WikiLeaks Cables Cited in Lawsuit Over $500-Million Sunken Treasure

Source: Wired

A deep-sea treasure-hunting company in Florida says that diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks have exposed the U.S. government’s backdoor interference in a lawsuit over $500 million in silver and gold coins recovered from a Spanish galleon.

According to Odyssey Marine Exploration, based in Florida, the U.S. State Department cables show that the U.S. ambassador to Spain made a quid pro quo deal to assist that country in its battle with Odyssey for the treasure.

In exchange for the U.S. siding with Spain in the lawsuit, Odyssey says, Spain was asked for assistance in returning a $20-million Pissarro painting to a U.S. family that says it was unfairly obtained by the Nazis in Germany.

Claude Cassirer is embroiled in a lawsuit with Spain over possession of the painting, claiming that in 1939 the Nazis forced his Jewish grandmother to sell it for about $360 in exchange for an exit visa to escape Germany. The painting is currently hanging in Spain’s Thyssen museum.

Read more: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/01/wikileaks-sunken-treasure/

More here.

Thanks for the thread, IScreamSundays.

the material at the lowest level of classification. Imagine what crap gets stamped Top Secret.

ORCON is where the serious dirt is at.

His name should be put out there to become familiar so we can keep a watch on him.