The Dinosaur Artist

by Paige Williams

  Just ahead of Merkel’s state visit, Germany released Khurts without explanation. Nothing more was said on the matter. Fifteen days after he returned home, Merkel was welcomed to Ulaanbaatar, where she signed a trade agreement with Mongolia, whose president, by now, was Elbegdorj.

  Elbegdorj made Khurts vice chairman of the new Independent Authority Against Corruption, an agency described as having “very broad powers to question, investigate, and formulate charges.” And just after former President Enkhbayar’s sentencing on corruption charges, Khurts was awarded the Sukhbaatar Medal, one of Mongolia’s highest honors.

  Before long, Khurts was working on a mining case involving an Australian lawyer, Sarah Armstrong, chief counsel of a Rio Tinto subsidiary, who was stopped from boarding a flight to Hong Kong and banned from leaving the country as the IAAC questioned her. One source told the Sydney Morning Herald that Armstrong was questioned in “retaliation” for accusing government officials of corruption. Friends told The Australian they feared she was being used as a “political football to gain leverage over the company in the nation’s notoriously corrupt business environment and to appease rising xenophobia.” The lawyer, the press noted, faced “one of Mongolia’s most feared investigators”—Khurts. That was in 2012, the year the T. bataar skeleton went to auction in New York and the Mongolian government started wondering if they could have Eric Prokopi brought back to Ulaanbaatar for questioning. For more information, see Federal Court of Justice Germany v. Bat Khurts, Oxford Public International Law, http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:ildc/1779uk11.case.1/law-ildc-1779uk11. The case was widely covered in newspapers including the Financial Times.

  78. Zorig’s murder: Sanjaasuren Zorig, by trade a political science professor who had studied in Moscow, was the best known of the democratic revolutionaries, and was considered a national hero. A moderate, he had won successive seats in parliament alongside Elbegdorj, and in the autumn of 1998 was the compromise choice for prime minister. Inflation was finally down and the economy was expected to grow, with steady global demand for exports like cashmere and gold. Chinese traders were selling cheap goods all over the place, and the Chinese government was buying half of Mongolia’s copper. Datacom had become the nation’s first internet service provider, allowing for the proliferation of internet cafés. Those with money were buying their first personal computers. Tourism looked promising—international “jet setters” liked to hunt gazelles and wild boar, while others preferred theme camps like “Be Genghis Khan for a Day,” the Asian Wall Street Journal reported. Mongolia’s airline, MIAT, served meat-and-butter sandwiches packaged with a personal bottle of Mongolian vodka. The pace of free-market reforms worried Zorig, who feared that moving too fast would create a wealth gap that would be hard to walk back, with many Mongolians pushed below the poverty line. Zorig was thirty-six, with thick dark hair, dimples, and round eyeglasses. His recent ministry work had involved vetting multimillion-dollar construction contracts. The British ambassador called him “Mr. Clean.” As prime minister, Zorig was expected to spearhead the efforts against public corruption. The announcement of his new position was scheduled for Monday, October 5. Three days earlier, he stayed late at his Government House office, playing chess with a friend. He was driven home around ten, to the apartment where he lived with his wife, Bulgan, down the street from the Russian embassy. Waiting for him inside his fourth-floor apartment were two assailants armed with knives. The details of Zorig’s murder were everywhere and nowhere and all over the place, and it’s still hard to know what happened; by one account, the assailants were a man and a woman in masks who had bound and gagged Bulgan on the bathroom floor and then waited in the dark for Zorig to get home. They stabbed him sixteen times, three through the heart. They stole a pair of gold earrings and, bizarrely, a bottle of soy sauce and a bottle of vinegar, though other reports said they also took three rings and five silver cups. Almost everyone attributed Zorig’s death to a contract killing. Politics, not robbery, was the motive. Theories included “bloodyminded communists, corrupt democrats, the Russian mafia...and fascist extremists,” wrote Michael Kohn, an American journalist living in Ulaanbaatar who reported on the aftermath. Mourners packed Sukhbaatar Square for vigils, spelling out Z O R I G in candlelight. In the press his death was compared to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Some of the anger was turned at members of Zorig’s own party. “Newspapers were brimming with allegations about the Zorig murder and corruption within the Democratic ranks,” Kohn wrote. “It was easy to see why the Democrats were so loathed. They lived luxurious lifestyles; driving around in expensive SUVs, chatting on mobile phones (a privilege at the time) and throwing away thousands of dollars at the country’s only gaming place, Casinos Mongolia. No one believed they were spending their own salary, which amounted to just $100 per month.” See also Erik Eckholm, “A Gentle Hero Dies, and Mongolia’s Innocence, Too,” New York Times, October 25, 1998.

  79. “demise of democracy”: Addleton, Mongolia and the United States.

  80. “Their task was to make me a criminal”: Dan Levin, “Mongolian Ex-President Denounces Timing of His Graft Trial,” New York Times, May 23, 2012.

  81. “pawn in a global game”: Ibid. Addleton, the former ambassador, also wrote that a good many Mongolians wanted outsiders to stay out of it: “It was precisely this unhealthy mix of wealth, economic interests, connections, access, and political power that, increasingly, seemed to be undermining democracy in Mongolia.” See Addleton, Mongolia and the United States.

  82. “This is really a case”: Levin, “Mongolian” Ex-President.

  83. “It has been deeply troubling”: Feinstein’s full statement was published in “Sen. Feinstein Warns of Political Crackdown in Mongolia ahead of June Elections,” by Julian Pecquet, The Hill, May 14, 2012.

  84. “Win T. bataar”: Interviews with Oyuna; she also told the story in the Mongolian media.

  85. “Assess the big picture”: Interviews with Robert Painter.

  86. Temporary restraining order application: Mongolia provided Robert Painter with an English translation of Mongolian laws. See “Plaintiff’s Original Petition and Application for Injunctive Relief,” Elbegdorj Tsakhia, as President of Mongolia, v. Heritage Auctions Inc., DC-12-05591-H, District Court of Dallas County, Texas, May 18, 2012. The application for a temporary restraining order included legal translations including, “Any territory and underground (cq) containing items of historical, cultural, or scientific value shall be protected by the State and any findings are the property of the State.” The document also cited Mongolian criminal law describing the smuggling of “prohibited or restricted goods” as punishable by a fine equal to 51 to 151 times the minimum salary; 251 to 500 hours of a “forced job;” or up to six months in jail. A second offense could bring up to eight years in prison.

  87. “found in Mongolia”: “Waiting to Be Snapped up, T-Rex’s Cousin: Near Perfect Dinosaur Skeleton to Go Under the Hammer,” Daily Mail (U.K.), May 16, 2012.

  88. Carlos Cortez: The judge left public office in January 2015. A Dallas Morning News investigation had found that he had “long been plagued by legal crises of his own making,” including a drunk-driving charge and allegations that he “used cocaine, paid for sex, choked a woman who accused him of fathering her son, and sexually assaulted a little girl,” the Morning News reported. Police were investigating allegations that he had raped a woman at his condo, and the state ethics commission was looking into his practices. The newspaper investigation had found that Cortez had “used campaign contributions to repay himself for about $15,000 in unsubstantiated travel expenses” to a Canadian ski resort. Cortez had also been arrested “at least three times,” the paper reported, noting that the cases had been dismissed. For more information, see Brooks Egerton, “Former Dallas Judge Carlos Cortez Could Face Financial Misconduct Prosecution,” Dallas Morning News, March 2015. See also Brooks Egerton and Matthew Watkins, “Files Detail Allegations That Dallas Judge Used Coke, Bought Sex, Raped Young G
irl,” Dallas Morning News, April 2014.

  89. “The sale of this next lot”: The details of the moment of the T. bataar sale come largely from an evidentiary video shot by Painter Law Firm staffer Andrew King. The exclusive footage was provided by Robert Painter.

  CHAPTER 17: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. ONE TYRANNOSAURUS BATAAR SKELETON

  1. “the English crown”: See Sarah Stillman, “Taken,” New Yorker; August 12 & 19, 2013. In that passage Stillman cites the scholars Eric Blumenson and Eva Nilsen.

  2. “unreasonable searches and seizures”: See “The Bill of Rights: A Transcription,” National Archives, archives.gov.

  3. “Congress soon authorized”: Stillman, “Taken.”

  4. Asset forfeiture: See “Audit of the Assets Forfeiture Fund and Seized Asset Deposit Fund Annual Financial Statements,” Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice; this audit is done every fiscal year. See also Peter Lattman, “For U.S. Attorney’s Office, Forfeiture from Crimes Pays (Sometimes in Dinosaur Bones),” New York Times, January 1, 2013.

  5. United States of America v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins: U.S. District Court case 03-CV-0594, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, January 19, 2005.

  6. “taking the profit out of crime”: “U.S. Restrains 1909 Pablo Picasso Painting Valued at $11.5 Million,” U.S. Department of Justice, June 24, 2013.

  7. “Asset forfeiture is an important part of the culture here”: Lattman, “For U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

  8. Portrait of Wally: For more information, see Judith H. Dobrzynski, “The Zealous Collector—A Special Report,” New York Times, December 24, 1997. Also “Strategy in Schiele Art Case Questioned,” also by Dobrzynski, New York Times, October 12, 1999. Also Nicolas Rapold, “The Multidimensional Fate of a 1912 Schiele Portrait,” New York Times, May 10, 2012.

  9. “rocked”: John Anderson, “Portrait of Wally,” Variety, April 28, 2012.

  10. “correct a historical injustice”: See Ben Protess, “Sharon Levin to Leave U.S. Attorney’s Office for WilmerHale, Joining Other Ex-Prosecutors,” New York Times, April 26, 2015.

  11. “most accomplished female attorneys”: “The National Law Journal’s Outstanding Women Lawyers,” National Law Journal, May 4, 2015.

  12. “Want some help?”: Interviews with Robert Painter and Sharon Cohen Levin.

  13. “This is a victory”: Elbegdorj’s press release has since been removed from his former office’s website, president.mn, but an Internet Archive copy can be found. See “President of Mongolia Is Concerned That T-Rex Skeleton May Belong to Mongolia,” May 18, 2012.

  14. “legal action”: The letter from Elbegdorj to Sharon Cohen Levin and other case documents can be found in 12-CIV-4760, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Heritage sent investigators documents including “Entry/Immediate Delivery,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, showing the importation of “fossil specimens” by Prokopi, from Museum Imports Co. Ltd., in Saitama, Japan, dated March 15, 2007; an invoice from Chris Moore Fossils, dated March 12, 2010, for three crates of unprepared “fossil reptile heads” and other materials, along with import documents; and the Heritage Auctions “Consignment Agreement: Natural History,” for “Complete Tyrannosaurid, Res $850,000,” March 22, 2012. David Herskowitz signed for the item, writing out a note that said Heritage would temporarily “insure this tyrannosaurs [sic] skeleton” and that “50% of the proceeds...will be made out to Chris Moore” and the rest to Eric Prokopi.

  15. “Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur advisor” and related: These details come from an interview with Don Lessem and emails obtained by the author.

  16. “Although I am sure”: Various Eric Prokopi emails can be found in 12CRIM981, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

  17. “We do have documents”: Eric Prokopi email, dated May 28, 2012.

  18. “fairly light”: The descriptions and written reports of Philip Currie, Bolor Minjin, Mark Norell, and Tsogtbaatar can be found in federal case files including 12-CIV-4760, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. USA v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton cited the 1924 Mongolian Rules to Protect the Antiquities as covering “remnants of ancient plants and animals”; the 2001 Mongolian Protection of Cultural Heritage Law, which covered the “territory and land bowels where historically, culturally, and scientifically significant objects exist;” and the 2002 Criminal Code of Mongolia, which established punishment for smuggling “valuable findings of ancient animals and plants, archeological and paleontological findings and artifacts.” These would be used by U.S. prosecutors to establish a criminal case for trafficking in materials known to have been taken illegally from another country.

  19. “several misstatements”: See 12-CIV-4760, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

  20. “2 large rough (unprepared) fossil reptile heads”: Ibid.

  21. “You couldn’t be in better hands”: Email from David Herskowitz to Eric Prokopi, May 26, 2012.

  22. “white knight”: Interviews with Eric Prokopi, Peter Tompa, and Michael McCullough.

  23. A year of his life: See “Claim of Interest in the Defendant in Rem,” USA v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton,” 12-CIV-4760, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. “A year” wasn’t true; Prokopi had owned the bones for some time, but he had spent several months at most working feverishly on the skeleton. As the case lawyers came to realize the skeleton had been crafted with parts from different specimens, Sharon Levin asked Michael McCullough, one of Prokopi’s lawyers, whether it contained any T. rex parts. McCullough told her correctly that it didn’t.

  24. “In her mind” and related: Interview with Greg Rohan. Rohan worked for Heritage founders and collectors (and former archrivals) Steve Ivy and James Halperin, a Massachusetts polymath who had dropped out of Harvard in the early 1970s to deal full time in rare stamps and coins. Like a lot of collectors, Rohan also had started young. (Someone once asked Ivey, “What were you doing before you were in the coin business?” Ivey replied, “I was in the third grade.”) Heritage had expanded its business the way collectors often broaden their interests. Ivey wasn’t just a coin collector, he also collected Texas historical documents. In addition to stamps, Halperin collected million-dollar comic books and Thomas Moran paintings. Rohan collected not just coins but also American Indian textiles.

  25. “for sure” and related: Eric Prokopi press statement, via Peter Tompa and Michael McCullough.

  26. “fossil collecting is well established”: See “Statement of Facts,” 12-CIV-4760, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

  27. Thomas Jefferson was an avid fossil collector, as was, to a lesser extent, George Washington. In 1780, when Jefferson was governor of Virginia, the French sent a questionnaire to each of the American colonies, whose independence it was backing. Each was to provide all kind of data, from “limits & boundaries” and “A notice of the best seaports” to “The particular customs & manners” of the people. Jefferson was thirty-eight, five years away from succeeding Benjamin Franklin as the U.S. minister to France and twenty years away from the presidency. In the past five years, his daughter, his son, and his mother all had died, and he was soon to lose two more daughters and his wife. The American Revolution was ongoing. He’d had a bad fall off a horse, and had been all but run out of Richmond and Monticello. The questionnaire may have been a welcome distraction, and the task perfectly dovetailed with his detail-oriented tendencies. In addition to Virginia’s geographic boundaries, seaports, and mannerisms, he looked at its mountains, caves, climate, soils, springs, military, colleges, religion, and commerce.

  He also took on the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, count de Buffon, a keeper of the royal cabinet, who had gotten everyone’s attention with a theory of “American degeneracy.” Buffon had never set foot in the New World, but after reading the accounts of early explorers he had decided the continent’s life for
ms and natural prospects were deeply inferior to those of his own. In the New World, “animated Nature is weaker, less active, and more circumscribed in the variety of her productions,” he had written in 1761. The reptiles and insects were okay, but overall the number of species was fewer, and the species that did exist were much smaller than those found elsewhere. No New World animal could compete with the elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the dromedary, the lion, the tiger. Buffon had spared not even the humans, writing, “In the savage, the organs of generation are small and feeble. He has no hair, no beard, no ardour for the female. Though nimbler than the European, because more accustomed to running, his strength is not so great. His sensations are less acute; and yet he is more timid and cowardly. He has no vivacity, no activity of mind.” If you were thinking of moving to America, you’d be wise to know that you couldn’t possibly last in an environment too frigid and damp to produce or sustain robust life. Too bad America was not Senegal, a place of “perfectly scorching” sun; or Peru, where “an agreeable temperature prevails.” North America—so uncultivated, so wild, so full of all those super-wet rivers and lakes—was too saturated and tangled to be of substance. “As the earth is every where covered with trees, shrubs, and gross herbage, it never dries,” Buffon had written, saying, “The transpiration of so many vegetables, pressed close together, produce immense quantities of noise and noxious exhalations. In these melancholy regions, Nature remains concealed under her old garments, and never exhibits herself in fresh attire; being neither cherished nor cultivated by man, she never opens her fruitful and beneficent womb.”