fyi from BLM Law Enforcement Weekly Report.



ANN MELLE

Assistant Director-Law Enforcement and Investigations

USDA - Forest Service

1621 N. Kent Street, Room 1015

Arlington, VA 22209

Office:  703-605-4527

Fax:  703-605-5112



Las Vegas, NV – Operation Indian Rocks-Sentencing – In December 2001, two

Las Vegas residents were discovered looting an archeological site in Death

Valley National Park.  The suspects provided information that led to the

discovery of nine looted archaeological sites on BLM lands, one looted

archaeological site on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land, 20 sites that had

been surface collected on refuge land administered by the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS) and six small sites that had been surface

collected on land administered by the U.S. Air Force.  Damage from the

looting and surface collecting was estimated at $750,000.

   A joint taskforce, Operation Indian Rocks, was formed with agents from

the National Park Service, USFWS, and BLM.  To date six search warrants and

two consent search have been executed and over 10,000 artifacts have been

confiscated.  Five individuals have already pleaded guilty to a number of

felony ARPA violations.  In August 2003, one person was sentenced to 18

months in prison and ordered to pay $86,000 in restitution.  On December

15, 2003, a second individual was sentenced to 36 months in prison and

ordered to pay $102,364 in restitution.  The remaining defendants are

scheduled for sentencing in January 2004.   Contact:  SAC, NV









Smoke (Michael A.) Pfeiffer, RPA

Ozark-St. Francis National Forests

605 West Main Street

Russellville, Arkansas 72801

(479) 968-2354  Ext. 233

e-mail:  [log in to unmask]



It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.