Opinion ID: 363887
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Appellants' Dealings in Pre-Columbian Artifacts.

Text: 4 In May 1973, Joseph Rodriguez, a resident of Calexico, California, arrived at a Dallas motel with a collection of pre-Columbian artifacts for display and sale. 2 He sold pieces at least to a local art dealer and to a law professor who was staying in the same motel. He thereafter moved his wares to a San Antonio motel, apparently as a result of his dealings with the professor, who taught in San Antonio. From the new location Rodriguez contacted prospective buyers, including Alberto Mejangos, who unbeknownst to Rodriguez was director of the Mexican Cultural Institute, an educational outpost of the Mexican government located in San Antonio. Suspecting Rodriguez of illicit dealings, Mejangos and Adalina Diaz-Zambrano, the librarian at the institute, visited Rodriguez to see the collection, without identifying themselves as officials of the Mexican government. Rodriguez showed them a large collection of fine artifacts, many of which were caked with mud and straw. When he was asked how it was possible that he had all these ancient artifacts, Rodriguez said that he had five squads working in various Mexican archaeological zones and that the objects were passed, a few at a time by contraband to his Calexico store, which served as a front for his operation. When he amassed enough objects, he said, he would sell them in different localities. He priced the items he showed Mr. Mejangos and Ms. Diaz-Zambrano at figures ranging between $5,000 and $20,000, explaining that the prices had gone up as a result of the February 1972 presidential agreement between the United States and Mexico. He said he now had to give more money to the people who were passing the objects to him. 5 At some time after these meetings in San Antonio, Rodriguez returned to Calexico, leaving the collection behind with appellants William and Ada Simpson who were authorized to sell the items. The next known transaction regarding the Rodriguez artifacts occurred in early December 1973. Simpson and appellant Mike Bradshaw contacted William Maloof of Cleveland, Ohio, a college friend of Bradshaw, in an effort to raise money for an oil importation venture. They offered Maloof several of the artifacts as collateral for the loan Maloof considered making. Simpson, Bradshaw, and a third man whom Maloof spoke with only by phone, 3 told Maloof that the items had been stolen or smuggled out of Mexico. They said that a man named Rodriguez was chief of the Mexican Secret Service and had gotten the artifacts from a vault in Mexico. Patty McClain was mentioned as an appraiser who knew the value of the artifacts. Simpson and Bradshaw told Maloof that they planned to take most of the objects to Europe, auction them off, and then return them to the United States. This process would yield bills of sale from European art dealers, which would facilitate later resale. Maloof, suspecting he was being swindled, contacted the FBI and showed the objects to them. After being alerted by the Cleveland office, the Houston office of the FBI delegated Special Agent John McGauley, to determine whether stolen pre-Columbian artifacts were being sold by the group. To assist in the covert investigation, McGauley brought in Travis Benkendorfer, who had proven to be a reliable informant on other occasions. 6 In February 1974, after failing to contact Harry McClain, Benkendorfer succeeded in reaching the Simpson residence by telephone. Identifying himself as a Mr. Benks, Benkendorfer told Mrs. Simpson a cover story that he was interested in acquiring stolen treasury bills, stocks, bonds, or other stolen or illegal merchandise for resale. He said that he represented an international combine with Mafia or other underworld connections and that any stolen merchandise they purchased would immediately be flown out of the country by private plane. Mrs. Simpson replied that her husband and his partner Patty McClain were then in California, waiting for a shipment of pre-Columbian artifacts to cross the border. She said that she would have her husband and Mrs. McClain contact Benkendorfer. When Simpson called Benkendorfer the next morning, Benkendorfer repeated his story. He explained that he had gotten Simpson's name through a Long Island man with Mafia connections and had been instructed to discover for his principal whether Simpson had any artifacts for sale. Simpson replied that he had approximately 150 pieces already in San Antonio and was in Calexico awaiting a new shipment from the diggings. He described a conduit by which the items were taken from the diggings to the archaeological institute in Mexico, where documents or permits were forged or backdated. The items were then trucked in disguise to the border at Calexico before distribution to various cities in the United States, particularly San Antonio. Simpson stated that what they were doing is illegal, but really not illegal, because if the Mexican authorities knew basically what we were doing, they would take them away from us, because the Mexicans really claim all of the items belong to them. Simpson explained further that the backdating of the papers was due to a new presidential law that had gone into effect in Mexico, prohibiting private ownership of artifacts after its effective date. He said that the group had planned to ship the items to Europe for sale but that they could save shipping and breakage costs if Benkendorfer and his principal bought the new shipment right at the border. Simpson said that Rodriguez and Patty McClain each had collections that also would be available. Benkendorfer said he would discuss the offer with his principal. He later relayed the message through Mrs. Simpson that he would prefer to have all the items shipped to San Antonio for a single viewing and purchase decision. Simpson agreed to this proposal, emphasizing that all of them would have to be extremely discreet. He said they would get into a lot of problems if the United States government caught them since what they were doing was against the law. He repeated that the Mexicans claimed ownership of the items. Simpson also mentioned during the conversation that his associate Mike Bradshaw was flying from Alabama to Calexico with money to pay for the items that were coming across the border. 7 Several days later, Benkendorfer received word from Mrs. Simpson that trouble had developed in the conduit or channel. Patty McClain confirmed this when she later contacted Benkendorfer to discuss terms for the sale of her collection. She said that the driveshaft of the truck carrying the artifacts had broken south of the border and that Simpson was sending a new truck to the interior to bring in the goods. In terms highly similar to Simpson's she also described the channel from the diggings and the system for getting backdated permits and trucking the items to Calexico developed by Joe and staff. She said that she and Simpson were responsible for distributing the goods to various points away from Calexico, especially if they were bound for the European market. When Benkendorfer repeated his cover story, McClain gave him some of her artifacts to show to his principal, Mr. Dooley (Agent McGauley). McClain made Benkendorfer promise not to show the items to an art dealer or museum because a recent similar showing had caused the FBI to investigate. McClain agreed that Benkendorfer and McGauley might bring their own appraiser to the San Antonio showing, though she was anxious that the appraiser not come from Mexico City. She explained that she was afraid he might return and report their doings to the authorities because what we are basically doing is against the law. A final topic during this meeting involved a mild expression of interest by Benkendorfer in purchasing Mexican gold. When Benkendorfer next spoke with Simpson, in addition to repeating the story of the broken driveshaft, Simpson offered to sell Benkendorfer some gold bars that were coming out of Mexico via the same conduit as the artifacts. Simpson then put his partner Joe Rodriguez on the phone to explain the gold deal, which Benkendorfer rejected after hearing the details. 8 During his next phone conversation with Simpson, who was still in Calexico, Benkendorfer spoke with appellant Mike Bradshaw for the first time. Bradshaw's comments evidenced his knowledge of the conduit and the planned sale, and he stressed the need for discretion due to the danger. 9 Following this round of contacts the defendants seemed to grow even more cautious. Simpson interrogated Benkendorfer about where he had learned Simpson's name; McClain expressed concern about the amount of information Simpson and Bradshaw had conveyed to Benkendorfer by phone; several of the appellants sought to assure themselves that Benkendorfer was not with the FBI. McClain even tried to renegotiate the timetable of the showing and sale so that the new shipment would not be sold until after the in-country items had been successfully conveyed. Such a split timetable was ultimately agreed upon after Benkendorfer told Simpson that his New York connection had authorized the purchase of artifacts currently held by Simpson, Rodriguez, and McClain and that a decision whether to buy the next shipment would come later. 4 10 On the appointed date, March 4, 1974, Agent McGauley and Benkendorfer arrived at the San Antonio Holiday Inn, chosen by Simpson because it had a meeting room with an outside entrance that would be discreet. Over supper with the four appellants and Mike Bradshaw's fiance, they discussed various aspects of the deal. McGauley repeated the cover story, adding that his New York syndicate was trying to corner the market on pre-Columbian artifacts. The defendants again voiced concern that McGauley's appraiser was coming from Mexico and might return to inform the Mexican government. McGauley assured them that the expert had been adequately paid and that he had methods of ensuring the man's silence. The defendants mentioned that the items were coming from a dig that the Mexican authorities did not know about. Simpson commented that if the FBI knew the artifacts were at the hotel they would seize them. McGauley assured them that he was not an FBI agent. 11 At supper the defendants further suggested that McGauley also go to the west coast to buy some very valuable stelae and large figurines accumulated there by Clive Hollinshead. Because McGauley had obtained only a single certified bank draft for the purchase, the parties worked out an escrow agreement to handle the need to inspect the items at separate locations. After supper, Benkendorfer and McGauley briefly viewed the artifacts in the locked meeting room and retired for the night. 12 The next morning the appraiser, Dr. Eduardo Montes Moctezuma of the Mexican Department of Archaeology, arrived with his interpreter, another undercover FBI agent. While these two men, Agent McGauley, William Simpson and Patty McClain examined the artifacts one by one, Benkendorfer, Bradshaw and Mrs. Simpson stayed in the coffee shop. During the wait, Bradshaw informed Benkendorfer that he had invested a great deal of time and money to make Rodriguez' conduit secure, that he had been to the diggings and followed the conduit all the way up through Calexico, California. Bradshaw confirmed earlier Simpson comments that the Indians who were stealing the artifacts had no idea of their worth and were paid only a small sum to get the artifacts from the diggings, to rob the graves. He also stated that Rodriguez had paid off several customs inspectors along the border to pass the items across. 13 During the appraisal in the meeting room, McClain and Simpson confirmed that, in addition to the artifacts still located in California, Rodriguez was bringing more across the border and that they would be available to McGauley. These had not crossed yet because of the truck breakdown. McGauley arranged to purchase the goods he had just inspected, contingent upon inspection of the items available in California. 14 Over lunch McGauley negotiated the sale terms with appellants agreeing on a price of $115,000 for the San Antonio lot, including McClain's items. Bradshaw and Simpson then arranged to meet McGauley, the appraiser and the interpreter in Los Angeles the next day to view the Hollinshead artifacts. McClain and Mrs. Simpson agreed to remain behind and rewrap and store the items. The next day, March 6, 1974, Simpson and Bradshaw were arrested in Los Angeles during the course of negotiations to purchase the Hollinshead artifacts for $850,000. McClain and Mrs. Simpson were arrested in San Antonio the same day. 15 There was evidence at trial that none of the items purchased by Agent McGauley bore the indicia of registration with the Archaeological Registry maintained by the Mexican government since 1934 a permanent, coded number placed with indelible ink on an inconspicuous area of the piece. Nor were any documents of registration for these pieces in the names of either Rodriguez or any of the appellants found in the registry. Additionally, no export permits had been obtained for the items. In fact, since 1897 the Mexican government has issued only temporary export permits, and those are issued exclusively to cultural institutions or universities. Permits have never been issued to private individuals or for commercial purposes. 16