Artifacts seized from U.S. billionaire returned to Israel

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KAREN MATTHEWS and ILAN BEN ZION

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York announced the repatriation Tuesday of $5 million worth of looted antiquities seized from billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt to Israel, where Steinhardt is well known as a patron of cultural institutions.

The 39 items being returned to Israel include two gold masks dating from about 5000 B.C. that are valued at $500,000 and a set of three death masks that date from 6000 to 7000 B.C. and are worth a total of $650,000, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

“These rare and beautiful artifacts, which are thousands of years old, have been kept from the public because of illegal looting and trafficking,” Bragg said. “My office is proud to once again return historic antiquities to where they rightfully belong.”

The objects that authorities say were illegally acquired in Israel are part of $70 million worth of stolen antiquities that Steinhardt agreed to turn over in December in a deal to avoid prosecution.



Dr. Etan Klein, Deputy Director of the Theft Prevention Unit, of Israel's Antiquities Authority, looks over looted antiquities worth $5-million, seized from billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt, displayed in the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney, in New York, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The 39 items being returned to Israel include two gold masks dating from about 5000 B.C. that are valued at $500,000, and a set of three death masks that date from 6000 to 7000 B.C. and are worth a total of $650,000, (AP Photo/Richard Drew)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-travel-arts-and-entertainment-israel-new-york-8bd23a8afb82db6adc8ac99fd8dd78be

[Budi]

1. WOW. Bravo !!

[Grins]

2. "...in a deal to avoid prosecution." None?

$5,000,000 of stolen property and nothing…?

Don’t get this.

[bluedigger]

3. The Law sure does work differently for the rich.

If I rob a bank and return the money do I get off scot free? The return of the loot should be a consideration for sentencing, not an alternative to prosecution.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. This seems surprising - Wikipedia reckons those gold masks are older than the oldest gold objects

known up until now:

The oldest gold artifacts in the world are from Bulgaria and are dating back to the 5th millennium BC (4,600 BC to 4,200 BC), such as those found in the Varna Necropolis near Lake Varna and the Black Sea coast, thought to be the earliest "well-dated" finding of gold artifacts in history.(La Niece 2009) [76][66][77][78] Several prehistoric Bulgarian finds are considered no less old – the golden treasures of Hotnitsa, Durankulak, artifacts from the Kurgan settlement of Yunatsite near Pazardzhik, the golden treasure Sakar, as well as beads and gold jewelry found in the Kurgan settlement of Provadia – Solnitsata (“salt pit”). However, Varna gold is most often called the oldest since this treasure is the largest and most diverse.[79]

Gold artifacts probably made their first appearance in Ancient Egypt at the very beginning of the pre-dynastic period, at the end of the fifth millennium BC and the start of the fourth, and smelting was developed during the course of the 4th millennium; gold artifacts appear in the archeology of Lower Mesopotamia during the early 4th millennium.[80] As of 1990, gold artifacts found at the Wadi Qana cave cemetery of the 4th millennium BC in West Bank were the earliest from the Levant.[81] Gold artifacts such as the golden hats and the Nebra disk appeared in Central Europe from the 2nd millennium BC Bronze Age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold#History

5000 BC could make them the oldest known metallic artifacts in the world. That there's a reliable date on such looted stuff without it being world-famous seems unlikely to me.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

5. How many artifacts from all over the world

Are being held by millionaires and billionaires? Artifacts that belong to thier respective countries,important finds,historical artifacts hoarded by the wealthy parasites that only see them as more of thier own wealth.

What if some countries artifacts speak to that countries own history or culture? What if they are vital in understanding an event in history?

The rich pigs should in a sane world have no right to own this stuff,neither do the churches that raided other countries artifacts be they the catholic church or hobby lobby.

Billionaires need to fucking learn to share or be forced to. Goddamn arrogant selfish scum bags.

[FakeNoose]

6. This is a small part of Steinhardt's $70 million hoard

Most of what he stole - or illegally purchased - has been returned to Greece and Jordan already.

These 39 items being returned to Israel is the last of it, or the last that they know about. Steinhardt gave up all the antiquities in order to avoid prosecution, and he can never buy, sell or trade in antiquities again. It's a wonder how he was able to bring these stolen items into the country in the first place.

[multigraincracker]

10. They most likely hide them in a load

of cocaine. Who'd think of looking there?

[Chainfire]

7. I didn't see how much time he was going to get for the theft...

Steal a lawnmower and you can get a year or two...He must be facing, like decades.

[FakeNoose]

11. No charges, no conviction, no jail time

He gave away $70 million worth of (presumably) fenced goods in order to avoid the law.

[AllaN01Bear]

8. eggscllent . how many historical items are held by rich ##$%&*(s

would like to see em returned and put on display for all the people to see.

[AllaN01Bear]

9. i wonder how many others have done this . what ever happened to hobby lobby theft of items

for its ?museum?