Toledo Museum Sued for Non-Payment into Protective Services Officers’ Pension Fund
The Toledo Museum of Art faces another legal challenge this year. A lawsuit has been filed in federal court against the museum to recover employer contributions owed to a pension fund.
The plaintiff in the case of Central States Funds v. Toledo Museum of Art (12-cv-2780) says that an audit revealed that the museum failed to make contributions to an employee benefit plan on behalf of its protective services officers (PSO). The complaint adds that the museum subcontracted PSO work in violation of its collective bargaining agreement.
The lawsuit will be heard in the United States District Court of Illinois, Northern District.
This case comes on the heels of a successful effort by federal prosecutors to have the Toledo Museum return an Etruscan kalpis to Italy, smuggled out of that country after being illegally unearthed. The repatriation agreement of June 2012 was initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio. The museum purchased the pot in 1982 from art dealers Gianfranco and Ursula Becchina. Convicted antiquities trafficker Giacomo Medici reportedly sold it to the Becchinas.
This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com