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Art Supplies

The Art of Investigation

About our Hosts

Founder and Managing Partner of Odyssey Global Consulting, LLC, Doug Bort spent twenty-one years as a Special Agent with the United States Customs Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Doug is a Subject Matter Expert in the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

During his tenure with Homeland Security Investigations, Doug represented the United States in international investigations around the world.  With a proven record of successfully leading complex international investigations, his work has resulted in the recovery and return of over $3 million worth of cultural property to its rightful owners.

He was also instrumental in cultivating, developing, and conducting training for other Special Agents and law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and abroad, pertaining to the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

Now in the private sector, Doug uses his vast knowledge and extensive experience to provide expert services to museums, private collectors, insurance companies and other individual clients.

  • Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage, the American University of Rome

  • Master of Arts in Art History,  John Cabot University

  • Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Anthropology, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Native to Philadelphia, PA, Melissa Metzgar is a life-long artist with a formal education in art history and cultural anthropology. Melissa has learned from, worked under, and collaborated with international organizations dedicated to heritage crime research and education, such as: Odyssey Global Consulting, LLC; the American University of Rome; the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art; the Alliance for Restoration of Cultural Heritage; the Qatar National Library; King’s College London; the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute; United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs; the University of Glasgow with the University College London; and the International Team for the Study of Security Verona with the United Nations Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate.

Melissa's primary research area concerns heritage affected by conflict, with a regional focus on tangible heritage trafficked out of the Middle East and North Africa. As a cultural anthropologist and provenance researcher, Melissa studies the intersections of ethics, cultural property policy, collections management, and education in their combined impact towards preventing heritage crime. Passionate about the transparency and accessibility of information about crimes committed against art and cultural heritage, Melissa founded Looted and Lost, LLC to provide provenance and archival research services to public and private clients.
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