Cartier boasts of smuggling piece of Egyptian pyramid into U.S.

Martino Cartier, the flamboyant Republican candidate for Gloucester County Commissioner whose political career has been marked by a remarkable assortment of legal controversies, is now boasting that he stole a piece of one of Egypt’s ancient pyramids and smuggled it into the United States.

“I also had a piece of the pyramid that I snuck home,” Cartier said in an online video. “Cool, right?”

Not exactly.

Egyptian law makes it illegal to remove even a small stone from the pyramids, and bringing a stolen antiquity into the United States could violate federal laws governing smuggling and the importation of cultural property.

If Cartier is telling the truth, his souvenir could attract federal law enforcement attention.

Egypt considers archaeological artifacts, including loose stones and fragments from the pyramids at Giza, protected state property. Removing them without authorization can result in substantial fines and imprisonment.

The United States also has a cultural property agreement with Egypt that restricts importing certain archaeological materials, and federal authorities can seize illegally imported antiquities and return them to their country of origin.

Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigate antiquities smuggling, including cases involving artifacts removed from foreign archaeological sites.

Someone who knowingly conceals a stolen artifact in luggage and brings it into the United States could potentially face federal smuggling charges. Other possible violations include trafficking in stolen property or making false statements to customs officials.

But criminal liability would depend on the circumstances, including whether the object was actually taken from a protected site, whether it qualifies as a restricted antiquity, and what Cartier told customs officials when he entered the country.

There is also a more innocent explanation.

Cartier, whose biological parents were Egyptian, might simply be embellishing a story about an inexpensive replica or souvenir stone, including the alabaster items commonly sold to tourists in Egyptian shops.

Such an item would not necessarily violate any law, although Cartier’s suggestion that he secretly removed an authentic piece of a pyramid raises a different set of questions.

If Cartier actually possesses an illegally exported Egyptian artifact, he could voluntarily surrender it to federal authorities or contact the Egyptian Embassy to arrange its return.

Federal authorities generally devote their resources to organized antiquities trafficking and dealers rather than tourists who pocket small stones. But even relatively insignificant archaeological objects can be confiscated.

For Cartier, the pyramid story is the latest unusual episode in a political biography that already includes insurance fraud, an illegally possessed monkey, and years of litigation.

A New Jersey Globe review of court records earlier this year found that Cartier admitted to theft by deception after falsely reporting that his Chrysler Sebring had been stolen and collecting nearly $19,360 in insurance proceeds.

Prosecutors said Cartier abandoned the vehicle at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station after he couldn’t pay a repair bill. He was admitted to a pretrial intervention program, ordered to pay restitution, and ultimately had the criminal matter removed from his record.

In another unusual case, state wildlife authorities charged Cartier in 2002 with illegally possessing a South American capuchin monkey named Moochie and selling the animal without the required permits. Cartier pleaded guilty to the possession charge and paid a $500 fine.

Cartier said he bought the monkey from a licensed Pennsylvania breeder for $5,000, not realizing New Jersey prohibited its possession.

His legal problems have also included a federal trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the luxury jewelry company Cartier International, multiple debt judgments, and a lawsuit filed by a model who alleged that he cut her neck during a live hairstyling demonstration.

The model’s lawsuit was ultimately dismissed, and the trademark case ended with a consent judgment restricting his use of the Cartier name.

In 2023, the Home Shopping Network ended its relationship with Cartier after citing allegations of unwanted physical contact involving multiple employees. Cartier denied wrongdoing and filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit, which was dismissed.

More recently, the New Jersey Globe reported that Cartier’s cancer charity, Wigs & Wishes, was financially intertwined with his personal residence and salon business at his sprawling Sewell property, which was the subject of a $600,388 construction lien.

The records did not establish that Cartier had misused charitable funds or committed a crime. Cartier denied wrongdoing and disputed the contractor’s claims.

Cartier has also sought a farmland tax assessment for the property, which includes his residence, salon, charity operations, and a petting zoo featuring an ostrich, an emu, and an alpaca. The property is listed for sale at $6.5 million.

Assemblyman Cody Miller (D-Monroe) has accused Cartier of trying to exploit the state’s farmland assessment program and pledged to introduce legislation tightening eligibility requirements. Cartier maintains that his property is a legitimate farm.

Despite the controversy, Cartier has built a substantial following through his hairstyling business and charitable efforts to provide wigs to cancer patients.

He is one of three Republicans seeking Gloucester County commissioner seats in November, alongside former Monroe Councilwoman Katherine Falcone and retired Air Force Col. Barbara McCormick. They are challenging Democratic incumbents Jim Jefferson, Matt Weng, and Joann Gattinelli.

In a previous interview with the New Jersey Globe, Cartier acknowledged that his past included some messy episodes but complained that his charitable work was being overlooked.

“I’m an open book,” he said. “Sorry, I’m not Jesus Christ.”

It remains unclear whether Cartier actually brought home a piece of one of the world’s most famous ancient monuments or merely invented a story to entertain his online followers.  For now, the only evidence of a potential international antiquities offense is Cartier’s own boast.