Because it is the center of the art world. Sixty-five percent of all artwork entering the U.S. passes through the port of New York. The big auction houses are there, as is the highest concentration of art dealers in America. That's where we also find traffickers in stolen art and counterfeits. The return of the de' Barbari was just one in a string of Customs victories in combating fraud in the trafficking of art, antiques and counterfeits.
Art fraud is big business and getting bigger.
No one in law enforcement has done a better job combating it than the Customs Service. Now is the time to build on our success.