Nearly a quarter-century ago, a giant, malformed emerald was illegally wrenched from Brazilian soil and smuggled across the ocean and into the United States, where it has been the object of intrigue, obsession and dispute ever since.
For more than 15 years, it has languished inside the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, as criminal and civil cases over the rock tarried in two continents, and journalist after journalist took up the story.
We're very happy with the decision," said Boni de Moraes Soares, a federal prosecutor who specializes in international disputes. "We're closer than ever to bringing the Bahia emerald back to the Brazilian people.
I don't have any feeling of defeat or loss," he said. "When you are an investor and entrepreneur, you do everything you can to protect, preserve and improve the investment and opportunity. However, you cannot control the things that are out of your control.
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