Famed archaeologist Snarskis
found dead at his home


Michael Snarskis, a man who had a major impact on the archeology of Costa Rica, died earlier in the week. He was found in his Montelimar, Goicoechea, home Monday dead of apparent natural causes.

Snarskis, 65, was a Canadian who earned a doctorate in anthropology at New York's Columbia University in 1978. His dissertation was "The Archaeology of the Central Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica."

He founded and directed the archeology department at the Museo Nacional for 10 years and was a professor of archaeology for 14 years at the Universidad de Costa Rica. A biography online said he had published 55 books and articles on Costa Rica and Central America. He also commented on Costa Rica's stone spheres for U.S. television.

He was associated as an archeologist with the Tayutic Foundation which seeks to preserve and explore the Guayabo monument.

Snarskis, himself, reported on his work with U.S. archaeologist Frederick W. Lange, on the Nicoya peninsula. He said that since the mid-1970s there was a quantum jump in scientific archaeology. He said that he assisted Lange to establish a comprehensive program for archaeological investigation based at the museum.

"Through a series of projects, knowledge of the settlement patterns and subsistence of past cultures has been greatly broadened, the classification of artifacts and other cultural features systematized, and the cultural sequence greatly lengthened," he said.

Snarskis also offered archaeological tours. A favorable comment on his tours also said that many of the tombs and artifacts displayed in the Museo Nacional were personally excavated by Snarskis and that he was the technical advisor for the original mounting of the jade museum and the gold museum.

Snarskis also wrote at times for The Tico Times.


Extradited pair takes plea
in U.S. tax fraud prosecution


A California couple who were involved in an anti-tax scheme have reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

They are Lin M. Bartee and his wife, Christine J. Wenger-Bartee, who had the daring to dash off a letter to the Internal Revenue Service area director in Ogden, Utah, explaining why they did not have to pay taxes. They were involved with IRS Code Busters, a multi-level marketing scheme that purported to teach U.S. citizens why they need not pay income taxes.

They were well known among Costa Rican expats

They made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in January, 2010, when they entered innocent pleas.  A federal grand jury returned an indictment June 26, 2008, charging the former Grass Valley, California, couple with conspiring to evade the payment of federal income taxes, making false statements in a bankruptcy case and fraudulently concealing property in connection with a bankruptcy case, according to the U.S. Justice Department. In addition, Bartee was charged individually with evading the payment of federal income taxes.

The couple were arrested here in May 2009 and unsuccessfully fought extradition to the United States.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of California, the pair received two years each in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion. They were ordered to pay more than $200,000 in restitution.

According to the indictment, the pair failed to file a federal tax return for the year 2001. In 2002, despite receiving substantial sums in income and from the sale of assets, the pair again failed to file an income tax return for that year. At the same time, they transferred almost $240,000 to the woman's parents, who then transferred over half that amount to a bank in Costa Rica, said the indictment. In April of 2003, the defendants filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in the U. S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento, California. The defendants failed to list the Internal Revenue Service as a creditor, and they also failed to identify all of the income they received in 2002, the indictment alleged. On Nov. 9, 2004, the bankruptcy court denied their petition. Shortly thereafter, the  defendants left the United States for Costa Rica, the government said.

IRS Code Busters provided information to people who do not want to pay income taxes. Much of the information is based on discredited legal theories.  For example, some anti-tax literature distributed in the multilevel scheme said that the IRS puts a code in each citizen's file that required them to pay taxes. Bartee appears to have wanted the IRS to remove the mythical code from his file and wrote the letter to request that, said the Justice Department at the time of his indictment.


School transport services
urged to get early approval


The Consejo de Transporte Público is urging those who drive children to school to make sure their paperwork is in order because classes start.

The agency said that it has received just 1,105 requests for permits and that last year there were 2,010 units hauling students. Only 631 have been approved for the coming year, it said. Public school starts Feb. 10.

Those who operate vehicles carrying students have to pay 71,715 colons, about $144, for a permit. They also have to show that they are current with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social and have an active insurance policy. They also cannot have any pending traffic tickets.

Then the vehicle, which cannot be older than 20 years is inspected to make sure it has required seat belts and revisión tecnica approval.

In the case of pre-school children, the driver must have a second adult on board, according to the rules.

The Consejo cracked down last year and removed many vehicles from service for a time and caused problems for parents who were counting on the transportation for their children.