Stolen Art Watch, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Phil Silvers !!!

Hunt for haul of stolen silverware

Thieves stole a safe containing £25,000 worth of silverware from a church in Woodmangreen north of Midhurst.

The haul which includes 22 silver items including plates, dishes and goblets, were contained in a wall mounted safe in a small room inside St Luke's Church in Linch Road.

Detectives believed the theft could have happened anytime between Sunday 22 August from 11am to Friday 27 August at 2.30pm. It was only discovered that the safe was missing when the warden went to get the silverware out for the Sunday service and found it was missing.

Detective Constable Della Puttock said: "This was a large valuable haul of silverware which were stolen from a rural, unmanned church.

Men sentenced for Petworth ram raid burglary

Two men have been jailed for ram raiding a Petworth antiques shop during a burglary in January earlier this year.

Henry Philips, 34, of Camp Way Maidstone, Kent, and Stephen Oliver, 40, of Thanet Way, Whitstable, Kent, were both sentenced to 4 years 9 months at Chichester Crown Court on Friday 27 August, after pleading guilty at a previous hearing to burglary and aggravated vehicle taking. A third man, Clinton Letchford, 27 from Sittingbourne in Kent was also due to be sentenced, but failed to appear.

Members of the public called police after hearing a van crashing through the front doors of the antique shop and saw masked men entering the premises. The stolen Suzuki van was then seen driving off and was quickly located abandoned on the outskirts of Petworth, still containing goods stolen from the show room of Anthony Short Antiques, valued at approximately £30.000.

Police identified and quickly sighted a second getaway car leaving Sussex and heading into Surrey. A high speed pursuit took place as officers from Surrey attempted to stop the vehicle as it drove in excess of 145 mph along the M25 heading towards Kent where all three suspects lived. The second getaway car, a high performance Volvo, crashed in Chertsey, Surrey, where Letchford, Oliver and Phillips were arrested.

Detective Constable Jason Vickers said: "I would like to thank members of the public for their prompt action in immediately snitching to police at the time of the burglary and Surrey Police for their help in the arrests. CCTV in Petworth played a vital part in the investigation, capturing images of the offenders and getaway car the previous day when they were scoping antique shops in Petworth in preparation for the burglary. These men endangered lives and have suffered the consequences of their actions."

Stolen Art Watch, Cairo Van Gogh Reward Offer Laughable, Billionaire Sawiris Must be Stoned !!

Egyptian tycoon offers reward for Van Gogh theft

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has offered a 1-million Egyptian pound ($175,300) reward for information leading to the recovery of a stolen Van Gogh painting, television reported on Wednesday.

Sawiris, chairman of the leading Arab mobile operator Orascom Telecom, is the first businessman to publicly get involved in the search for the panting, worth an estimated $55 million.

The painting, known as "Poppy Flower" according to a statement in Arabic, was stolen on Saturday morning from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum, home to one of the Middle East's finest collections of 19th- and 20th-century art.

An early investigation of the theft showed "flagrant shortcomings" in security, with only seven out of 43 security cameras working properly.

The culture ministry's head of fine art, Mohsen Shaalan, has been detained along with four other officials for 19 days pending investigation after being accused of "negligence and failing to carry out their employment duties."

Nine other employees were barred from travel.

The museum houses works assembled by Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil, a politician who died in 1953, including paintings by Gauguin, Monet, Manet and Renoir, as well as the Dutch post-Impressionist master Van Gogh.

Sawiris, the oldest of three billionaire sons of Egyptian entrepreneur Onsi Sawiris, owns just over half of Orascom Telecom and 100 percent of mobile phone operators Wind Italy and Wind Hellas of Greece through his investment vehicle Weather Investments.

Art Hostage Comments:

Can you believe the balls of this guy ?

He is a billionaire and the cheapskate offers $175,000 reward for a $55 million Van Gogh.

That's 0.3 % zero point three per cent of the value.

Get the fuck outta here.

To be fair he is just following orders from art loss investigators and Egyptian authorities.

It is called the psychology of low worth.

Meaning if the thieves cannot hook into the stolen art underworld then the hope is they will become desperate and take anything that is on offer.

The same thing happened on the Swiss art thefts in 2008 when the Cezanne and Degas were stolen from the EG Buehrle Collection, a private museum in Zurich and are worth $150 million.

The reward offered by the EG Buehrle museum remains $90,000.

I hasten to add the Cezanne and Degas have not been recovered to date.

This guy Sawiris and authorities must have been smoking too much Egyptian Hubble bubble pipe, or been sucking on old Grandpa''s cough medicine.

Drunk or stoned Sawiris and authorities cannot be serious, and if anyone comes forward they deserve all the jail time they will get.

Who in their right mind is going to come forward with information when the prospect of actually getting this poultry reward is remote, to say the least, and added to that, $175,000 for a $55 million Van Gogh.

The intention is not to pay any reward, just to arrest everyone as soon as the Van Gogh sees the light of day, so why not then offer $10 million or $5.5 million which would be 10% of the value.

Message from the Art Crime Underworld is:

"Wrap it up, put it away, leave it a few years and wait for a change of heart"

Did I say Gaza, the route to Lebanon, Syria and on to Iran ???

That's it, send in an undercover arms dealer who can offer arms for the Van Gogh as collateral, then as soon as the Van Gogh is produced, arrest everyone within a ten mile radius.

Maybe the MI5 Undercover arms dealers Ali or Amir could have a go.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/northernireland/7864018/Real-IRA-commander-caught-in-MI5-arms-dealing-sting.html

http://alvornewswinnowed.blogspot.com/2010/07/arms-smuggler-was-mi5-grass.html

Apparently, the Leonardo Da Vinci Madonna was in Iran prior to its recovery in October 2007, held as collateral in an arms deal.

http://arthostage.blogspot.com/2010/04/stolen-art-watch-leonardo-da-vinci_7200.html

It made its way back to Scotland via Iran, Ireland, Liverpool and on to Glasgow.

Why there was even an offer to go fetch the Da Vinci Madonna from Iran in a daring raid prior to its recovery in 2007.

Don't think ex FBI Icon Robert Wittman would be interested in this Van Gogh theft as he is retired, maybe he could advise, get a nice juicy consultants fee ??? Truth is, if there was a buyer already set up for this Van Gogh then that's it, weapons for Van Gogh, if not then the tiny reward offer will not smoke out the thieves, unless they are low rate criminal desperado's, in which case they should just hand back the Van Gogh anonymously and leave the stage quietly. Is the buyer waiting in Dubai for the Van Gogh ??

This whole affair stumbles from one farce to another.

Stolen Art Watch, Van Gogh, Cairo Culture Official Jailed, Off With His Ear !!

Museum courtyard, notice sculpture of Cupid lying broken after press tripped over whilst trying to photograph Minister. From one debacle to another.

"Cairo Calamity"

Adding to the museum’s troubles today, (Sunday) a crowd of news photographers and cameramen attempting to take pictures of the prosecutor stumbled over a statue of Cupid, which shattered on the marble floor of the entrance courtyard, sparking cries of despair from museum staff.

“Another disaster!” shouted one female museum worker, hands on her head in disbelief.


Notice the empty frame that housed the Van Gogh Poppy painting, above, 30cm X 30cm, 12 in X 12 in, Square, one would have thought using those measurements, don't think so, more like 63cm x 57cm, or 63cm x 50cm, yet another debacle in the ongoing Cairo Van Gogh saga.


Paul Gauguin portrait of Vincent Van Gogh above.

Van Gogh Heist, Cairo, Gets More Surreal By The Hour

Egypt’s public prosecutor has ordered that the Deputy Culture Minister Mohsen Shalaan be jailed for four days as part of an investigation into the theft of a $55 million Van Gogh painting.

Prosecutor Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud also ordered the four-day detention of four museum employees, security guards.

The robbers climbed on a sofa and cut the picture out of its frame.

The public prosecutor has ordered the release on bail of three other people, including the director of the museum.

The security system had failed back in December 2006, nearly four years ago, thus leaving the museum wide open to theft ever since. Last year nine paintings were stolen and returned ten days later after payment was paid, but still the security system was not fixed.

Backstory:

http://stolenvermeer.blogspot.com/2010/08/stolen-art-watch-van-gogh-in-de-nial.html

Art Hostage Comments:

Called the Boomerang Van Gogh, Poppy Flowers had been stolen before, In 1978, the same painting was stolen, but was returned shortly afterwards. It was reputed to be have been recovered in Kuwait after the thieves made a deal and got paid a ransom. One year later, 1979, a duplicate was sold for $43 million in London, sparking a debate in Egypt whether the returned painting was, in fact, a fake.

1979, h'm Islamic revolution in Iran.

Thieves got lucky, well almost, as the most valuable painting in the collection is , Gauguin’s Life and Death, followed closely by the Van Gogh Poppy Flowers, or vase with flowers.

The number two's got the number two so to speak !!!

The Van Gogh has been on tour around the globe, there's a clue already.............

Already news breaking from the Global Underworld the intention is to use the Van Gogh as collateral for arms and weapons, not drugs, not ransom, weapons.

Iran being the ultimate destination of this Van Gogh as deals on stolen art for weapons has a historic Iranian history. Madonna was in Iran and I don't mean a concert !!!

I reckon authorities have 24/48 hours to recover this Van Gogh..........

Check Diplomatic bags, cut out of its frame, rolled up and good to go Diplomatically !!

Check the border with Gaza !!!

Why did thieves leave the most valuable painting , Gauguin’s Life and Death ?

Because Islamic law forbids artwork showing figures, so next best thing and second most valuable painting in the Mr & Mrs Mahmoud Khalil Museum Collection is the Van Gogh, Poppy Flowers, and what comes from Poppies, Heroin.

Back in the 80's there was an influx of Iranian Heroin in western Europe smuggled in tee shirts and clothing, impregnated with the heroin. The Iranian links keep on coming.

Furthermore, Nine paintings of 19th Century Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ibrahim Pasha were stolen from the same museum last year, but found 10 days later dumped outside.

(shhh, but money exchanged hands last year before these paintings were handed back)


Update 8.00pm:

Two Italians have been arrested trying to smuggle a $50m Vincent Van Gogh painting out of Cairo today, officials said this evening.

Minister Farouk Hosni says airport security confiscated the priceless painting from two Italians just hours after the artwork was 'cut from its frame' at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in the Egyptian capital.

Airport security caught a young Italian man with the painting by the Dutch post-Impressionist master and also detained his companion, a young Italian woman.

Saturday's total of visitors had been only 11 at the museum, some Spanish and Russian visitors had been searched, nothing found so the attention focused on the Italians.

Security had tracked down visitors to the museum and the Italian couple had been suspected after an employee spotted them visiting a bathroom then swiftly leaving.

Further Update,10.00pm:

A Van Gogh painting worth an estimated $55 million (35.4 million pounds) was stolen from a Cairo museum on Saturday and after reporting it had been recovered, the state news agency quoted a minister as saying it was still missing.

Citing Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, the MENA news agency reported that security had caught a young Italian man with the painting by the Dutch post-Impressionist master at the airport and also had detained an Italian woman with him.

Later the agency, which said the painting was worth an estimated $55 million, issued another statement from the minister saying "measures were continuing to recover the painting," which according to the Arabic statement was called the "Poppy Flower."

The minister said information that initially had been given about its recovery was "not accurate and was not confirmed until now by the responsible agencies." He made similar comments to a state television channel.

It was not immediately clear how the confusion over the painting's fate arose.

The painting earlier in the day had been taken from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum on the banks of the River Nile.

The state news agency MENA had said security had tracked down visitors to the museum and the Italian couple had been suspected after an employee spotted them visiting a bathroom then swiftly leaving.

Update Sunday:

SECURITY cameras and alarms at the museum in Cairo, Egypt, from where a Van Gogh painting valued at more than $A56 million was stolen had been out of order "for a long time", an official says.

"The cameras had not been working for a long time, and neither had the alarm system," the security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that no image of the painting was therefore available.

"We don't exactly know how long they had been out of order, but it was a long time. The museum officials said they were looking for spare parts (for the security system) but hadn't managed to find them," by the time the theft took place, he said.

Egypt's top prosecutor says security lapses are to blame for the theft of a Vincent van Gogh painting from a Cairo museum.

Prosecutor general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud says none of the alarms and only seven out of 43 surveillance cameras at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum were functioning Saturday when the painting was stolen.

“Each painting in the museum has an alarm. Not a single alarm for any painting is working.” He declined to reveal the timing or the method of the theft.

The Italians had been arrested and later released.

Prosecutor general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud told Egypt's state news agency Sunday that the thieves used a box cutter to remove the painting from its frame. He blamed the theft on the museum's lax security measures, calling them "for the most part feeble and superficial."

He said the museum guards' daily rounds at closing time were inadequate and did not meet minimum security requirements to protect internationally renowned works of art.

Mahmoud also said his office had warned Egypt's museums to implement stricter security controls after nine paintings were stolen last year from another Cairo institute, the Mohammed Ali Museum. Similar security lapses were to blame in that theft.

Fifteen Egyptian officials, including the director of the Khalil museum, Reem Bahir, and the head of the fine arts department at the Ministry of Culture, have been barred from leaving Egypt until the investigation into the painting's theft is complete, Mahmoud said. He did elaborate.

Bahir refused to comment on the prosecutor general's statements, saying only that the investigation was still under way.

The Opera House was victim to thefts last year, but security pressures forced criminals to return the stolen paintings.
(After payment of course)

Art Hostage Comments:

Oops, gone again !!

Have they checked the mail, tubed up Pink Panther style, repeat style.

Please, no laughing, but this proves the Art Hostage title,

"Cairo Calamity"

Adding to the museum’s troubles today, a crowd of news photographers and cameramen attempting to take pictures of the prosecutor stumbled over a statue of Cupid, which shattered on the marble floor of the entrance courtyard, sparking cries of despair from museum staff.

“Another disaster!” shouted one female museum worker, hands on her head in disbelief.

If box cutters were used then the Van Gogh may still be attached to its stretcher and the canvas was not cut from frame as first reported. This will hopefully limit the damage.

Coming soon,

the Art Hostage Iran files on handling stolen art,

.exchanging weapons for holding stolen art.................

It's Showtime !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iKuMVqht4U

Will everyone just, "Take it Easy":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lQpjPC-074

Stolen Art Watch, Salvador Dali, Light Fingered Larry and Woman in Drawers Steal Namesake !!

Salvador Dalí Sculpture Valued at 100,000 Euros Stolen from Belfortmuseum in Belgium

BRUGES.- The sculpture "Woman with Drawers" by Salvador Dali, valued at 100,000 euros, was stolen from an exhibition hall in Bruges (NW Belgium), the Belgian press said today.

A security camera filmed how the thieves hid the statue in a bag and left the show shortly after noon Wednesday, images that are being analyzed by police, according to several newspapers.

The theft has not been confirmed yet by the company hosting the exhibition, Interart.
The work, a bronze of about 50 centimeters wide and 30 tall, weighs about ten kilos.

Stolen Art Watch, Firle Place Porcelain Heist, Thirteen Months Later, Graham Harkin Charged

Charge over Firle Place antiques burglary

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8339215.Charge_over_Firle_Place_antiques_burglary/

• By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter »

Sussex Police have charged a man over a £1m antiques raid on Firle Place.

The force issued a statement today saying: "A 58-year-old man from Wakefield, Yorkshire, was charged on Monday, 16 August, with the burglary at Firle Place, near Lewes, in July 2009.

Graham Harkin is due to appear at Lewes Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 1 September.

Graham Harkin is currently in custody for being caught in possession of the Thomas Tompion clock stolen from Levens Hall Kendal, Cumbria September 2009, and further charged with the theft of a high value Sundial from Dalemain House, near Pooley Bridge.

The Firle Place haul includes "Pieces of Sevres porcelain stolen, including an important pair of identical vases made in 1763 and a Hollandaise Nouveau vase which is historically very rare.

"The value of the items stolen is believed to be around £1 million pounds. None of these have been recovered."

Art Hostage Comments:

Well, suck me sideways, Knock me down with a feather, what a complete surprise !!!

Stolen Art Watch, Royal Exchange Heist, De Beers, Omega, Without Royal Appointment

Luxury jewellery stores targeted in raid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10978471

Jewellery from two of London's most upmarket shops has been stolen in a night-time raid.

Raiders smashed windows at De Beers and Omega stores in the Royal Exchange shopping centre in the City of London at about 2200 BST on Saturday.

The alarm at nearby jewellers Tiffany's went off - but it is not believed any goods were stolen from that store.

The value of the stolen gems is not yet known. City of London police are investigating.

Diamond jewellery

On Sunday morning three Royal Exchange security staff were seen inside the centre taking photographs and measurements.

Police said the robbers turned up in a car before smashing their way into the complex, which is closed at weekends, and grabbing what they could.

CCTV cameras operating in the City are used to log the details of every vehicle driven into the area.

Officers are expected to sift through hours of footage to identify the car and they will also examine images from security cameras inside the centre.

De Beers is best known for its diamond jewellery and Omega for luxury Swiss watches.

The Royal Exchange, built in 1565, is located between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill and boasts more than 30 luxury stores.

"It's looking as though whoever has done this has been targeting the shops for a long time."

Update:

Police say the value was £380,000, meaning trade/break up value, retail value/price nearer £2-£4 million one would imagine !!

Art Hostage Comments:

Fagin's Kitchen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef9Ea9NFyyM

Stolen Art Watch, Levens Hall Thomas Tompion Clock Accused Graham Harkin, Mention Carlisle Crown Court, The Plot Thickens !!!

Police Informant To Be Witness Summonsed in Thomas Tompion Clock Entrapment Case


Graham Harkin, the accused caught in a Police entrapment on the M62 motoway Birch services on the 13th April 2010 with the stolen Levens Hall Thomas Tompion clock in his possession, is up for a mention Friday August 13th 2010 at Carlisle Crown Court, in front of Judge Batty QC

Wonder if his council are asking for information to be provided under the Freedom of Information Act as to how Police knew Graham Harkin would have the Tompion clock at that specific time and place ?

Added to that, wonder if his council will reveal they intend to witness summons the Police informant who provided the inside information and is in the process of claiming the £20,000 reward offered by AXA Fine Art Insurance, via Mark Dalrymple ??

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/4648780.__20_000_award_issued_for_stolen_Levens_antique/

Any witness summons issued against the Police informant to give evidence could provoke the prosecution to drop the case because of the exposure of the Police informant to public scrutiny.

Police have a Duty of Care towards informants, although this is not observed, a witness summons against their informant is far too obvious to ignore.

Question is, does Graham Harkin and his defence team know the identity of the Police informant who set him up ??

A witness summons for Mark Dalrymple would go down well, as any time Dalrymple gets into the witness box all sorts of questions will be asked, not least about the two previous occasions Mark Dalrymple committed perjury in Scotland.

The name of the Police Informant in the Graham Harkin case is not a secret, the Levens Hall Thomas Tompion clock is ticking !!!

Coming soon, the Firle Place porcelain theft is not too many degrees of separation away !!!
Update:

Word from the Underworld:

"Well known targeted, should be by end of Summer"

Better brace ourselves then !!!

Stolen Art Watch, Prince Andrew Lucky, Trinity, Third Time Unlucky !!

£230k of art stolen from county gallery
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/8318030.__230k_of_art_stolen_from_county_gallery/

MORE than £200,000 worth of art has been stolen from a Worcestershire gallery.

Three pieces - including one by Sir Henry Moore - were stolen in the early hours of this morning from Trinity House Pictures Limited, High Street, Broadway.

It is believed four young men - or possibly teenagers - broke into the gallery at about 1.50am wearing dark clothes and hats, before running off towards The Green with £230,000 of art.

Police suspect there may have been a vehicle in another part of the village and are looking for any witnesses who may have seen four men getting into one or more vehicles at about that time.

The three pictures were:

• “In The Lily Garden” - with “On The Sand Dunes” on the back - by Dorothea Sharp, worth £120,000
• “Thames Barges At Low Water, Pin Mill“ by Edward Seago, worth £65,000
• “Three Reclining Figures On Pedestals“ by sculptor/artist Henry Moore, worth £45,000

Simon Shore, co-owner of the gallery, said: “All three of these easily recognised pictures were painted by very well known English artists and are likely to be of interest to English collectors. Unfortunately, there are a few who will not be concerned about how they come by them.”

Art Hostage Comments:

Oh dear, Oh dear oh dear !!!

If at first they don't succeed, they try, try and try again.

http://stolenvermeer.blogspot.com/2010/08/stolen-art-watch-prince-andrew-art.html

Bailed in the Morning, Working in the evening, the revolving door of art crime.

With regards the Dorothea Sharp painting, this was bought at Sotheby's London on July 13th 2010 for £32,450

http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?sale_number=L10132&live_lot_id=142

and priced up at £120,000 at Trinity House Pictures Limited, High Street, Broadway.

This is a 400% profit, greed gets them in the end. Something poetic about this particular raid.

So, if some unsuspecting collector bought this painting from Trinity House Pictures Limited, High Street, Broadway, for £120,000 they would immediately loose nearly £100,000 given the auction price paid.

Seems the Foxes are guarding the Hen-house.

Edward Heath called this practice "the unacceptable face of Capitalism"

Breaking News:

Meanwhile, a Degas and two Toulouse-Lautrec paintings were stolen from a home in the upmarket Neuilly area in the suburbs of Paris. Thieves broke in as the 80 year-old resident was away on holiday.

A total of five works of art, which include a picture of two of Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, were stolen from the home of an elderly woman of 88 years in Neuilly-sur-Seine, outside Paris.

The woman, who at the time of the looting was on vacation, denounced last August 2 theft of five paintings.

The titles of the works or their market value have gone beyond the media.

The robbers entered the building through the roof and pierced a window with an object that could be a diamond, according to the victim, alerted to the incident by the doorman of the building.

The paintings were not insured and the house of the victim did not have an alarm system.

The paintings are the work of French subtracted Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas and Marie Laurencin.

Encore:

Edgar Degas “Les Choristes (The Chorus)" , missing from the Cantini Museum Marseille since last December, time to put in an appearance me thinks.

Perhaps pressure on the guard bore fruit, or BRB made a raid and recovered it during the operation.

A sting operation, a hand back, secret talks have been going on in Paris, so, let the cards fall where they may !!! Jacques Dallest is a bit of a maverick has he made the deal and allowed the Degas “Les Choristes (The Chorus)" to surface ???

Stolen Art Watch, Graff Jewel Heist, Seventy One Years Jailtime Won't Get The Jewels Back !!

Gunman jailed for 23 years over Britain's biggest jewellery robbery

A gunman who terrified staff at Graff Diamonds as he carried out Britain's biggest jewellery robbery has been jailed for 23 years.

Aman Kassaye planned and executed the ''high stakes'' heist at Graff Diamonds in Mayfair, central London, last summer, in which £40 million of gems were stolen at gunpoint.

He used a professional make-up artist to disguise his appearance and a series of getaway cars to escape across the capital, shooting at anybody who got in his way, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Kassaye, of no fixed address, was jailed for 16 years for conspiracy to rob, a further five years for possessing a firearm and a further two years for kidnap, a court official said.

Petra Ehnar, a shop assistant at the store in New Bond Street, told the jury she was ''petrified'' when the robbers forced her to empty the store's display cabinets with a gun to her back.

She filled a bag with 43 pieces of jewellery including earrings, necklaces and watches worth a total of £40 million. One diamond necklace alone was valued at £3.5 million. The gems taken in the robbery have never been recovered.

Ms Ehnar, who was forced into the street by the robbers as they made their getaway, was told she would be killed if she did not carry out their demands.

Three other men - Solomun Beyene, 25, of Marylebone, north-west London; Clinton Mogg, 43, of Bournemouth; and Thomas Thomas, 46, of Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames - were each jailed for 16 years after also being convicted of conspiracy to rob, the court official said.

Footage was shown to the jury of Kassaye firing a shot in the street outside the store as passers-by began to realise what was happening, sending them running for cover.

Kassaye's defence rested on his assertion that the raid was carried out "by someone remarkably like him", but he was identified by Ms Ehnar.

She told police: "This was the first time I have ever been subjected to an armed robbery and I was petrified. I was thinking, 'I am going to be shot, killed', I had no idea.

"It is the most terrifying experience a person can be put through as you have no control over the situation that you find yourself in."

Philip Bennetts, for the prosecution, told jurors that after what happened, "his facial features would be etched in her mind forever".

Beyene's role in the heist was to buy so-called dirty telephones and hire a van to use as a blocking vehicle, while Mogg provided the London address used by the make-up artist, who did not know about the planned raid.

Thomas used the blocking vehicles after the heist, the jury was told.

Art Hostage Comments:

DCI Pam Mace of the Met Flying Squad says there is a £1 million reward for the arrest and recovery of the haul.

They said that on the Da Vinci Madonna case and we know what happened there. This reward offer is bogus, with Undercover Police waiting in the wings. No rewards, no payments.

Anyone offering information about the whereabouts of the Graff haul will immediately be put in touch with an Undercover Police officer posing as an insurance agent, or Graff representative.

Proof of life will be asked for to demonstrate Proof of control, so if the sting fails, the person offering proof of life will be arrested and charged with being in control of the Graff haul.

All stolen art, antiques and diamonds are radioactive and best policy is to stay well clear and refuse to offer anyone information as it will always end in a sting and tears all round.

Learn to close your ears to information about art related crime and the whereabouts of stolen art.

Just Say No !!!

Stolen Art Watch, Brokeback Coalition, Ménage à trois, Mark Dalrymple, Dick Ellis of QUINTONS FARM HOUSE GROVE LANE ASHFIELD STOWMARKET IP146LZ and Julian Radcliffe Want You To Help Police, Just Say No !!!!!

Appeal to trace valuable Irish paintings

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-10832213

Police have appealed for help in tracing five paintings valued at £40,000 stolen from a Nottingham house.
The pictures, all painted by Irish artists, were taken about a year ago, but despite police efforts their whereabouts remain a mystery.
A bronze clock, jewellery and electrical items were also taken from the property near the city centre.
The paintings are not only valuable but also have "a great deal of sentimental value" to the owner, said detectives.
Since the theft, officers have notified local and national antique and art dealers, as well as the Irish media and leading art magazines.
The artwork includes four oil on canvas portraits, which range in value from £1,000 to £15,000
The owner, who wants to remain anonymous, said: "As well as their monetary value, these items were very precious to us as a family and so we are prepared to offer a substantial reward for their recovery."
Anyone with information should contact the Nottinghamshire force.

Art Hostage Comments:

Some nerve the Police have.
Answer these questions:
Do firefighters ask the public for help when putting out a fire
"Can you hold the hose"
No of course not.
Do Paramedics ask the public for help when attending sick people,
"Can you administer CPR"
No of course not.
Then what right do Police have in asking the public for help when they get paid very well to do their job ???
We live in a common law society not a Police state, so any requirement to help Police is not a moral issue and is not mandatory.
By the same token, anyone foolish enough to offer help in recovering these stolen paintings, as well as any other stolen artworks will end up arrested, exposed and regretting their involvement in the first place.
This article is another ploy and designed to sting those who may able to help recover these stolen paintings.
Don't take the word of Art Hostage just ask the five men cleared of the Da Vinci Madonna theft and handling, just ask the German Lawyers who tried to broker a deal for some stolen paintings taken from the Banke Lampe in 2008, just ask Colin the informant, (Bertie Smalls nephew) how he was treated when he helped the Police, just ask Fealden and Fairbrother how they were treated by Dick Ellis and how Dick Ellis is not to be trusted, they said as much recently.
Anyone offering help to recover stolen art and antiques deserves the trauma they will get from Police and the Brokeback coalition of Mark Dalrymple, Dick Ellis and Ménage à trois when you include Julian Radcliffe.
The owner, who wants to remain anonymous, said: "As well as their monetary value, these items were very precious to us as a family and so we are prepared to offer a substantial reward for their recovery."
The Duke of Buccleuch offered a multimillion Pound reward in a commercial transaction for the recovery of the Da Vinci Madonna, well, we all know what happened, no reward, arrests, a rancid prosecution and now a further refusal to pay by the Duke post acquittal, shows the real intent.
So, the statement from the owners of these stolen paintings to pay a substantial reward is bogus, fraudulent, and completely untrue, why, well Police have the last say at the moment and they always refuse, as they have done in the Da Vinci Madonna case, even though all accused were cleared in the Scottish High Court.
Until there is a resolution to the investigation into the Da Vinci Madonna rancid prosecution and the Duke of Buccleuch, Mark Dalrymple and the two Police Officers from S.O.C.A. are held to account, the message is clear, stay away from stolen art, don't be lured by false promise of reward, its all a bogus attempt to hook, sting and arrest.
Proof of life means proof of control therefore arrests follows whether the stolen art is recovered or not.
Until a protocol is developed whereby the recovery of stolen art can be regarded as a commercial transaction, fee's are payable for services rendered, stolen art recovery will always result in the arrest of those with information that leads to the recovery of stolen art and antiques, and only benefits the Ménage à trois of Mark Dalrymple, Julian Radcliffe and Dick Ellis.
Why, Julian Radcliffe is in the process of stinging, cheating those with information that will lead to the recovery of the Picasso stolen from the Yacht of a Saudi back in 1999, known as the Coral Island Antibes Picasso. Back story below:
http://arthostage.blogspot.com/2010/07/stoloen-art-watch-saudi-antibes-yacht.html
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Comments from above link:

Anonymous said...

Hong Kong, the Picasso Dora Maar stolen from the Saudi Yacht in Antibes, Taiwan has no extradition treaty.

5:32 PM

Anonymous said...

Julian Radcliffe and the Art Loss Register are trying to extort money from the Saudi man who lost the Picasso from his Yacht in Antibes and they are trying to decieve and set up those who may have information about the Picasso into thinking they will be paid for their information. It is all a con and as soon as the Picasso is seen Police will arrest everyone concerned no matter what country.

7:21 PM

Anonymous said...

I heard Julian Radcliffe and the Art Loss Register are after the six paintings stolen from a villa in Almelo back in January 2009 estimated to be worth one million euros.

Three of the stolen art works are by Jan Sluijters 1881-1957, a Dutch artist famous for his portraits of women.

Sluijters, frequently spelt 'Sluyters' in English, was a leading proponent of various post-impressionistic movements in the Netherlands.

Agree though, no reward, no payments, this is a set up and sting

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To coin a phrase from the 80's concerning drugs, applied to helping Police, Dalrymple, Ellis and Radcliffe:

Just say No !!!!!

Breaking News:

A Royal Scoop over at Stolen Vermeer:
http://stolenvermeer.blogspot.com/2010/08/stolen-art-watch-prince-andrew-art.html

Update:
The link below is for a festival that promotes art theft, I kid you not.

http://www.glasswerk.co.uk/news/national/9644/%C2%A35000+Worth+Of+Art+To+Be+Stolen+At+Standon+Calling

"Get the fuck outta Here" as they say in New York

Stolen Art Watch, Leonardo Da Vinci Madonna Fallout, S.O.C.A. Disbanded, Mark Dalrymple Deserted, Nowhere Left to Hide for Dalrymple !!

Something Rotten In The State Of (Dalrymple) Denmark

S.O.C.A. Disbanded, Discredited, Dishonest and Dalrympled:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5ab2596c-989a-11df-a0b7-00144feab49a.html

How Many Unlawful Convictions secured by the dishonest antics of the now discredited S.O.C.A. will end up in the Court of Appeal ?????

Something Rotten In The State Of Denmark

The Da Vinci malicious prosecution sits on the desks of

Home Secretary Theresa May,

Minster of Justice Kenneth Clarke,

Scottish Minister for Justice Kenny MacAskill

The Independent Police Complaints Commission

Rosie Cooper MP is demanding a thorough investigation, as she needs to know the truth about all that went on

Complaints have been lodged with: -

Crown Office

Dumfries and Galloway Police

SOCA

A formal complaint has been lodged against Mark Dalrymple with The Institute if Professional Loss Adjusters

The responses have been interesting and perhaps give a clue as to where this case is going

The Crown Office have denied all knowledge of the January 2007 meeting at the Gatwick Airport Hilton Hotel

Dumfries and Galloway Police have referred the complaint to the Crown Office because it alleges potential criminal conduct on the police of the constabulary and the response of the Crown office on behalf of Dumfries and Galloway is awaited.

The response of SOCA Counter Corruption Department was to refuse to record the matter as a complaint against SOCA within the terms of Section 12 of Police Reform Act 2002.

The letter states “one of the functions of the Counter Corruption Unit is to address issues of Pubic Complaints made against SOCA personnel whose conduct may have fallen short of standards expected by employees of SOCA.

Where such a complaint is received then the matter is subject to a formalised procedure by this department. Having examined the contents of your letter it does not appear to disclose any direct failure by an employee to observe the code of conduct that regulates SOCA behaviour”

The letter seeks to pass the matter to the Scottish authorities as they were managing the SOCA officers and on this premise they refuse to record the matter as a complaint against SOCA. The management of the investigation by another authority is used by SOCA as a ground not to investigate the matter on the premise that they will be able to investigate your prosecution including the actions of the two SOCA staff.

The allegations you have made regarding the involvement of SOCA undercover officers centers on the alleged meeting January 2007 and the subsequent preliminary hearing and trial where details of this meeting were not disclosed. This issue is one that should have been addressed by your defence team through normal judicial proceedings and if not previously considered may form grounds of appeal.

As the investigation was managed by another authority, it is not appropriate for SOCA to investigate their investigation

Have SOCA ever been investigated ?

On their argument they can never be investigated

Well patience is a virtue and the refusal to record the complaint and the spurious justification is now sitting on the desk of Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The SOCA officers should consider how the DPP reacts when perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice come to light and they could do well to look carefully at the Sarfraz Ibrahim case in Swansea published on 14 July 2010

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, said that Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Sarfraz Ibrahim had disgraced the service through a serious breach of trust after he admitted charges of corruption, misconduct and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Sarfraz Ibrahim, Head of the Trials Advocacy Unit and a Crown Advocate in CPS Gwent, abused his position to advise that a suspect should not be prosecuted and on one occasion accepted £20,000 for doing so.

"While criminal behaviour of this serious nature is extremely rare in the service, the CPS will prosecute all such cases robustly and will not hesitate to take action against any member of its staff who brings discredit on the Service. This behaviour will not be tolerated in our organisation.” Mr Starmer said: "The public has a right to expect the highest standards of professional behaviour from CPS employees and I will not tolerate anything less. All necessary action will always be taken to ensure that the public can continue to have confidence in all those who prosecute on their behalf.”

It is an interesting legal question as to who has the jurisdictional power to prosecute the SOCA officers and Mark Dalrymple. They are English based manipulating a Scottish trial, but that is a question for lawyers to ponder.

Suddenly serious questions are being asked about the role of SOCA and Mark Dalrymple and the covert meeting in January 2007.

We know the meeting took place and indeed it is telling that to date no one has denied it.

The decision to disband SOCA and bring in a new FBI style force does not means that past sins will be forgiven. Five innocent men stood trial and had their lives ruined for the egos of two SOCA officers and Mark Dalrymple.

Whilst SOCA may not be fit for purpose those who have stepped over the mark for whatever reason have brought shame to their profession. SOCA was discredited last year by the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee. The agency was heralded as ‘Britain’s FBI’ when it was set up by Labour in 2006 but only £1 was seized from organised crime gangs for every £15 in SOCA’s budget, according to figures shown to MPs. They said it ‘lacked transparency and accountability’.

The outcome of the pending enquiries by the IPCC and the politicians will reveal whether SOCA really are fit for purpose.

Mark Dalrymple what have you done, you have ruined five lives is it about to go to eight.

In Edinburgh Donald Findlay QC poignantly asked you “What do you do” you could not give a proper answer then, perhaps now you have time to reflect you can answer now.

Two SOCA officers now have their jobs on the line as a result of your desire to step outside the parameters of decency and set up innocent men in a rancid prosecution. The Da Vinci case is looming and there is no place to hide.

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anonymous said... Mark Dalrymple drunk in a wine bar boasting to collegues he is about to recover the stolen table from Newby Hall and will not pay the £10,000 reward as the informant has a long previous record for stolen art and antiques.
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Why does Wales keep coming up when talking about the Firle Place Porcelain theft ?

How close are Police to recovering the stolen L.S. Lowry paintings taken from Ivan Aird, and where does George Aird come in to this ???
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Art Hostage Comments:

We will call this Newby Hall Table reference Mark Dalrymple's David Davis moment.

Mark Dalrymple and Dick Ellis, the stolen art worlds
"Brokeback" Coalition.

Stolen Art Watch, Pink Panthers Jewel Heist Legend, Hors d'œuvre For the David Samuels Masterpiece !!

Balkan Pink Panthers stuff of local legend

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC (AP)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jIMkVUuzWbR4_L_9EaZgD9e2K_jQD9H1K4PG0

CETINJE, Montenegro — Their nickname comes straight from Peter Sellers and Inspector Clouseau, but there's nothing bumbling about them.

In heists from London to Paris to Tokyo, the crime ring that Interpol calls the Pink Panthers is thought to have netted a quarter billion dollars in jewelry and luxury watches. Many of its members are said to be from this tiny Balkan country of 600,000 people.

The legend started seven years ago in a jar of face cream.

Milan Jovetic was among a group that robbed the Graff store on London's exclusive New Bond Street of $30 million worth of diamonds. He was caught a couple days later and Scotland Yard found a $1 million diamond ring that was purportedly his share of the job.

It was stashed in his girlfriend's face-cream jar, the same hiding place used by the thief in "The Pink Panther," the 1963 movie that introduced the world to the famously inept Inspector Clouseau.

British newspapers dubbed the robbers the Pink Panthers, and as more robberies followed, enough of a pattern emerged for Interpol to set up "Project Pink Panthers."

"We are working on 190 cases in 27 countries on four continents, a big investigation," said Julia Viedma, director of Interpol's operations.

In court, Jovetic claimed he had only arranged logistics and was paid with the diamond ring. He was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison of which he served four. Now he's back in this small Montenegrin valley town, a handsome 30-year-old with gelled black hair who is something of a celebrity.

Pushing his baby daughter in a stroller down a dusty street, he is asked if he is indeed Jovetic the Panther he grins and replies: "Do I look that way to you?"

But when asked about the crime ring, he snarls "You don't have the kind of money for me to talk," and walks away.

Cetinje, a poor town of 15,000, has produced many of those arrested on suspicion of Pink Panther associations, Interpol says. Impoverished by the wars that broke up Yugoslavia, Cetinje has few exports besides young, jobless men, many of whom hang out at a cafe owned by Jovetic.

A notion seems to have taken root here that the Pink Panthers are Robin Hood types, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But other than some BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes parked outside certain cafes frequented by the underworld, there is no indication of any wealth trickling down.

A man who identifies himself only as Zoran sips espresso at a sidewalk cafe and asks for understanding for the Panthers: "They killed no one. They just wanted to escape this godforsaken place."

Indeed, though the robbers often are armed, they don't shoot at anyone.

Interpol officials are careful not to link every spectacular jewel robbery in the world to the Pink Panthers. It only enhances their allure, says one official, requesting anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak to the media.

But the officials believe Pink Panthers have been behind some 150 robberies since the late 1990s. They say about 25 arrests have been made in recent years and 400 people are being investigated as members or accomplices, but that the core group numbers about 40.

Those arrested observe a code of silence that confounds attempts to break up the gang.

"There is no doubt that these men and a few women ... mostly come from Montenegro and Serbia," said Dejan Anastasijevic, a reporter from Serbia who investigates Balkan crime syndicates and who had to flee to Belgium after escaping a grenade explosion.

"We have no idea who hires these people, whether it's the Italian, Russian or Japanese mafia, or someone else," he said.

The robbery tactics are simple, Interpol officials say. A well-dressed man enters a shop and points his gun at a clerk. A few other masked individuals follow carrying hammers and steel bars. They smash jewelry casings and windows and are gone in minutes, fleeing in stolen cars.

In March, 2004, in what was then Japan's biggest jewelry heist, two bewigged robbers burst into an upscale Tokyo store, immobilized a clerk with pepper spray, and nabbed treasures including a $27 million diamond necklace.

Last December, three Pink Panthers, two men and a woman, were convicted by a Serbian court for stealing $31.5 million worth of jewels, including the 125-carat necklace, two diamond earrings and seven diamond rings.

Those jewels, as is often the case in these robberies, were never found, raising the suspicion that the gang is contracted for robberies by people with the resources to fence the stolen gems.

Harry Levy, vice president of the London Diamond Bourse, said dealers in London, Paris, or New York can spot high-profile stolen diamonds, but "It is easy to alter the weight and the shape by re-cutting or reshaping the stone ... making them easy to sell in such places as Eastern Europe or Asia, which have less regulation."

Typical was a heist in Dubai in April 2007.

Two cars drove into a lobby of the Wafi shopping mall. One backed through a jewelry store window. Three masked men drove off with about $3.5 million worth of jewels. The entire scene was filmed on a bystander's cell phone and posted on YouTube. Dubai police said they identified eight suspects as Pink Panthers, which led to some of them being arrested on Interpol arrest warrants, while others are still on the run.

Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna and Andrew Khouri in London contributed to this report.

Art Hostage Comments:

A mere pastiche of the real inside story about the so-called Pink Panthers written by David Samuels and linked below:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/12/100412fa_fact_samuels