Durango Too

Main Avenue, Durango, Colorado

Via Paul Barford, I see that the BLM has confiscated an apparently huge collection of artifacts from Vern and Marie Crites, residents of Durango, Colorado who were charged in June with looting-related crimes along with a bunch of people from Blanding, Utah.  The Criteses seem to have handed the stuff over voluntarily, and while the spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office quoted in the article insists that this doesn’t change the status of the prosecution, it seems pretty likely on the face of it that this indicates that negotiations for a plea deal are in the works.

Animas River, Durango, Colorado

While most of the coverage of these cases has focused on Blanding, where most of the suspects are from, the initial indictments included a few people from other places, including the Criteses, Steven Shrader, a friend of theirs who was listed as a resident of Durango but seems to have moved to Santa Fe at some point, Richard Raymond Bourret, also of Durango, and David Waite of Albuquerque.  Shrader committed suicide soon after the indictments came down.

Navajo Rug Advertising Toh Atin Gallery, Durango, Colorado

As I mentioned recently when word got out that the investigation had reached some dealers in Santa Fe, Shrader seems like the key figure here in linking the Blanding cases, which mostly seem to be straightforward pothunting, with whatever is going on in Santa Fe, which is rather murky at this point.  Since the Criteses (and Bourret) appear to have been Shrader’s only close connections among the other suspects, and since the charges against them seem to be more similar to what the Blanding folks are accused of, it makes sense to see Durango as the crucial link between Blanding, where the stuff was being dug up, and Santa Fe, where it was being sold.  It’s interesting to note that the Criteses seem to be cooperating to some degree with authorities after the suicide of their friend, which is reminiscent of the way Dr. James Redd’s wife and daughter negotiated a plea deal after his suicide.

Strater Hotel, Durango, Colorado

Meanwhile, antiquities dealers in Santa Fe seem to be pretty upset by all this.  It’s hard to blame them.  So far only a few dealers have been targeted by the investigation, but since the details of what exactly the feds are looking for are by no means clear, a much wider set of players in the market for antiquities could be at risk.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Durango, Colorado

It’ll be interesting to see how this all turns out.  I have a feeling things are going to get a lot more complicated.

Jerky Safari Booth, Durango, Colorado