Emails: FBI Was Looking for Gold at Pennsylvania Dig Site
2021-03-11
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1Three years ago, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were digging in a rural area in the American state of Pennsylvania. No one knew why.
2Now, recently released emails have answered that question.
3They were looking for a very valuable and secret amount of gold from the time of the American Civil War.
4On March 13, 2018, treasure hunters led the FBI to Dent's Run, about 220 kilometers northeast of Pittsburgh.
5At that place, there has long been a story that an 1863 shipment of Union gold was either lost or stolen on its way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.
6The Union was the name of the northern states during the civil war.
7The FBI has always refused to confirm why exactly it went digging.
8But, they say, they found nothing.
9Dennis Parada and his son Kem brought the federal agents to the area.
10They remain convinced the FBI found something there.
11Their lawyer, Bill Cluck, is still demanding answers.
12He was successful in demanding the release of government emails about the dig.
13Cluck showed those documents to The Associated Press.
14They prove the FBI was looking for gold.
15"We believe the cache itself is in the neighborhood of 3x5x8 (feet) to 5x5x8," wrote K.T. Newton in a then secret email.
16She is an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia.
17The area in Elk County of Pennsylvania was on state-owned land.
18The FBI had to get a federal court order to dig there.
19So, there was an exchange of emails between Newton and Audrey Miner, chief lawyer for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
20On March 13, 2018, Miner asked Newton in one of the emails: "Can you please provide the basis upon which the Office of the United States Attorney asserts that the gold, if found, belongs to the federal government?" Newton answered that she would like to "discuss this generally with you [Miner] on the phone."
21The Paradas are well-known treasure-hunters.
22They had spent years looking for the long-lost gold before going to the FBI with their evidence in January 2018.
23They said their equipment had led them to believe a large amount of metal was buried in the area.
24Within weeks, the FBI hired the geophysical company Enviroscan to study the hilltop.
25Warren Getler, who worked closely with the Paradas and the FBI, said the company confirmed there was a lot of unusual metal in the ground.
26Warren Getler also wrote a book about the possibilities of buried gold and silver from the Civil War.
27Getler said when he asked an FBI agent how big was the find, the agent said, "seven to nine tons."
28That much gold would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars today.
29Enviroscan co-founder Timothy Bechtel would not talk to the AP about what his equipment found.
30Bechtel said the FBI has asked him not to talk about his findings.
31To prove the metal existed, the FBI needed to dig.
32The Paradas and Getler said they had an agreement with the FBI to watch the digging, but the agents forced them to stay in their car.
33Later, they were brought to see a large, empty hole.
34The FBI has insisted they found nothing.
35"The FBI...rejects any claims or speculation to the contrary," a spokesman told the AP last week.
36On March 16, 2018, two days after the dig ended, Newton emailed Miner that "we are all disappointed."
37The dig drew plenty of media attention at the time.
38On March 28, Miner asked Newton for the latest information on the federal investigation.
39In her reply, Newton told Miner: "we have no other scientific evidence, other than what the excavation has been based on, that any gold is hidden in that area."
40Miner emailed back: "I guess you can't come right out and state there is no gold to be found at Dent's Run?"
41"Unfortunately, we cannot," the prosecutor replied.
42I'm Susan Shand.
1Three years ago, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were digging in a rural area in the American state of Pennsylvania. No one knew why. 2Now, recently released emails have answered that question. They were looking for a very valuable and secret amount of gold from the time of the American Civil War. 3On March 13, 2018, treasure hunters led the FBI to Dent's Run, about 220 kilometers northeast of Pittsburgh. At that place, there has long been a story that an 1863 shipment of Union gold was either lost or stolen on its way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. 4The Union was the name of the northern states during the civil war. 5The FBI has always refused to confirm why exactly it went digging. But, they say, they found nothing. 6Dennis Parada and his son Kem brought the federal agents to the area. They remain convinced the FBI found something there. Their lawyer, Bill Cluck, is still demanding answers. He was successful in demanding the release of government emails about the dig. 7Cluck showed those documents to The Associated Press. They prove the FBI was looking for gold. 8"We believe the cache itself is in the neighborhood of 3x5x8 (feet) to 5x5x8," wrote K.T. Newton in a then secret email. She is an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia. 9The area in Elk County of Pennsylvania was on state-owned land. The FBI had to get a federal court order to dig there. So, there was an exchange of emails between Newton and Audrey Miner, chief lawyer for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. 10On March 13, 2018, Miner asked Newton in one of the emails: "Can you please provide the basis upon which the Office of the United States Attorney asserts that the gold, if found, belongs to the federal government?" Newton answered that she would like to "discuss this generally with you [Miner] on the phone." 11The Paradas are well-known treasure-hunters. They had spent years looking for the long-lost gold before going to the FBI with their evidence in January 2018. They said their equipment had led them to believe a large amount of metal was buried in the area. 12Within weeks, the FBI hired the geophysical company Enviroscan to study the hilltop. Warren Getler, who worked closely with the Paradas and the FBI, said the company confirmed there was a lot of unusual metal in the ground. 13Warren Getler also wrote a book about the possibilities of buried gold and silver from the Civil War. Getler said when he asked an FBI agent how big was the find, the agent said, "seven to nine tons." 14That much gold would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars today. 15Enviroscan co-founder Timothy Bechtel would not talk to the AP about what his equipment found. Bechtel said the FBI has asked him not to talk about his findings. 16To prove the metal existed, the FBI needed to dig. 17The Paradas and Getler said they had an agreement with the FBI to watch the digging, but the agents forced them to stay in their car. Later, they were brought to see a large, empty hole. 18The FBI has insisted they found nothing. 19"The FBI...rejects any claims or speculation to the contrary," a spokesman told the AP last week. 20On March 16, 2018, two days after the dig ended, Newton emailed Miner that "we are all disappointed." 21The dig drew plenty of media attention at the time. On March 28, Miner asked Newton for the latest information on the federal investigation. 22In her reply, Newton told Miner: "we have no other scientific evidence, other than what the excavation has been based on, that any gold is hidden in that area." 23Miner emailed back: "I guess you can't come right out and state there is no gold to be found at Dent's Run?" 24"Unfortunately, we cannot," the prosecutor replied. 25I'm Susan Shand. 26The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 27_______________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29cache - n. a group of things that have been hidden in a secret place 30attorney - n. lawyer 31assert - v. to state something strongly 32geophysical - adj. relating to the physics of the earth 33speculation - n. ideas or guesses about something that is not known 34to the contrary - phrase. stating or proving the opposite of something 35excavation - n. dig 36We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.