Fox News Engineer Charged with Smuggling

Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA) ^ | 4-23-03 | Curt Anderson

[cgk]

Fox News Engineer Charged With Smuggling

CURT ANDERSON

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -A television news engineer faces smuggling charges after attempting to bring into the United States 12 stolen Iraqi paintings, monetary bonds and other items, federal officials said Wednesday.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., charges that Benjamin James Johnson, 27, tried to bring the paintings into this country last Thursday. They were contained in a large cardboard box that was examined by Customs agents at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint says that Johnson, who accompanied U.S. troops in Baghdad, gathered up the paintings at a palace that belonged to Uday Hussein, one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's sons. The paintings depict Saddam and Uday.

Johnson, who initially told Customs officials he was given the paintings by Iraqi citizens, said he had planned to keep them "for decoration" and to provide one to his employer, the affidavit says. It is U.S. policy that all such items belong to the Iraqi people.

Johnson works as an engineer for the Fox cable news network.

Executives at Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case was one of several to be detailed later Wednesday by Customs officials, who have seized other Iraqi artworks, weapons and other materials people have tried to smuggle into this country.

Museums, businesses, government offices and homes were widely looted in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam's regime. Among the items stolen were thousands of artworks and other antiquities, some thousands of years old, from Iraq's vast collections of items from Assyrian, Mesopotamian, Sumerian and other cultures.

An examination of Johnson's luggage also turned up 40 Iraqi Monetary Bonds and a visitor's badge from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait. Johnson, who lives in Alexandria, Va., has not been arrested but is to appear befeore a federal magistrate next Tuesday.

[cgk]

Couldn't find this posted. There's a bad apple in every bunch, it seems.

[_Jim]

I wonder if he as one of 'the looters'?

[battlegearboat]

Fox in the hen house alert.

[mgc1122]

Seems to me the looting was an organized effort ... reckon they taught them how to do it in Journalism school? LOL!

[Choose Ye This Day]

What a maroon. Just what FNC needs to enhance its credibility image. How did he think he was going to get this past customs in this post-9/11 epoch?

[sarasota]

I can't believe anyone (except maybe Scott Petersen) would try to get that stuff through US customs.

[mabelkitty]

I bet he spills on who the buyer really was.

[RAT Patrol]

I bet it was one of Fox's liberal employees.

[mabelkitty]

I wasn't aware that had a credibility problem. Please expound on that.

[cgk]

I was pretty surprised also that anyone would try to get PAINTINGS in through customs. They're not that easy to hide I would assume.

[katze]

Your title should have read "former Fox engr". ;-)

[kjam22]

At least he didn't say that he was just transporting it for Geraldo...

[ConfusedAndLovingIt]

I bet it was one of Fox's liberal employees.

Unfortunately, just because someone is conservative doesn't make them immune from being dishonest.

[cgk]

Yeah, right? :) LOL, never thought about that. But it would probably be true, in a matter of time.

[Always Right]

Is that a painting in your pocket or are you just happy to see me....

[Flyer]

They were contained in a large cardboard box

Dude, you're supposed to ship it back with the equipment then make friend$ with the guy in receiving.

[RAT Patrol]

Oh I know. You're right. I was just playing around.

[mr.pink]

Dude, you're supposed to ship it back with the equipment then make friend$ with the guy in receiving.

Yup, remove the paintings from the stretchers, roll them up, place in tube, and ship along with the equipment.

Even better ways if one has a week or so to prep properly.

[Martin Tell]

The paintings depict Saddam and Uday.

Without knowing all the facts, looks like maybe this guy was trying to bring in "war souveniers." You now, we all saw all the Saddam paintings everywhere in Iraq. Bring them home as a statement of our victory. On the other hand, maybe he was just a thief hoping to make a few bucks.

When my dad came home from Germany in teh summer of '45 it was with two big Nazi flags, binoculars and camera (top of the line Zeiss), and a lugar. He said he "liberated" the stuff. No one accused him of looting. Maybe times are different now, and my dad was a soldier, not working for FNC.

[SwinneySwitch]

One or two paintings, maybe, but 12! and 40 monetary bonds! We're not talking just souvenirs here! Apparently Benjamin didn't understand the Engineer's Code of Ethics!