The United States Customs Service yesterday returned to the Russian Orthodox Church a cache of 34 valuable icons that had been smuggled out of Russia and were seized by customs agents just as they were about to be sold by a Utah bookseller in 1993.
The collection of icons, most from the 19th century, is valued at more than $3 million and is the largest ever seized in the United States, according to the Customs Service. With the consent of the Russian government, they were repatriated to St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral at 15 East 97th Street, a church belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate.
"One can't put a price tag on treasures of such religious and cultural significance," said John C. Varrone, the assistant commissioner of the Customs Service.
The cathedral's bishop, Mercurius of Zaraisk, formally accepted the icons at a ceremony yesterday.
"We as a church rejoice in the work of U.S. customs agents," he said. "They have not only recovered sacred church artifacts, but they have diligently sought their owners for lawful return."
Paul Browne, senior adviser to the customs investigation unit, said the icons were seized in 1993 from Marc S. Garrison, a bookshop owner in Salt Lake City.
Mr. Garrison had lent the icons to an art gallery to advertise their auction; the auction was to benefit a charity for needy Russian Mormons.
But several people became suspicious when they noticed that the name of the charity closely paralleled the name of a legitimate organization sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mr. Browne said. When Mr. Garrison's charity was found to be bogus, the case was investigated further and the Customs Service discovered that Mr. Garrison had never declared any icons to customs authorities upon returning from Russia to the United States in the early 1990's.
According to an affidavit later filed in a civil case, Donald A. Daufenbach, a special customs agent, asked an employee at the art gallery, the Framework Gallery in Orem, Utah, how the icons on display had been taken out of Russia.
"The employee rolled her eyes, and said, `You know, I have been meaning to ask about that,' " the affidavit said. The icons were seized shortly afterward.
The export of religious icons, traditional paintings on wood that are revered by Orthodox believers, is strictly controlled in Russia. But smuggling has endured, particularly during the chaotic period that followed the dismantling of the Communist system.
Mr. Garrison told investigators and clients that he had traveled to Russia on several occasions to sell medical supplies. But his accounts of acquiring the icons in Russia varied greatly. "He had intimated that he had connections with Russian organized crime, but we never had a chance to further that information," Mr. Browne said.
No criminal charges were brought against Mr. Garrison but a civil forfeiture case was filed by the United States attorney's office in Salt Lake City. Mr. Garrison never contested the charges, Mr. Browne said.
In 1999, Judge Bruce S. Jenkins of Federal District Court in Salt Lake City issued a default judgment and order of forfeiture, releasing the icons to United States Customs.
The origins of the icons are not known, although some are thought to have come from churches in St. Petersburg and to have later been transferred to the monastery of Vlam, in northern Russia, where they were kept during the Soviet era, said Joseph Lawliss, a lay adviser to Bishop Mercurius.
Some of the icons apparently came from private homes, Mr. Lawliss said. Most date back to the 19th century, including an unusual icon showing Christ surrounded by children. There were a few earlier icons, including one of the Archangel Michael, which dates to the mid- 18th century, Mr. Lawliss said.
"For the time being, they will be kept at St. Nicholas," he said, "where they will be restored by masters coming from Moscow and St. Petersburg. As we can determine who were the original owners, we will have them returned."