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ROME, Jun 21, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Robert Hecht, 87, a classical antiquities dealer, is on trial in Rome for conspiracy to traffic looted objects, some of them sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Representatives of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the government of Italy have been engaged in discussions about artifacts Italians say were looted, The New York Times reported.
Prosecutor Paolo Ferri called Hecht, "smart and simpatico," but also said the damage he has done to Italy's cultural heritage is immense.
Hecht has been in trouble with authorities in the past. He was suspected of smuggling coins out of Turkey and accused of dealing in looted art in Italy in the 1960s. He sold the Euphronios krater in 1972, which Italy also said was looted.
Hecht denies wrongdoing and is annoyed by his "persecution."
But Maurizo Fiorilli, a lawyer for the Italian government, called his claim of innocence laughable.
"If you live in Italy, like Mr. Hecht had, you knew these things," Fiorilli told the Times. Besides, Hecht is a connoisseur and would have been aware of the origins of the artworks.
If convicted, Hecht is unlikely to go to jail, if only because of his age, legal experts say.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
