artifact display cases. According to a later police report, he also continued to deal in illegal antiquities and solicited excavation of sites in Oregon and Nevada. On December 6, 2002, a federal administrative law judge in Oregon fined Harelson $2.5 million for destruction of archaeological resources. Further investigation unearthed two skulls that may have belonged to the two Paiute corpses. Harelson claimed that he had no money and accused the government of turning him into a scapegoat. Behind the scenes, police investigation about his antique dealings continued. In January 2003, authorities discovered that Harelson intended to kill police sergeant Walt Markee (who had searched Harelson's home), County Judge Loyd O'Neal (who had presided over the 1996 trial), Harelson's ex-wife and two former business partners. An undercover policeman approached Harelson in the role of a hitman willing to carry out the murders for a price. Harelson paid the policeman $10,000 in the form of opals after the policeman showed Harelson a fabricated photograph of the corpse of one of the intended murder victims. The transaction was videotaped, and police later arrested Harelson in his home with the help of a SWAT team. In 2004, the State of Oregon charged Harelson with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and illegal possession of a firearm. He was sent to jail without bail to await sentencing. Later in 2004, Harelson's bid to overturn the $2.5 million fine failed. As of October, 2009, Harelson was serving a 10-year prison sentence in the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, Oregon. Harelson died on December 14, 2012, in the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. References External links 1940 births 2012 deaths People convicted of soliciting murder Prisoners and detainees of Oregon Archaeological theft American people convicted of theft People from Grants Pass, Oregon