investigation conducted by the Italian authorities has also revealed the following facts, including but not limited to: 1) an export license from Italys Ministry of Culture does not exist for the Kalpis which was alleged to have been originally purchased in 1935 by a private Swiss collector after Italys cultural patrimony laws originally took effect in 1909, 2) a Polaroid photograph was discovered amongst the entire Becchina archive of documents, invoices and photographs seized during a search warrant in Basel, Switzerland on February 23, 2002, 3) the Polaroid technique, which came into existence well after Italys patrimony law originally took effect in 1909, is used by tomb robbers and traffickers in works of art because photographs are easily produced without needing other people who can develop rolls of film, 4) the Polaroid photograph appears to show mud on the Kalpis itself along with dirt on the actual photograph which demonstrates that the Kalpis was photographed in a non-institutional setting long after 1935, its alleged original sale date to the private Swiss collector, 5) similar Polaroid photographs of the Kalpis were seized during a search warrant executed in Geneva, Switzerland on September 12, 1995 at the offices/warehouse of Giacomo Medici (Medici), a known Italian art smuggler, who was convicted and sentenced in December 2004 by the Tribunal of Rome for violating Italys law of criminal association with the intent to receive stolen archaeological artifacts illegally removed from Italys

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cultural patrimony, 6) Medicis sentencing document states that the Kalpis was sold by Medici to Becchina, 7) Medicis sentencing document directly contradicts the information contained in the provenance and invoice provided by Becchina to the Museum at the time of purchase on August 26, 1982, that the Kalpis was (a) purchased by a private Swiss collector in 1935 at an art market and (b) sold by Karl Haug (Haug), the alleged son and heir of the private Swiss collector, to the Becchinas in 1980, 8) Haug was actually the owner of the Hotel Helvetia and also formerly owned Antike Kunst Palladion, the art gallery purchased by the Becchinas, 9) Ursula Becchina provided evidence after her arrest establishing that Gianfranco Becchina collected artifacts illegally in Italy from diggers and from Medici and provided fake documentation to create a provenance for the artifacts including other vases from southern Italy, 10) Ursula Becchina also provided evidence after her arrest establishing that she and Becchina used fake documents to create false provenances for other illegally obtained artifacts attesting to Haug as owner, and 11) the Kalpis, despite its high quality and worth, did not appear in any scientific publication until 1981, one year before the Museum acquired it. 2. Based on the aforementioned facts, probable cause exists to believe that the Kalpis was

stolen from the country of Italy, smuggled out of the country, and eventually illegally imported into the United States. Accordingly, the Kalpis constitutes stolen, smuggled, or clandestinely

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imported property in violation of the National Stolen Property Act, 18 U.S.C. 2314. It is subject to seizure and forfeiture pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1595a(c)(1)(A). 3. TMA, having had no knowledge that the Kalpis was stolen and having cooperated fully

with the investigation, wishes to resolve this matter by providing for the transfer of the Kalpis to the custody of HSI for the purpose of returning it to the Italian Government. 4. The USAO-NDOH agrees that the Kalpis should be returned to the custody of HSI for

the purpose of returning it to the Italian Government. 5. Accordingly, it is hereby stipulated and agreed, by and between the undersigned parties,

as follows: a. TMA consents to the seizure of the Kalpis by HSI, the judicial forfeiture

of the Kalpis, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1595a(c)(1), and the return of the Kalpis to the Italian Government following forfeiture to the United States. b. TMA is hereby barred from asserting, or assisting others in asserting, any

claim against the United States or any of its agents and employees, including, without limitation, HSI, the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs (OIA), and the USAO-NDOH, in connection with or arising out of the United States seizure of the Kalpis and transfer of said property to the Italian Government, including, but not limited to, any claim that there was no probable cause to seize the Kalpis, or that the Museum is entitled to attorneys fees or any award of interest. c. The authority of the individual(s) signing this Stipulation and Consent

Order of Forfeiture (Stipulation) on behalf of the Museum is set forth in Attachment A to this Stipulation, which is hereby incorporated and made part of this Stipulation.

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d.

The Museum hereby waives all rights to appeal or to otherwise challenge

or contest the validity of this Stipulation, the forfeiture of the Kalpis, or the return of the Kalpis to the Italian Government following forfeiture to the United States. e. The signature pages of this Stipulation and Order may be executed in one

or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument. Signature pages may be by fax and such signatures shall be deemed as valid originals. f. g. Each party shall bear its own costs and attorneys fees. This Stipulation shall in no way be deemed an admission of culpability,

liability, or guilt on behalf of the Museum or any of its respective agents, officers, or employees, past and present. This Stipulation shall not be construed as the Museums acknowledgement that the cultural patrimony laws of Italy are applicable or effective and the Museum retains the right to contend otherwise in any future proceedings not involving the Kalpis.

AGREED AND CONSENTED TO: STEVEN M. DETTELBACH United States Attorney Northern District of Ohio 801 West Superior Avenue, Suite 400 Cleveland, Ohio 44113

By: /s/ Guillermo J. Rojas GUILLERMO ROJAS Assistant United States Attorney Four Seagate, Third Floor Toledo, Ohio 43604 (419) 259-6376 Attorney for the United States

6/7/12 DATE

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THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART 2445 Monroe Street Toledo, Ohio 43620 Claimant By: /s/ Brian P. Kennedy . Dr. Brian P. Kennedy Director Toledo Museum of Art (419) 255-8000 Representative on behalf of Claimant June 8, 2012 DATE .

By:

/s/ Keith Wilkowski . Keith Wilkowski Marshall & Melhorn, LLC Four Seagate, Eighth Floor Toledo, Ohio 43604 Attorney for Claimant

6/7/12 DATE

IT IS SO ORDERED

_________________________________ United States Magistrate Judge

_____________________ Date

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