Art’s worst offenders are experiencing a just and overdue reckoning

By Deborah Lehr as featured on The Hill

This past month, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office struck another blow against bad actors who exploit the American art market. Their latest success highlights a continuing weakness in the multibillion-dollar industry: self-regulation and voluntary policing haven’t worked. Nor have bad publicity and civil fines. Criminal investigations and legal consequences are needed to halt the trade in illicit antiquities.

On Dec. 6, following a three-year grand jury investigation, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. announced the seizure of $70 million worth of looted antiquities from Michael H. Steinhardt. The hedge fund titan escaped charges but received a life sentence in other ways. To avoid prosecution, Steinhardt agreed to a permanent ban on collecting ancient art, the first of its kind.