DURANGO—A Colorado antiquities dealer is surrendering a vast personal collection of ancient artifacts in another break in the federal investigation of looting and grave-robbing in the Four Corners region.
More than 20 government agents, archaeologists and curators descended early Wednesday on a home in Durango to haul away a lifetime collection from 74-year-old Carl “Vern” Crites and his wife.
The Bureau of Land Management said the couple was voluntarily turning over its entire collection, which one agent described as staggering. Two moving vans were at the house. Court papers say the items include ancient Anasazi prayer sticks, ivory beads and a ceremonial war club.
Crites and his wife, Marie, are under indictment for trafficking, theft and grave desecration.
“It’s enormously traumatic for them,” said Wally Bugden, a Salt Lake City lawyer representing Vern Crites. “He’s collected artifacts for 50-plus years, as have many people in the Four Corners area. Whether they were legally obtained or not is obviously the issue.”
Court papers say some of the artifacts were pilfered from federal lands in Utah. But BLM spokesman Steven Hall said it would take examinations by archaeologists to determine the origin and age of each artifact.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney for Utah, Brett Tolman, said the surrender was not being made in tandem with a plea deal.
“We can’t confirm any plea deal until one is executed, and right now there isn’t one,” said spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch.
The surrender, together with a similar hand-over earlier this summer by Jeanne Redd of Blanding, Utah, takes out some of the biggest players of a 2 1/2-year sting operation, which resulted in felony charges against 25 people. Two of them committed suicide, while the rest have pleaded not guilty.
The investigation broke open in early June with early morning raids on a dozen rural Utah homes. Other defendants were arrested or surrendered in Colorado and New Mexico. Authorities have already seized truckloads of artifacts and are aggressively pursuing leads.
