Bob Wittman – undercover !

So tell me, how did you decide to go into law enforcement and then, what led you to specializing in Art Crime?

Well it was really two things. I was interested in the FBI since I was a boy. I’d always thought that the work the agents did was important; they protect our civil rights. At the age of 32, I saw an ad in a local weekly paper looking for new agents. It sounded attractive, so I went through with the application and within 6 months I was headed to Quantico. To be honest I wasn’t sure I really wanted the job at that moment but it was something that interested me and I thought I should try it soon. I wasn’t a kid anymore. From then I never looked back.

The specialty in Art Crime came pretty naturally. My parents were in the antiques business so I grew up learning the business of art. When I was transferred to Philadelphia after my training I was assigned to two stolen property cases right off the bat. One was at the Rodin Museum and the other at the Museum of Anthropology and Archeology. When we solved both those cases, it was decided that this was a good angle for me, so they sent me to the Barnes School to study art history I also received training in gemological and diamond identification. Of course if the FBI sends you to these programs they want you to use the knowledge so my focus was on these types of cases pretty early on.

A lot of your work was done as an undercover detective, how do you keep your cool in such situations?

You have to focus on the goal. You do your planning and research in advance and figure out what you are going to do and say and then adjust the situations as needed and manage them.

What was the scariest moment for you personally as an undercover detective? Did you ever have a moment were you thought “hey I might not make it out”?

There are lots of moments of terror, they aren’t necessary undercover. Executing a warrant and breaking down the door of a suspect’s house is dangerous. There were moments undercover that were worrisome but in order to succeed you have to act as if everything is ok. The biggest mistake you can make is to assume the criminals know more than they do.

What are the most common motives for stealing artwork? Are the criminals you’ve dealt with actually art lovers or are they after the value?

I think for the wild majority of cases the motive is financial gain. In a smaller number of cases the motive is a love of the objects, by experts in a specific discipline who think they have more of a right to the objects because of their love and expertise. They just can’t keep their hands off. The third much rarer motive is to make a political statement, against an institution or artist.

Does a significant increase in values—as has been the case in the contemporary market in the past decade—have an impact on the frequency of these art thefts? Are the criminals savvy about going after works that are “hot” in the general art market?

The rising art market has driven a big boost. As the values go up there becomes much more of a market for these criminal groups, they can make so much more money. The general interest of the public on the value of artwork also has an influence, consider the Antiques Roadshow craze. It’s no longer about the intrinsic value. Most thieves however are not very savvy. They will steal what is available, convenient and they can sell. It’s not like there is a huge increase in thefts of Damien Hirst because he is hot right now.

You mentioned in your presentation this fall that there has been a dramatic increase in violent art robberies lately. Why do you think this is so?

I think these crimes have becomes more violent because of the value. A price tag of thirty to fifty million makes it worthwhile for a criminal element hasn’t normally in the past been involved in crimes like these. Also, I would say the increase in the violent element is happening more in Europe than in the US.

In terms of the majority of thefts which you say are non-violent, what advice would you give those of us who are charged with the responsibility to keep art secure?

The most common and insidious theft is insider theft. Because of this, any fine arts warehouse or transporter should make sure the people they have working for them are honest. They should do good background checks and of course they should carry the proper amount of insurance. Fifty-five percent of the losses in the value of artwork comes from damage, not theft. So it’s really important to make sure that handling and storage is done well. Also training is huge. For example, drivers who are well trained don’t make unscheduled stops, this keeps the art more secure.

What was the most rewarding case you have worked on?

In 2002, we retrieved a missing original copy of the bill of rights. As you know in 1787 there were 13 copies sent to the 13 states to be ratified. One of them, North Carolina’s copy, was stolen by a Union trooper who had taken it as war souvenir. We found it was being offered for sale and I played a philanthropist who was interested in buying it for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for $4 million and we were able to seize it. In 2005, it was returned to the state capitol to be displayed. They brought one thousand school children to see it the first day and I heard how it made some of these kids realize their rights, which was rewarding for me. It had nothing to do with the monetary value of the piece; it was about returning something of real importance, of cultural significance, and having that brought back to the children who deserve it that was so rewarding.

What is one currently open case (not necessarily that you were involved in) that you would personally like to see resolved?

I’d really like to see the Isabella Stewart Gardener case closed, the Van Goghs from Amsterdam found, and the Caravaggio in Italy returned. It’s terrible that our children and grandchildren cannot enjoy these works and appreciate the genius of the art.

Why did you leave the FBI? What’s next?

Well, I’d reached the age to retire, and I wanted to go beyond what I was able to do at the FBI. There are a lot of limits placed on law enforcement, and those limits don’t necessarily have to do with recovery of the item. What I am doing now is creating a place where private individuals, insurers and museums can go and get a full service type of investigation. It doesn’t need to be a theft either. These groups will have someone who knows and understands the art world and can handle an “art” situation soup-to-nuts in. I’m still working to recover artifacts and art but then also working to make sure they don’t get stolen in the first place.

I also have book coming out with Crown Publishers in late 2009. The current title is “In Pursuit of the Priceless.” It is a memoir of cases I worked on during my time at the FBI. Eventually I would also like to do a second book on new stories from my post-FBI cases.

Any Final Thoughts?

Having gone to ICEFAT convention I was impressed with the professionalism of your group. You are all very serious about your industry, and that you have banded together to create this group and work together to promote the highest standards is impressive and important work, keep it up!

Feel free to contact Bob if you need any advice robertwittmaninc@live.com

Nicole Bouchard, Operations Manager
Crozier Fine Arts, New York

As Customs regulations vary from country to country – and at times seemingly from airport to airport – we surveyed some Member companies about how useful an ATA Carnet is when handling an exhibition import. ATA is a combination of French and English phrases "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission"

Singapore

We have the honored to be awarded by Singapore Customs a bonded license for artworks and artifacts since 2007 which allow us to temporaryimport (with no expiry date) the goods with GST suspended for the purposes of exhibition, storage, authentication, restoration and framing. Thus ATA carnet is no longer required should import is handled by our company.

Ida Ng, Director
Helu-Trans (S) Pte Ltd

Brazil

Leonardo Ferreira, Fine Arts & Exhibitions Manager
Metropolitan Transports S/A

Italy

We have experienced imports / exports with Carnets, but not so often, as they are not used a lot in our country.

For export we obtain a temporary export customs document always followed by fine art licences (Bella Arte), of course.

Regarding imports, we don't get many Carnets. We do temporary import customs formalities. This requires payment of a guarantee to Customs to ensure re-export.

For the exhibition is different: in order to avoid paying the guarantee to the Customs for the re-export there is a different process of getting documents from the Ministry of Culture that will allow the organizers to avoid that huge payment. In this case, we never do the Carnet.

The rare times that we do Carnets, we do them when we are exporting items that can potentially be sold abroad.

I hope that my explanation is clear – remember always contact your Italian agent in plenty of time to get the best advice and arrange things without a rush.

Helen Vincenzi, Exhibition Manager
Tratto SRL

Greece

1. If we have a Carnet for a traveling exhibition it makes things a lot easier and helps to speed up procedures at Customs.
2. If the organizer of the exhibition is a public institution ( Museum) or a private institution (Museum) or a Foundation which has received a tax exemption status from the State for temporary exhibitions) the document we need is a letter on the Museum or Foundation letterhead to customs mentioning the exhibition name, the time period this exhibition is taking place at their premises and a statement that in case some art works remain in the country after the exhibition is over duties and taxes will be paid in full to the Greek State. Also we need photos for all works plus, of course, all normal shipping documents.

If the organizer is a private person or a gallery we have two options:

1. ATA Carnet – (which is the best solution)
   
2. Issue a bank guarantee to Customs for the amount of duties and taxes for the time the exhibition is taking place in the country

George Beriuketis, Fine Art Division Manager
Orphee Beinoglou International Forwarders SA

México

Regular temporal importations are what do work in México.

Once we have all the correct paperwork we need 3 hours to clear - but it is best to allow 3 more hours just in case Customs authorities ask for revision and depending on how crowded the Customs system is.

Antonio Flores, Art & Exhibition Manager
Cordova Plaza SA de CV

Australia

George Boubeta, Operations Manager
International Art Services

Estonia

For export, applying for an ATA Carnet in Estonia is not so easy. There is much more bureaucracy than for a normal export – so we will not use it unless it is specifically required by the importing country.

You should also know about the TIR Carnet (Transports Internationaux Routiers / International Road Transport). This is a road transit document that allows containerized cargo to move directly to the Customs office at its final destination, rather than at its point of entry to a country. For us this means that shipments from outside Russia does not have to come under Customs control / inspection until it is at it’s ultimate destination in Russia. The document simplifies the process at the borders.

Raivo Plado, Art & Exhibition Manager
KLG Eesti AS

Finland

Max Branders, Fine Art Logistics Co-coordinator
John Nurminen Prima Oy

The Guidelines Committee is proud to announce the unanimous support of all the members of ICEFAT for our newly adopted Guidelines for Storage. On the strength of this momentous step forward, ICEFAT members are now positioning themselves as leaders in the broader industry. We now, as a group, have a unified and clear voice to share with complementary organizations that are in the process of developing their own guidelines for storage.

Some of the esteemed organizations that are currently reviewing this topic are: the American Association of Museums (AAM), the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Inland Marine Underwriter's Association (IMUA) among others. As an industry, we are moving toward the standardization process and now ICEFAT has a unified voice to join this important worldwide conversation.

Of course our work on this project is not done. This is a live document that will be updated by all of us as new and better guidelines become known to us. If you learn of anything that you would like to be considered as a Guideline for Storage, please forward it to my attention. We will be reviewing additions and removals annually.

We are also currently building out our reference library that is available to all ICEFAT members online. If you have any documents that you would like to add to our online library, please forward it to my attention as well.

The next project for the Guidelines Committee – International Crating Guidelines.

Bob Crozier, President
Crozier Fine Arts Inc.
bobcrozier@crozierfinearts.com