The very rich get very special 'justice'

By Bob Gaydos

This is a story about how the rich often get special treatment from our justice system. There is also a footnote to the story which raises at least some hope that the rich-get-off-easy scenario may soon be amended.

First, a favor for the rich guy.

Michael Steinhardt, a billionaire who is used to having pretty much anything he wants, recently got an early birthday present from Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr.: A stay-out-of-jail card.

The gift came with a message, a stern warning if you will: Tsk, tsk, Michael. You know better than that. Now round up all those weird old things cluttering up all your homes and give them back to their rightful owners. And don't ever do that again. (Signed), Cy

Steinhardt's lawyer said his client, a hedge fund founder who has been accused of sexual harassment in the past, was "pleased" with Vance's gift. Most rich people Vance lets off the hook usually are.

As he prepares to retire, Vance provided one more piece of evidence confirming that his scales of justice are weighted heavily in favor of the rich.

Steinhardt, described in news accounts as a philanthropist and collector of antiquities, was ordered to return some $70 million worth of those antiquities to their rightful owners. People from whom they were stolen, in other words. The people of 11 nations, actually.

He was also told to refrain from this practice, or else. The "or else" part was not spelled out. Two days

After Vance's announcement, Steinhardt celebrated his 81st birthday, presumably suitably chastised.

This "punishment" for aggressively seeking, purchasing and possessing 180 pieces of stolen property

was the culmination of a four-year investigation by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan prosecutor's office. It involved investigators and officials in the following countries: Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Turkey, a veritable Who's Who of places one might shop for antiquities. And Steinhardt was a frequent shopper. He also apparently knew where to find the good stuff.

Among the items Steinhardt surrendered was the Stag's Head Rhyton a drinking vessel dating from 400 BC that's worth an estimated $3.5 million today.

It was believed to have been stolen in Turkey, in the 1990s.

In a prepared statement, Vance said: "For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe. His pursuit of 'new' additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection."

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