In an effort to avoid a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison, a Florida man has relinquished any claim to a $1 million Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton he smuggled out of Mongolia.
Eric Prokopi falsely labeled the 70 million year old bones as reptile bones from Great Britain, then assembled the fossils in Dallas before selling the completed skeleton at auction for $1.05 million.
The sale was put on hold while the government investigated.
As part of the deal for leniency, Prokopi must also surrender a Chinese flying dinosaur skeleton, the skeleton of a Saurolophus, and two Oviraptor skeletons. In addition, authorities found another mostly completed Tyrannosaurus skeleton at Prokopi's home in Florida, and one more T-Rex may be in England.
When Prokopi was first caught in June of last year, Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia said, "We are one step closer to bringing this rare Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton back home to the people of Mongolia. Today we send a message to looters all over the world: We will not turn a blind eye to the marketplace of looted fossils."
After today's agreement, United States Attorney Preet Bharara said, "Fossils and ancient skeletal remains are part of the fabric of a country's natural history and cultural heritage, and black marketers like Prokopi who illegally export and sell these wonders, steal a slice of that history. We are pleased that we can now begin the process of returning these prehistoric fossils to their countries of origin."
As for Prokopi, he thinks authorities are making too big a deal of the whole situation. "It was loose, mostly broken bones and rocks with embedded bones," he said. "It was not what you see today, a virtually complete, mounted skeleton."
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