Wyoming Fossil Store Owner Cuts Deal With Authorities In Smuggling Case
The owner of fossil retail stores in Wyoming and Colorado pleaded guilty to smuggling valuable specimens from China and Mongolia into his shop, according to the Wyoming Business Report.
It isn't clear exactly how John Richard Rolater, 69, managed to export so many fossils, worth millions of dollars from the recent seizure by federal officials and countless more from the many deals Rolater has made with wealthy private collectors. One of the confiscated specimens was a Tyrannosaurus bataar skull, valued at $1.9 million, according to the Wyoming Business Report. A fossil of the same species was the subject of an investigation that concluded earlier this year.
"These fossils had been illegally exported from China and Mongolia, and then illegally imported into the United States," said Kumar Kibble, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Denver. "Without the vigilance of Homeland Security Investigations, and our law enforcement partners, wholesale looting of a country's historical and cultural artifacts would be a free-for-all for any profiteer."
Also in the recovered loot, the contents of which will be sent back to their countries of origin, were dinosaur eggs ($5,075), a micro-raptor ($173,000), and a protoceratops ($100,000), among others. Rolater's items totaled $2.5 million. Full list here. He also had to pay a $25,000 fine, or the approximate value of the dinosaur eggs, a keichosaurus, and a gallimimus foot.
"China and Mongolia have very strong patrimony laws to protect their cultural heritage," he said. "To ensure their country's historical and cultural artifacts aren't looted." special agent Kumar Kibble said.
Security agents had been tracking the bataar fossil since 2012, when someone placed an anonymous tip. Based on the report from the Wyoming Business Journal, it appeared as if investigators knew of the fossil, but couldn't confirm that Rolater owned it or that his was illegally imported (are any bataar's legal?). When a bataar was confiscated in New York, however, Rolater removed his from his shop, presumably drawing agents' suspicions. Eventually, they found it in a home rented by Rolater.
"When you hear about fossils that are disappearing out on the black market, as a scientist, it really breaks your heart," dinosaur curator Joe Sertich said.
It isn't clear exactly how John Richard Rolater, 69, managed to export so many fossils, worth millions of dollars from the recent seizure by federal officials and countless more from the many deals Rolater has made with wealthy private collectors. One of the confiscated specimens was a Tyrannosaurus bataar skull, valued at $1.9 million, according to the Wyoming Business Report. A fossil of the same species was the subject of an investigation that concluded earlier this year.
"These fossils had been illegally exported from China and Mongolia, and then illegally imported into the United States," said Kumar Kibble, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Denver. "Without the vigilance of Homeland Security Investigations, and our law enforcement partners, wholesale looting of a country's historical and cultural artifacts would be a free-for-all for any profiteer."
Also in the recovered loot, the contents of which will be sent back to their countries of origin, were dinosaur eggs ($5,075), a micro-raptor ($173,000), and a protoceratops ($100,000), among others. Rolater's items totaled $2.5 million. Full list here. He also had to pay a $25,000 fine, or the approximate value of the dinosaur eggs, a keichosaurus, and a gallimimus foot.
"China and Mongolia have very strong patrimony laws to protect their cultural heritage," he said. "To ensure their country's historical and cultural artifacts aren't looted." special agent Kumar Kibble said.
Security agents had been tracking the bataar fossil since 2012, when someone placed an anonymous tip. Based on the report from the Wyoming Business Journal, it appeared as if investigators knew of the fossil, but couldn't confirm that Rolater owned it or that his was illegally imported (are any bataar's legal?). When a bataar was confiscated in New York, however, Rolater removed his from his shop, presumably drawing agents' suspicions. Eventually, they found it in a home rented by Rolater.
"When you hear about fossils that are disappearing out on the black market, as a scientist, it really breaks your heart," dinosaur curator Joe Sertich said.
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