SAN FRANCISCO—The Italian government has been the beneficiary of an international Federal investigation into the theft of a number of near-priceless relics.
A total of 19 treasures have been returned to the Italian government, after federal agents located the stolen goods in a number of United States cities.
Two of the relics were antique books that were found in the San Francisco area. The books, named “Stirpium Historiae” and “Rariorm Plantarum Historia Anno 1601,” were taken from the Italian Historical National Library of Agriculture.
When a United States-based buyer purchased the stolen books, he was met by federal agents and voluntarily surrendered the national treasures into their custody.
The recovery of the treasures was the result of 11 different investigations carried out by the United States Department of Homeland Security with assistance from United States Customs and Border Protection.
In light of the recent robery of historic gold nuggets from the Wells Fargo Museum, any citizens with information about stolen cultural antiquities are encouraged to call Homeland Security’s toll-free tip line at (866) DHS-2-ICE.
