NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, February 9, 1994

Broadcast: By 0900 ET

INCIDENTS

94-57 - Southwest Region - ARPA Case

On Thursday, February 3rd, Southwest Region's Resource Protection Unit (RPU)
executed a search warrant at the residence of artifact dealer and collector
G.S. and seized hundreds of artifacts, many of them taken from NPS,
BLM, Forest Service and Navajo tribal lands.  The case began in mid-January,
when RPU agent Al Delacruz contacted G.S. during an intelligence
gathering trip to Indiana and Ohio by members of the unit.  As a part of
that exercise, G.S. was contacted and visited at his residence in Urbana,
Ohio, by Delacruz and Cuyahoga Valley ranger Greg Cravatis.  G.S. showed
them a large collection of artifacts which he said he'd just purchased and
was preparing to advertise in Prehistoric Antiquities Quarterly, a
collectors' trade journal.  Following an accelerated investigation, members
of the RPU discovered that the collection had previously been owned by a
Santa Fe collector who was notoriously unconcerned about the ownership of
artifacts.  Most, if not all, of the artifacts were from protected lands,
with Park Service, BLM, Forest Service and Navajo areas prominently
mentioned.  On the 3rd, RPU chief Bill Tanner and RPU archeologist Judy
Reed, posing as a wealthy couple, purchased the entire collection for
$150,000.  In addition, Delacruz sold artifacts to G.S., representing
them as having come from federal lands.  G.S. was then advised that he
had been dealing with federal officers.  Search and evidence processing
teams arrived on scene shortly thereafter.  They found and seized 621
prehistoric pottery vessels, about 1,000 documents and photos, and small
quantities of marijuana with associated paraphernalia.  The latter were
turned over to the local sheriff.  Many of the seized photos showed G.S.
and companions digging prehistoric sites containing human burials.  Based on
evidence seized in G.S.'s home, Delacruz and Cravatis travelled to the
residence of Norita Sipes near Savannah, Tennessee, where they executed a
second warrant and seized several more artifacts and about 1,000 additional
photos and documents.  Investigations have revealed the location of two
other portions of the original collection - 126 pots at the College of Santa
Fe and an unknown quantity at the Museum of New Mexico.  Unit members
transported the seized artifacts and evidence to Santa Fe, where they are
working to find space to organize and study the documentary evidence and
identify all of the pots.  The estimated value of the artifacts has been
placed at approximately $280,000.  Investigations are likely to continue for
months; charges against G.S. and others are pending.  Also participating
in the investigation and seizures were Cuyahoga rangers Maureen Maxey and
Gary Pace and Hopewell rangers Bob Petersen and Bob Burgoon.  [Bill Tanner,
Chief, RPU, SWRO, 2/7]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

MEMORANDA

No memoranda.

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: 202-208-4874
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