MacLean, a leading contributor to the College, donated $15 million in 2004 to support the construction of the MacLean Engineering Sciences Center at the Thayer School. He has received numerous awards from Dartmouth and serves on the boards of several prominent organizations, including the Art Institute of Chicago. Calls to his office were not returned.
MacLean is the chief executive officer of Illinois-based industrial parts manufacturer MacLean-Fogg.
Several maps from MacLean's collection are hanging in the Thayer School, according to Thayer staff. The maps are not of Asian origin.
The Dartmouth has been unable to confirm what, if any, action the College plans to take in response to the federal investigation.
Federal authorities from Immigration, Customs and Enforcement filed the affidavit in anticipation of raids conducted last week on museums in Los Angeles and Chicago that may have artwork that came from protected sites in East Asia and South America.
MacLean's private museum in Libertyville, Ill., was among the properties named in the affidavit.
The affidavit alleges that MacLean violated the National Stolen Property Act by knowingly possessing goods imported from culturally protected archaeological sites, principally in Cambodia and Thailand, and for using false statements to allow for the importation.
Robert Olson, a Cerritos, Calif., art gallery owner, allegedly smuggled the artwork into the United States and sold it to MacLean. While Olson could not be reached by press time, he denied any wrongdoing in an interview published by The Los Angeles Times.
Katherine Hart, curator of academic programming at the Hood Museum of Art, said part of MacLean's collection was on a traveling tour and was shown most recently at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The tour included antiquities from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and other countries in the region.
"When we got word about the situation in southern California, we decided it would be better for us to cancel the show given the debate over the southeast Asian antiquities," she said.
The investigation began in April 2003, according to the affidavit, when an undercover federal agent met with Olson and began negotiations for the illegal transfer of "Cambodian Khmer archaeological resources."
Through Olson, the undercover agent met with MacLean and the director of MacLean's private museum. The affidivit includes an alleged statement by MacLean that demonstrates he understood his actions were illegal.
"...I think it's...is this...illegal by our Customs to...to bring in uh, Khmer," the affidavit quotes MacLean saying in reference to the importation of Cambodian Khmer artifacts.
The affidavit does not specifically name the individuals targeted in the investigation, referring to them as "Individual A" and "Individual B."
Municipal records indicate that MacLean is the owner of the private museum at the address listed in the affidavit. Both MacLean and Olson have also been identified as the subjects of the investigation by The Los Angeles Times.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago and Los Angeles would not comment on the investigation. The Dartmouth has been unable to confirm whether MacLean will be charged.
