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Judge to decide who owns rock from moon
©Associated Press MIAMI -- A well-traveled moon rock worth up to $5-million was the star in a Monday trial to determine its ownership. The fingertip-sized piece of lunar material was given to the Honduran government by U.S. officials. Broward County businessman Alan Rosen insists he got the ancient rock legally from a retired Honduran colonel. But the Justice Department says it was stolen and should be forfeited to the federal government. Honduras, which is not part of the court case, wants the rock back. The Apollo 17 crew dug up the rock on the last manned moon mission and President Nixon gave it to Honduras in 1972. Federal agents seized it from Rosen more than four years ago. "No one even knew it was missing until November 1998," Rosen's attorney Peter Herrick said. "What happened for 25 years?" U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan must decide whether the rock was stolen to determine what to do with it. He heard the trial in two hours Monday and promised to rule in two to three weeks. "It certainly is an interesting case and certainly not the run-of-the-mill forfeiture case," Jordan said as the trial ended. Rosen testified Monday that one of the country's dictators gave the rock to the Honduran colonel as a gift, and he has a contract with the colonel to sell it. Rosen, who did business in Honduras for years, agreed to pay $50,000 and offered a contract in Spanish as proof of his legal claim. He testified that he has already paid $20,000 cash and handed over a refrigerated truck worth about $15,000. A Web site to promote the sale of the rock went online in 1996. "Since I never believed there was a reason to hide it, I posted it," Rosen said. He said he turned down an offer of $500,000 plus a percentage of sales from a Swiss watchmaker that already had used meteorites on its watch faces. "I was not interested at the time," Rosen said. "I believed it was well worth $5-million." He said he based that on a report that a moon rock given to the government of Nicaragua sold for $5-million to $10-million. The rock was seized during sales negotiations by a Customs Service agent posing as a bank security guard. No one ever told U.S. customs agents about the rock when it was brought into the United States, a point stressed by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Swain as evidence that it was stolen. NASA's position is that the only moon mission memorabilia -- from the 842 pounds of excavated moon rock to space suit patches -- that can be sold legally must have its backing or paperwork to prove its ownership trail. Paperwork on the Honduran rock is missing between the U.S. gift to Honduras and Rosen's sales contract. Keith Rosenn, a University of Miami law professor recruited by the judge as a consultant on Honduran law, concluded that Rosen's rock and accompanying 10-by-14-inch black maple plaque are stolen property and their return trip to the United States was illegal. Rosen's attorney, Herrick, suggested a compromise. He said NASA could send a new rock to Honduras and split the value of the seized one with Rosen. There was no reaction from the government to that. "I'm still living without my rock," Rosen said leaving court.
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