August 3, 2012 - Auction Central News

New $100M Medal of Honor Museum planned in S.C.

Medals of Honor awarded by three branches of the U.S. military, left to right: the Army, Coast Guard/Navy/Marine Corps; and Air Force.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) – Standing on the hanger deck of the World War II aircraft carrier Yorktown, officials with the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum announced plans this week for a $100 million Medal of Honor Museum honouring the recipients of America’s highest award for valor.

The museum on high ground on Charleston Harbor would replace a smaller one aboard the carrier and make Patriots Point a national destination, said Ray Chandler, the chairman of the Patriots Point Development Authority.

The authority has signed a letter of understanding with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society to build a museum “honoring the highest heroes of this country,” he said.

No money from Patriots Point will be used. Instead, a national foundation will be created to lease the property, raise funds and build the museum. There’s no specific timetable for completion, said Patriots Point spokeswoman Ashley Smith.

But retired Maj. Gen. James Livingston, a South Carolina recipient of the medal, wants to move quickly.

“This is the final opportunity to establish a lasting legacy for the Medal of Honor while we still have recipients alive from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the war on terror,” he said.

Livingston, who is on the organizing committee for the foundation, said of the 3,456 recipients of the honour, only 81 are still living. Their average age is 73.

He said it is fitting Charleston be the location for the new museum. The Medal of Honor was established during the Civil War, which began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter on Charleston Harbor.

A master plan for the museum released Wednesday envisions, among other attractions, a uniform collection, a large format theater with multiple video screens where visitors can learn about sacrifices for freedom, a Great Hall honoring the medal recipients and an interactive media gallery where visitors can hear each recipient’s story.

Eventually, a hotel with a conference center is planned for the site.

Five years ago, a smaller $1.5 million Medal of Honor Museum was opened aboard the Yorktown.

In it, visitors can see a multimedia exhibit on the meaning of freedom, see the medal itself and then enter the so-called Tunnel of Combat. As visitors pass, they trip sensors that trigger sounds on screens on either side, providing a sense of the chaos of battle.

Chandler also said Patriots Point is now prepared to return to South Carolina lawmakers with a plan for repaying $9 million it borrowed earlier for repairs to the World War II destroyer Laffey, which was returned to its berth at the museum earlier this year.

Chandler said two major studies will be completed next year outlining the long-term restoration and maintenance needs for the Yorktown. In the meantime, he said, Patriots Point has committed $2 million over the next five years to upgrade the museum displays on the carrier.

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Mastro Auctions CEO pleads not guilty to fraud

CHICAGO (AP) – A memorabilia company executive accused of improperly hiking baseball card auction prices and selling hair advertised as belonging to Elvis Presley even though its authenticity was in doubt has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

William Mastro on Tuesday entered a not guilty plea to mail fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert in Chicago. Defense attorney Michael Monico says the 59-year-old Mastro of Palos Park was released on his own recognizance.

Mastro Auctions, which folded in 2009, billed itself as the world’s leading sports and Americana auction house. It is also accused of misleading bidders into thinking demand for an item was greater than it really was.

Former executives Doug Allen of Crete and Mark Theotikos of Addison face multiple counts of fraud.

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German art smuggling suspect freed on bail in China

BERLIN (AFP) – A suspected German art smuggler is free on bail after more than four months in a Beijing jail on tax evasion charges, Germany’s foreign ministry said Friday in a case that has strained ties.

Chinese police took Nils Jennrich into custody on March 29 and formally detained him on May 7 for allegedly under-reporting the value of imported art to dodge 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in taxes.

A Chinese colleague was also detained at the time.

“The foreign ministry can confirm that the German citizen in question has been released on bail. The investigation continues,” a ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

“The German embassy in Beijing provided consular assistance and will continue to follow the case closely.”

Chinese investigators have until December to present charges to prosecutors who will then have three months to determine whether to pursue the case.

Jennrich had initially been denied bail.

A document from customs police said Jennrich was “accused of violating various anti-smuggling provisions of the laws and regulations,” his lawyer Nancy Murphy told AFP last month.

The sentence for evading more than 500,000 yuan in duties ranges from 10 years to life, though courts may issue a lighter punishment.

Jennrich worked in Beijing as general manager for Hong Kong-based Integrated Fine Arts Solutions.

Other companies and collectors have recently faced questioning about evading import taxes, suggesting a broader crackdown, industry insiders say.

The German government has slammed Chinese handling of the case, with Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger calling Jennrich’s detention conditions “unacceptable” and “not in accordance with international minimum standards”.

She called in an newspaper interview last month for Jennrich to be released on bail or “at least held under house arrest.”

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Woman held in Civil War monument attack to be evaluated

Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, 1848-1907). United States National Park Service photograph.

BOSTON (AP) – A woman accused of throwing yellow paint on a memorial depicting the famed 54th Massachusetts Civil War regiment, saying it was an “improper depiction of history,” has been sent for a mental health evaluation.

Rosemine Occean, of Quincy, was charged Wednesday with vandalizing a historic marker and malicious destruction of property. She pleaded not guilty in Boston Municipal Court.

Prosecutors recommended Occean be held on $5,000 bail. Judge Mark Hart Summerville ordered her to undergo a 20-day evaluation with bail of $3,000 when she returns to court on Aug. 21.

The monument, located across from the Massachusetts Statehouse, depicts the free black men who formed the regiment, which was led by Robert Gould Shaw, the son of a white abolitionist family.

Police said they responded to a report Tuesday afternoon of a person who had thrown paint on the memorial and spoke with park rangers who witnessed the incident.

Police said the rangers directed them to Occean, who was sitting nearby with yellow paint on her face, clothing and hands that matched the fresh paint stains on the lower surface of the memorial.

Police said Occean, 38, said the sculpture was an “improper depiction of history.” Several tourists also were sprayed with paint.

Police said they recovered a quart of yellow paint, a can of yellow spray paint, a set of keys with yellow paint on them and a cellphone with yellow paint on it, all belonging to Occean. Her car was seized as evidence.

The 54th Massachusetts was made famous by its 1863 attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. The regiment was also featured in the 1989 movie “Glory.”

Created by famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the monument is on Boston’s Freedom Trail and is one of the most visited in the city.

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