ARPA/NAGPRA/Wildlife Conviction

In early 2003, a joint investigation was begun by the NPS, FBI, BIA, BATF, USFWS and Collville Confederated Tribes into the purported trafficking and possession of illegal artifacts and wildlife by an individual in eastern Washington. This covert investigation revealed that Kenneth Milette, 68, of Newport, Washington, possessed archaeological resources taken from Glacier National Park, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Nez Perce Indian Reservations. Additionally, Milette possessed prehistoric Native American human remains from at least one adult and several children and a variety of prohibited wildlife, including a fully mounted golden eagle. In the fall of 2003, Milette agreed to sell his entire collection to an undercover NPS agent for $750,000. This collection included nearly 1,500 artifacts from the federal and Indian lands listed above. Additionally, Milette agreed to sell items that would violate NAGPRA, the Lacey Act, the Eagle Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). A buy/bust operation followed by the service of search warrants was completed in November 2003. The BIA archaeologist working on the case subsequently wrote a damage assessment report that valued the federal and tribal archaeological resources at $58,500. Milette was indicted by a grand jury in September 2008 on four felonies (two ARPA counts and one count each for MBTA and Lacey Act violations) and two misdemeanors (NAGPRA and Eagle Act).  In October 2008, Milette pled guilty to two felony ARPA counts, a NAGPRA count and a felony MBTA count. He was sentenced on December 17th to three years of probation and six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, ordered to pay over $17,000 in restitution and other costs, and directed to pay for three anti-looting ads in regional newspapers. The artifacts and human remains will be returned/repatriated to their appropriate parks and tribes.