Secure Treasures, Ensure Peace

The FBI & HSI's Fight Against Illicit Trafficking of Art and Heritage

May 23, 2024
6 PM

As the illicit trafficking of art and cultural heritage, both domestically and internationally, continues to grow and poses a threat to the preservation of heritage and culture, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agencies have taken an active role to safeguard humanity's heritage. In this presentation, a special agent from the FBI and a senior advisor from HSI will come together to discuss the complexities of this national and international crime and its evolvement and how it potentially endangers the preservation of cultural heritage, national security, and world peace. Additionally, the talk supports academic interests in diverse fields such as heritage and museum science, anthropology, history, international relations, and law.

About the speakers:

Special Agent Randolph “Randy” J. Deaton IV has been employed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since November 1998. He is a member of the FBI's National Art Crime Team and is the Senior Resident Agent of the FBI New Orleans Field Office's Alexandria Resident Agency in Alexandria, Louisiana.  His other field assignments have included the FBI's New York Office and FBI Headquarters in Washington D.C. Over his career, Special Agent Deaton has conducted numerous successful investigations involving white-collar crime, fraud, public corruption, property crime, violent crime, and national security matters. Special Agent Deaton's collateral duties with the FBI have included Airport Liaison Agent, Military Liaison Agent, Adjunct Faculty Program member, firearms instructor, certified police instructor, Special Agent Assessor, and certified interview and interrogation instructor for local law enforcement. In 2016, Special Agent Deaton received the honor of being selected as a member of the FBI's Art Crime Team. As an Art Crime Team member, he conducts investigations related to art, antiques, antiquities, and other cultural property.  From August 2021 to February 2023, Special Agent Deaton was the Program Manager and Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI's Art Crime Program and Art Crime Team.  He also served as the FBI's official representative to the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee and Cultural Antiquities Task Force and participated in other U.S. interagency working groups involved in the investigation and preservation of cultural heritage. Special Agent Deaton is a 1993 graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Business Analysis/Computer Science. Before the FBI, Special Agent Deaton was employed for several years as a Computer Programmer and Analyst for a large insurance company.

Mary E. Cook has been Senior Advisor for the Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities (CPAA) Program within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) since 2016, where she oversees HSI's development and delivery of cultural property training and education.  HSI has partnered with the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center and the Smithsonian Institution to train hundreds of law enforcement personnel from HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, and prosecutors in the mitigation of cultural property trafficking.  The Program has led trainings and workshops around the globe and sent HSI experts to train with foreign partners in various countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, and South and Central America.   These efforts support Ms. Cook's goal of developing key relationships and bolstering international capabilities to detect and mitigate the transnational trafficking of cultural property.  Prior to joining the CPAA Program, Ms. Cook was the Director for Land Border Screening and Identification in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Policy. She has worked within DHS for almost 20 years, in both operational and Headquarters entities.

For questions about this event, please email laura.ray@ttu.edu.

 

Did you know that the FBI Art Crime Team plays a crucial role in investigating and recovering stolen cultural artifacts and artworks?

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Did you know that Homeland Security Investigations' Cultural Property, Arts, and Antiquities (CPAA) unit works like modern-day treasure hunters, safeguarding priceless artifacts and artworks from illegal trafficking?

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This talk is a continuation of the lecture we brought you in April 2023, Rebuilding of the Monuments Men and Women for the 21st Century. This presentation was given by Colonel Andrew Scott DeJesse who is the senior Department of Defense Heritage and Preservation Officer.

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