A New Mexico antiques dealer with a checkered past says a $75,000 reward for the return of a stolen Pueblo kachina is real.

Claudio Ortega of Santa Fe said an anonymous tribe is fronting the money, no questions asked. The item is described as a Zuni kachina but the Zuni Tribe says it is not involved.

State officials say the offer may be illegal because the item was in the possession of the Millicent Rogers Museum when it was stolen last month. The tribe involved cannot reclaim it, they say.

Ortega was an alleged suspect in art thefts in Santa Fe and was once charged with drug trafficking but those charges were dropped.

Get the Story:
Antiques Dealer: $75,000 Reward Is Real for Zuni Kachina (The Albuquerque Journal 1/28)

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