SAVE OUR HISTORY: FBI STINGS: RECOVERING STOLEN HISTORY

SAVE OUR HISTORY: FBI STINGS: RECOVERING STOLEN HISTORY

World Premiere on The History Channel(R) Saturday, December 10 at 8pm ET/PT

NEW YORK, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A special from The History Channel airing in December explores the booming business of art and historical artifacts crimes - and what's being done to recover these items.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/HISTORYLOGO )

Combining archival material, interviews with law enforcement officials, criminals, and historians, and subtle re-enactments SAVE OUR HISTORY looks at three dramatic cases lead by FBI Special Agent Bob Wittman. As the agency's only full-time undercover art crimes investigator, and based in the Philadelphia field office, Wittman has successfully recovered over 150 million dollars worth of stolen historic and cultural objects. The one hour special makes its world premiere Saturday, December 10 at 8 pm ET/PT on The History Channel.

Highlights of FBI STINGS: RECOVERING STOLEN HISTORY include:

-- THE CASE OF THE PERUVIAN BACKFLAP - On the Northwest coast of Peru in
1987 looters raided a royal tomb of a warrior priest who lived 2000
years ago. Their most remarkable find was a three pound piece of
ceremonial armor made of pure gold.

-- THE CASE OF THE CIVIL WAR BATTLE FLAG - A Civil War flag carried into
battle by a regiment of the Corps d'Afrique, one of the first African
American fighting units in the Union Army, was stolen from the United
States Army sometime in the 1970s or 1980s. No one knew it was
missing until 1998 when it was offered for sale on the Internet.

-- THE CASE OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA - Over the course of
10 years more than 200 items from the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania were stolen. This multi-million dollar theft was an
inside job that had gone unnoticed for a decade until the FBI stepped
in. The recovery of these items was the largest ever of stolen
American cultural artifacts.

SAVE OUR HISTORY: FBI STINGS: RECOVERING STOLEN HISTORY features interviews with:

Clark Erickson, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania Museum)
Roger Atwood (Author, Stealing History)
Walter Alva, Ph.D. (Director, Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum)
Pat Meehan (U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of PA)
Orlando Mendez (Convicted smuggler who tried to sell Peruvian Backflap to
FBI)
Jerri Williams (FBI Spokesperson, Philadelphia Field Office)
Jack Eckenrode (FBI Special-Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Field Office)
Bob Goldman (Asst. U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of PA)
George Csizmazia (Convicted smuggler who bought stolen items from
Historical Society of Philadelphia)
Kristen Froehlich (Former Collections Manager, Historical Society of
Philadelphia)
Kevin Hoffman (Owner, Civil War Preservations)
Les Jensen (Curator, West Point Museum)
James Hollandsworth Ph.D. (Author, The Louisiana Native Guards)
Hari Jones (Curator, African American Civil War Museum)
John David Smith (Historian, University of North Carolina, Charlotte)
Lynne Richardson (FBI Art Theft Program Mgr.)

SAVE OUR HISTORY: FBI STINGS: RECOVERING STOLEN HISTORY is produced for The History Channel by HTV Productions. Executive Producers for The History Channel are Susan Werbe and Libby O'Connell Ph.D. Executive Producer is Virginia Kuppek. Series Producer is Andrew Ames.

SAVE OUR HISTORY is a series of quarterly specials on The History Channel that brings to life key moments from America's past, and explores the tools and technologies being used to preserve them. From priceless artifacts to presidential hideaways to moon rockets, SAVE OUR HISTORY salvages the past for the future.

Teachers, students and families will find educational support materials for SAVE OUR HISTORY: FBI STINGS: RECOVERING STOLEN HISTORY and other resources at http://www.saveourhistory.com/.

Now reaching more than 88 million Nielsen subscribers, The History Channel(R), "Where the Past Comes Alive(R)," brings history to life in a powerful manner and provides an inviting place where people experience history personally and connect their own lives to the great lives and events of the past. In 2004, The History Channel earned five News and Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and previously received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's "Save Our History(R)" campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel web site is located at http://www.historychannel.com/.

NOTES TO EDITORS: Press Only: For more information and photography
please visit us on the web at http://www.historychannelpress.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/HISTORYLOGO
Source: The History Channel

CONTACT: Kathie Gordon +1-212-210-1320, kathie.gordon@aetn.com, or Katie
Bradshaw, +1-212-210-9108, katie.bradshaw@aetn.com, both for The History
Channel

Web site: http://www.history.com/
http://www.saveourhistory.com/

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