Thursday, September 9, 2004
By Vicki Viotti
The Honolulu Advertiser
A California man has been charged with violating federal law by offering to
sell a 200-year-old Hawaiian skull on eBay.
Hawai'i advocates for the protection of burial sites said they're hopeful
the case can be closed quickly so the skull can be returned for reburial on
Maui.
Jerry David Hasson, a 55-year-old Huntington Beach resident, was charged
yesterday by the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles with violating the
federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act. In February, he attempted
to sell the skull, advertising it on eBay as a "200-year-old warrior" taken
from the Ka'anapali area in 1969, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Hasson did not respond to attempts by The Advertiser to reach him by phone
and e-mail.
Hasson was not arrested and will receive a summons to appear in court in
about three weeks, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's
office. The maximum punishment if convicted is five years in federal prison
and a fine of $250,000.
Hasson is not yet represented by an attorney, Mrozek said.
According to an affidavit filed by federal agent John Fryar, the skull was
examined by an anthropologist whose expertise is in identifying human
remains. That expert identified the skull to be that of a woman and
consistent in appearance with other specimens known to be more than 200
years old. (The gender of the skull means it could not have belonged to a
Hawaiian warrior.)
Fryar is an investigator for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs in
Albuquerque, N.M., where the skull is being kept in an evidence room pending
court hearings. Fryar was unavailable for comment yesterday.
However, Mrozek said the overwhelming majority of such cases are settled
before trial.
Mrozek added that even if the case is settled, the precise procedure for
returning the remains for reburial is still unclear. However, the parties to
be involved in the discussion will include state officials as well as Hui
Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, a nonprofit organization active in the
protection of native burials here.
Hui Malama assisted in investigating the case, Mrozek said.
Eddie Halealoha Ayau, a member of Hui Malama, said Fryar has consulted with
him about how the remains should be stored appropriately. Fryar was told
that the skull should be kept away from light and enclosed in dark cloth.
Ayau confirmed that he spoke with Hasson after eBay officials were alerted
to the auction and removed it from the Web site. Ayau said he warned Hasson
that the sale is a federal offense and tried to persuade him to return the
skull to Hawai'i.
"He said this was his, he found it," Ayau said. "I told him I disagreed, you
can't own human remains. ... I said, 'The right thing to do is return it.
This is somebody's grandparent, somebody's child.' He said he'd think about
it."
According to the affidavit, Fryar was assigned to the case and contacted
Hasson by e-mail asking about the availability of the skull. Hasson then
provided his phone number for further negotiations, the affidavit said.
He later told Fryar by phone that his attorney had advised him to offer the
skull as a "gift" to accompany a separate purchase, according to the
affidavit.
"Specifically, if someone offered more than $2,000 for one of his other
auction items, Hasson would donate the skull to that buyer as a 'gift,' "
Fryar said in the affidavit.
Working through an intermediary, Fryar then purchased a collector's edition
comic book "fanzine" for $2,500 and provided a New Mexico address for
sending the skull via Federal Express. The skull, enclosed in cardboard
boxes, arrived Feb. 18, Fryar said. A "certificate of authenticity" arrived
by mail 10 days later, he said.
Fryar said in the affidavit that he sent the skull to the University of
Hawai'i, where it was examined by anthropologist Michael Pietrusewsky.
Pietrusewsky confirmed the general age of the skull but concluded that it
was the skull of a female, about 50 years old at the time of death.
According to the affidavit, Hasson said he found the skull while employed as
a lifeguard at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, where he said the cast and crew
of the movie "The Hawaiians" stayed during filming.
Hasson said he had a small part in the film and met Frazier Heston, the son
of actor Charleton Heston, according to the affidavit. He said the younger
Heston accompanied him when he visited the burial site one night, but Heston
later told investigators that he doesn't know Hasson, according to the
affidavit.
Fryar said when he asked whether there were artifacts with the skull, Hasson
told him "right next to this skeleton, there were some warrior artifacts ...
like hatchets and stuff like that, but I was afraid to take those things. I
left those in the sand. ... All I know is, I slowly uncovered the entire
skeleton," according to the affidavit.
"I actually found some part of a leg first and as I would dig deeper and
deeper, I would uncover the thigh and then the pelvic bone and ultimately
the ribs, and eventually I found the skull."