Former curator's letter blasts back at Getty officials

The former J. Paul Getty Museum curator on trial in Italy for allegedly dealing in stolen or illegally obtained antiquities has shot back at her former employer.

According to a report Friday in the Los Angeles Times, Marion True has penned a letter to the J. Paul Getty Trust in which shecriticizes her former employer for allowing her to take the fall.

True and art dealer Robert Hecht are on trial in Rome. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

In the letter obtained by the Times and dated Dec. 18, True accuses Getty officials of letting her "carry the burden" for the disputed acquisitions. She also criticizes the institution's decision to return many items to Italian and Greek officials without defending her innocence.

The museum's "calculated silence ... has been acknowledged universally, especially in the archeological countries, as a tacit acceptance of my guilt," True wrote in the two-page missive.

This year, the Getty was among several U.S. art and cultural institutions that returned contested pieces to Italy and Greece, most recently, a golden funerary wreath to the latter country.

The Greek culture minister said at the time that the return of the wreath would not stop the criminal investigation into its original removal.

"Once again, you have chosen to announce the return of objects that are directly related to criminal charges filed against me by a foreign government," True wrote about the return.

True served as the museum's curator of antiquities from 1986 to 2005 andwas responsible for advising the museum on items it should buy from dealers and at auction.

"We certainly are hopeful that Marion will be exonerated, and based on the evidence we've seen, we believe she should be cleared of the charges she is facing," Getty spokesman Ron Hartwig said in a statement Friday.

"It is tragic that Marion has been singled out given her efforts at trying to reduce the illegal trade of antiquities."

The museum is paying for True's defence in Italy and Greece, which has also brought criminal charges against her.

The letter was "intended to be a private document," said Harry Stang, True's Los Angeles attorney. "It was unfortunate it was released to a media outlet."