SOMETIMES AN APOLOGY ISN'T ENOUGH

Oakland Archaeologist Still Reeling From Raid

Finally, after a three-year wait, Oakland archaeologist Allen Pastron has
received the apology the U.S. Department of Justice owed him.

Pastron, 51, is one of at least three men who were investigated by the
Bureau of Land Management after they came under suspicion of stealing
Native American artifacts from federal lands.

Now it appears that the only crime the men committed was knowing Patrick
Hallinan, a San Francisco defense attorney who was tried and acquitted of
helping a client smuggle marijuana and conceal profits from illegal drug
sales.

``That was part of the government's attempt to get me, and it ended up
lousing up the lives of a lot of good people,'' Hallinan said yesterday.

Pastron, Steve Allely of Sisters, Ore., and Carl ``Billy'' Clelow, a
Southern California resident, were investigated after federal agents found
a letter from Allely during a 1993 raid of Hallinan's house. Allely
included a photocopy of some arrowheads he found after a Nevada camping
trip with Hallinan.

``I suppose (the copy) would be evidence if the wrong BLM `archaeo-cop' saw
it, so you'll have to douse it with some of that good salad dressing you
had out at our desert camp and eat it,'' Allely wrote.

Investigators made a few inquiries that led them to Pastron. They proceeded
to raid his business office on Broadway in Oakland in April 1994. He wasn't
happy then, and he isn't any happier after receiving the Justice
Department's apology.

``As you will recall, you alleged that the affidavit used in connection
with the search lacked probable cause,'' said the letter by Justice
Department attorney Michael Shaheen. ``Our investigation substantiated that
allegation.

``In addition, we found that the prosecutor who approved the search
committed misconduct by doing so. . . . We apologize for any negative
consequences suffered as a result of this misconduct,'' Shaheen wrote.

You want negative consequences? Pastron has a few examples.

``To this day, my neighbors near my office think I'm a drug dealer,'' he
said.

``When you tell your neighbors it was about arrowheads, what do you think
they believe?''

His business has suffered, dropping by about half in the three years since
the raid.

Pastron has explored his legal remedies, and they add up to zero.
Apparently, federal agents enjoy layers of protection from prosecution in
such matters.

Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C., refused to comment beyond
the letter.

The entire episode has served to sour Pastron on the concept of freedom,
justice -- aw, heck, the whole American way.

``I don't even watch the news anymore -- I only read the sports page,''
Pastron said. ``And except for Ron Dellums, whenever I hear a politician
talking, it sounds like a bunch of dogs barking.''

[snip - rest of column on another topic]

©1998 San Francisco Chronicle