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

Stolen Art Watch, Smash and Grab Robbers Jailed, Swedish Helicopter Cash Robbers Charged, Nothing Recovered, Surprise, Surprise !!!

Breaking news

Smash and Grab jewel robbers get total of 26 years jail time and ten guys, nine Swede one Syrian, although some Swedes are ethnic immigrants, charged in relation to Swedish Helicopter cash raid. more to follow...........Graff Robbers await their fate................

Update:
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Wonder what stolen Art and Antiques Police recovered, if anything, when they raided a flat in Euston Road London recently ???
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As regards any reward offers by insurance companies for the recovery of stolen diamonds, well, there are no rewards payable just Police waiting to arrest those who try to hand back any stolen diamonds, be they from Graffs, Saudi Princess or any held by the Pink Panther Gang bosses.
-
Anyone trying to profit from the return of the diamonds stolen from a Saudi Princess in Sardinia August 2009, Italy will be arrested as soon as there is a glimpse of any of the Saudi Princess diamonds.
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February 6, 2008 - Two Picasso paintings worth several million dollars, the "Tete de Cheval" (Horse's head), from 1962, and "Verre et Pichet" (Glass and pitcher), from 1944 were stolen from a cultural centre in the eastern Swiss town of Pfaeffikon.
-
February 11, 2008 - Oil paintings by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet were among those stolen from a museum in Zurich. The paintings are said to be worth over $90.99 million.

-

The stolen Cezanne, Degas and two Picasso's stolen in Switzerland in two separate raids Feb 2008 do not attract any reward or fee payment at this time.
-
Anyone offering any payment is lying and trying to get a glimpse so Police can swoop.
-
Both the Buehrle Museum, owner of the Cezanne and Degas, and the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany that owns the two Picasso's are only offering payment to those who will sting and cause the arrest of people, not realising they are being stung by those who say they can recover these paintings, Cezanne, Degas, and two Picasso's, but in reality they have no chance.
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Montenegro was the last resting place and unless the Police in Montenegro are paid there will be no recovery, according to Dick Ellis, who is working for the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany who own the two Picasso's stolen whilst on loan in Switzerland Feb 2008. Dick Ellis visited Serbia and Montenegro and when he returned to the UK said:

"Cannot make any recoveries in Serbia or Montenegro as payment will have to be made, not just to the thieves and handlers, but also to Police, who are corrupt to the core"
-
However, certain people who know, are aware of the current sting attempts, so be careful if you are trying to sting as you could get stung yourself.
-
Anyone attempting to sting stolen art and antiques back from the Underworld does so at their own risk, but with the Da Vinci Madonna case still fresh in the mind of all those involved in the art related crime arena, means, the fact anyone claiming to represent the victims or insurance companies, are regarded as Undercover Police until otherwise proven.

Stolen Art Watch, Saudi Antibes Yacht Picasso in Play !!!

Art pirates steal a Picasso from wealthy Arab's yacht

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/art-pirates-steal-a-picasso-from-wealthy-arabs-yacht-1090944.html

THE MYSTERIOUS theft of a Picasso has brought consternation and celebration to the super-rich resort of Antibes on the French Riviera.

The millionaires and billionaires who moor their yachts there are terrified they could be the next victim. Humbler citizens have a sneaking admiration for the thief, or thieves, who relieved the anonymous owner of his pride and joy.

The painting, Buste de Femme 1938, valued 19 years ago at pounds 4m, was taken from the salon of a Saudi Arabian multi-millionaire's yacht last month. Police think the thieves are a well-organised gang expert on art. Shortly after the Antibes theft, a bust of Dora Maar sculpted by Picasso was stolen from a square in Paris, heightening fears that a gang of art thieves may be at work.

The rich are hastily upgrading their security precautions; those who earn their living servicing them are recalling To Catch a Thief, the classic Cary Grant film. The debonair Grant played a charming, if feckless, thief who wouldn't hurt a fly - a description that could apply to whoever is responsible for the Picasso heists. After all, say the not-so-rich of Antibes, no-one was hurt and the Arab owner is so wealthy that pounds 4m is just pocket money.

He does not see it quite that way and he is offering a reward of almost half a million pounds for the return of the stolen work. The famous oil painting had a special place on his 75m yacht, Coral Island. The yacht, worth more than pounds 60m, costs pounds 6m a year to run, and she was furnished with paintings and works of art worth pounds 151m. She has a Jacuzzi, four VIP suites, three speedboats and scuba diving gear, with a permanent crew of 25, though she is used only three months a year.

Coral Island was to go to Barcelona for mechanical work.The owner's usual art expert was called in to pack up the artefacts and pictures and arrange for their safe-keeping in a bank vault. Only two other people knew the exact whereabouts of Buste de Femme 1938, one of two Picasso works on the yacht. And it wasn't where it should have been.

Normally it was hung under the protective eye of a sophisticated alarm system. But subcontractors hired to refurbish the apartments said they couldn't paint properly because the picture was in the way. It was put it in another room under lock and key - but it was no longer protected by an alarm. The last person to see it was the English packing expert who left it wrapped on the floor of the cabin on 6 March, ready for taking away. But it was gone when he came to collect it for storage on 11 March, although an alarm-protected Matisse in the same room had not been touched. Coincidentally, the video surveillance equipment of the mooring had been out of action for three months.

Insurers at Lloyd's have hired Assistance d'Etudes Conseil, a private investigation company expert in art and jewellery thefts, which is advertising worldwide for the return of the painting intact for a reward of pounds 350,000. An image of Buste de Femme 1938 has also been put on the internet. Mr Eric Cros, the head of the investigation team, said: "This is one of the strangest art robberies I have come across and we still have no clues."

The painting came from Picasso's own private collection. Paintings he wanted to keep, he dated but did not sign. Buste de Femme 1938 was bought by the Saudi Arab at the Pace Art Gallery in New York for pounds 4m. The model was Dora Maar, the artist's lover. It has never been seen publicly or lent to any museum or art gallery.

"None of the owner's friends, except for one other person, knew he owned the painting," said Mr Cros. "Last year when he was entertaining guests, he had the painting removed because he didn't want anyone to know he had it."

Selling such a stolen work would be difficult and police feel there may have been a "theft to order" for a private collector. Or perhaps the thieves, or thief, were not aware of its value. Mr Cros is re-interviewing crew members, who have been ordered not to leave, and warning port authorities that if the video surveillance equipment is not repaired, captains of the big yachts will be told Antibes is a security risk. Mr Cros added: "The owner, whom I don't know, also has his own private detective on the case. He is very upset and he wants his painting back."

Earlier this year Jordanian police held four men and seized stolen paintings by Picasso, thought to be worth around pounds 28m if originals. The paintings are believed to have been stolen from Kuwaiti palaces during the Gulf War in 1990/91.

The Picasso bust of Dora Maar stolen from a Paris square last month was worth pounds 100,000. Dora Maar, born Theodora Markovitch in 1907, became Picasso's muse and mistress from 1936 to 1943. She died in 1997.

Art Hostage Comments:

The above story was of course from May 1999 when the Picasso "Dora Maar" Buste de Femme 1938 was taken.

News from Abu Dhabi reaches Art Hostage Julian Radcliffe was a visitor in Shahjah recently trying to broker a deal for the safe return of the Picasso"Dora Maar" Buste de Femme 1938.

I hope you have been open and honest in your dealings and have not offered things that are not in your gift to do so.
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Closer to home, the painting 'where snow the pastures sheets.' by Joseph Farquharson, stolen back in January 2007, was a topic of conversation over Sunday lunch in the North-West.
-
Update:
-
Wonder what stolen Art and Antiques Police recovered, if anything, when they raided a flat in Euston Road London recently ???
-
As regards any reward offers by insurance companies for the recovery of stolen diamonds, well, there are no rewards payable just Police waiting to arrest those who try to hand back any stolen diamonds, be they from Graffs, Saudi Princess or any held by the Pink Panther Gang bosses.
-
Anyone trying to profit from the return of the diamonds stolen from a Saudi Princess in Sardinia August 2009, Italy will be arrested as soon as there is a glimpse of any of the Saudi Princess diamonds.
-
February 6, 2008 - Two Picasso paintings worth several million dollars, the "Tete de Cheval" (Horse's head), from 1962, and "Verre et Pichet" (Glass and pitcher), from 1944 were stolen from a cultural centre in the eastern Swiss town of Pfaeffikon.
-
February 11, 2008 - Oil paintings by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet were among those stolen from a museum in Zurich. The paintings are said to be worth over $90.99 million.

-

The stolen Cezanne, Degas and two Picasso's stolen in Switzerland in two separate raids Feb 2008 do not attract any reward or fee payment at this time.
-
Anyone offering any payment is lying and trying to get a glimpse so Police can swoop.
-
Both the Buehrle Museum, owner of the Cezanne and Degas, and the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany that owns the two Picasso's are only offering payment to those who will sting and cause the arrest of people, not realising they are being stung by those who say they can recover these paintings, Cezanne, Degas, and two Picasso's, but in reality they have no chance.
-
Montenegro was the last resting place and unless the Police in Montenegro are paid there will be no recovery, according to Dick Ellis, who is working for the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany who own the two Picasso's stolen whilst on loan in Switzerland Feb 2008. Dick Ellis visited Serbia and Montenegro and when he returned to the UK said:

"Cannot make any recoveries in Serbia or Montenegro as payment will have to be made, not just to the thieves and handlers, but also to Police, who are corrupt to the core"
-
However, certain people who know, are aware of the current sting attempts, so be careful if you are trying to sting as you could get stung yourself.
-
Anyone attempting to sting stolen art and antiques back from the Underworld does so at their own risk, but with the Da Vinci Madonna case still fresh in the mind of all those involved in the art related crime arena, means, the fact anyone claiming to represent the victims or insurance companies, are regarded as Undercover Police until otherwise proven.

Stolen Art Watch, Cheltenham Trophies, Gold Cup Heist , Clock Ticking !!

Cheltenham Gold Cup theft: Racehorse owner offers £15K reward

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/news/Substantial-reward-Gold-Cup/article-2422579-detail/article.html

A substantial reward has been put up for the return of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The prestigious trophy, which is made of solid gold and is worth about £10,000, was one of several cups taken from the home of multi-millionaire racehorse owner Raymond Mould.

The 70-year-old yesterday said he was putting up a £15,000 reward for anyone who could secure the return of all items taken during the burglary.

The money has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible and the recovery of the stolen items.

The raiders struck at his Wormington home, near Broadway, in the early hours of Wednesday.

The combined value of the awards is believed to be more than £150,000. A new version of the Gold Cup is made for the iconic race each year and the stolen trophy was won in 1988 by Charter Party.

The horse was trained by the late David Nicholson and was ridden to glory by Richard Dunwoody in the colours of Claire Smith and Mould's late wife, Jenny.

Yesterday Mr Mould said he was feeling a little better than he did in the aftermath of the theft.

"At least we are all alive and nobody was hurt – except the pocket. All the items were insured, but that's not the point. I could go out and get a replacement of the Gold Cup made tomorrow but it would not be the same," he said.

Among the other prizes taken in the raid was an original silver trophy that is more than 100 years old.

The Grand Annual Challenge Cup, owned by Cheltenham Racecourse and won by Mould's Pigeon Island this year, dates back to 1906.

Mr Mould, who is the main owner for Gloucestershire trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, was in London with his wife at the time of the burglary.

His daughter Sophie and her boyfriend are reported to have been asleep in the property.

His daughter Sophie and her boyfriend are reported to have been asleep in the property.

She told the Racing Post: "They must have come in the middle of the night, I didn't know until I came down in the morning."

Thieves are thought to have broken in between midnight and 6.50am.

Police want to hear from anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area.

Stolen Art Watch, Firle Place Raid, A Year Later !!!

Arrest in £1m Firle Place art heist case

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8271847.Arrest_in___1m_Firle_Place_art_heist_case/

POLICE have made an arrest in their hunt for the burglars behind a £1m
art heist at a Sussex stately home.

Detectives are remaining tight-lipped about the new development in their
inquiry into the theft of rare 18th Century porcelain from Firle Place
in July last year.

The pieces were among 20 items stolen from the home of millionaire
landowner Viscount Gage - and last month it was claimed the gang
responsible may have carried out a string of other crimes.

The arrest took place last Thursday but police are refusing to reveal
the age of their suspect or where they found him.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said yesterday: “We can confirm a
middle-aged man was arrested by Sussex Police detectives investigating
the burglary last Thursday.

“He was interviewed and bailed without charge until September pending
further inquiries.”

The raid was featured in a recent Crimewatch appeal, in which viewers
were told the burglar had managed to break in through a first-floor
window by cutting out a small pane of glass and squeezing through the space.

Opening the window would have triggered an alarm.

The cabinets containing the items were the only spot in the building not
covered by security systems.

He then carried the porcelain back through the empty windowpane and down
a ladder before getting away.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Ashcroft told the programme: “It was
immediately apparent this was not the work of an opportunist. This was
definitely the work of a professional burglar.”

Dick Ellis, former head of the Scotland Yard art and antiques unit, has
included the Firle Place raid in a list of major crimes he believes were
committed by a single gang.

He was reported as saying up to 36 crimes, including 21 burglaries, had
been carried out by three groups.

Art Hostage Comments:
Comments to follow............

Upon another note, news breaking about an overnight burglary in which several bronzes and trophy cups were stolen, including a Cheltenham Gold cup from the 80''s.
Now there's a surprise !!!!

Stolen Art Watch, I Don't Like Mondays !!!

Memo to the fool who is tempted by the reward offer of Mark Dalrymple, above.

There are always conditions to so called reward offers that are designed to thwart any payment of rewards or make the payments as small as possible.

The wording is carefully crafted to contain hooks that kick in if anyone is stupid enough to offer help in recovering stolen art and antiques. The threat of exposure is used to contain any anger when the poultry reward is paid, if any reward is paid at all.

Still, if you are stupid enough to believe the completely discredited Alcoholic Mark Dalrymple then you deserve everything you get, or not get, where rewards are concerned.

Dealing with Mark Dalrymple or Dick Ellis means you either get, Arrested, Cheated, or both, (Fucked, Nicked or Both in street slang) just ask Fealden, Fairbrother, the Da Vinci Madonna cleared eight, Colin the informant, (Bertie Smalls Nephew), plus ***** ******* who informed on Graham Harkin recently over the Thomas Tompion clock and now awaits the supposed £20,000 reward offered by Mark Dalrymple, etc.

At least the Art Loss Register, Julian Radcliffe and Chris Marshmallow are clear about not ever, ever, paying any money for information that leads to the recovery of stolen art and antiques, greedy, yes, but openly greedy all the same.

Art Hostage has a particular dislike of some Mondays.

What with Lowry's in play, Clocks ticking, Bulmers sipping, Monkey's messing, Hurley hurling, Dalrymple drunk, Ellis elevated, Bubbles talking, Olive Oiling, Melish milking, Light laughing, Mears mumbling, Terry Smith lipping, Moorhead stuttering, Capewell drinking, Jimmy Johnson jumping, Silver shinning, diamonds sparking, Stevens singing, S.O.C.A. seething, Douglas dancing, Wadey warbling, Hunt hunting, Alan Miers farting, Dobby doping, Dixie dealing, Connolly creeping, Cousins conning, sting attempts, not a small group of Miniature developments, Police and Art Loss Investigators demanding a media black-out from reporting about art related crime, Art Hostage is left a little breathless. Not that Mike Ashcroft will cry in his Corn Flakes.

Add to that, Art Hostage is the central figure in three, soon to be four, then five, investigations by the Police complaints bodies, IPCC and SPCC, into Police failings and wrongdoing, I kid you not.

Getting a bit much, everyone wants a piece of Art Hostage.

Art Loss Register Ghuru Julian Radcliffe, with an Undercover Cop in tow, have been in the UAE, Abu Dhabi, checking out if any Gardner art is lurking around the Palace amongst other stolen art cases they are working on. No money will change hands, just an old fashion sting whereby the art is recovered and Police will swoop. Wonder if the Arabs/ex-Pat second home owners are naive enough to fall for this ruse

Still, why not all meet up for the Art Hostage "Bring a Stolen Artwork Party" !!!

Police and insurers come with cash, Underworld come with stolen art, exchanges take place, no arrests, everyone goes home with a present and Art Hostage gets a little taste of everything ???

Only joking, would be nice though, an amnesty day, courtesy of Art Hostage.

Update:

Dali found in South London, surely not, mere child's play or Adolescence

Stolen Art Watch, Da Vinci Madonna, Dalrymple's Chickens Coming Home To Roost, Yet, Again !!!! Firle Place Porcelain Sweden Beckons !!

This article appeared today on the bbc news Website;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_scotland/10448546.stm

Long Live The Freedom of Information Act

“Everybody’s playing the game but nobody’s rules are the same”

Chess

Dumfries and Galloway have spent £250,000.00 on its operations since The Madonna of the Yarnwinder was stolen in 2003.

The Prosecution costs have been estimated at a little more that £130,000.00.

These figure do no include the defence costs of the eight accused men five of whom were acquitted by a jury and three of whom the Crown elected not to continue to prosecute in the public interest.

The Crown employed 2 Queens Counsel and three junior counsel supported by the Procurator Fiscal Service at a cost estimated at £134,713

For the defence costs of the eight defendants it would not be unreasonable to multiply the prosecution costs by eight and that takes account of the low rates of pay the Scottish Legal Aid Board allow. Say £135k x 8 to produce defence costs of £1,080,000

The breakdown of the costs reveals that between 2003 and 2006 little more than £100,000.00 was spent and you would have thought that the major police activity would take place in the immediate aftermath of the robbery.

In fact the report indicates that £25,000.00 was spent in the first year which would have involved calling upon the worldwide resources of law enforcement including the FBI and Interpol.

"However the figures rose to about £185,000.00 between 2007 and 2009 as an undercover operation began"

At a glance it is apparent that more money was spent post recovery seeking to secure convictions than pre recovery seeking to discover who committed the robbery. The police clearly took their eyes off the ball because they cannot answer two questions

· Who stole the painting?

· Where did the £350,000 paid to secure control of the painting go?

Lets be absolutely clear about a few matters

The undercover covert operation commenced in June 2004 involving Michael Brown

The Michael Brown lead effectively ended in May 2007

Only two undercover officers were involved.

In evidence DI Gary Coupland stated that as of 10 August 2007 there were only two officers from Dumfries and Galloway actively assigned to the case.

It would be safe to assume that the two undercover officers assigned to the Brown case had been released to undertake other duties.

So far as he recovery of the painting was concerned all activity took place between 14 August 2007 and the date of the recovery on 4 October 2007.

This is less than seven weeks.

On the day of the recovery an astonishing 80 officers were involved.

Apart from the handover of the painting all communication was by telephone, email and fax save for one 45 minute meeting at Euston station on 30 September 2007.

It would be reasonable to assume that the undercover operation ceased on 4 October 2007 so the breakdown of the figure seems to be masking how the resources have actually been deployed.

The accused were not under surveillance apart from the Euston meeting and day of handover so how do the police explain this massive use of resource

Interestingly no reference is made to the costs of SOCA or SEDA or Strathcylde Police all of whom were given credit when the arrests were made

Is the Duke of Buccleuch so powerful that no expense is spared when it comes to protecting his interests?

SOCA and the real people behind the robbery may well have played Dumfries and Galloway Police.

The police acknowledge that: "there is no doubt in my mind that the people involved in the planning for this crime and the actual execution of it are operating at the very highest level and are involved in organised crime in the UK." Det Ch Insp Dalgleish said police had been "duty bound" to follow up on information they received that someone had possession of the painting and was seeking money for its return. "That operation was fairly lengthy and by the very nature of it, it was sophisticated and delicate," he explained.

The whole SOCA operation was based on the premise of a commercial buyback. So it was never a position of someone having possession of the painting seeking money for its return. It was made absolutely clear from the outset that this was a window of opportunity whereby parties could assist in the facilitation of the paintings return on a commercial basis. This was the SOCA plan of which the Duke of Buccleuch played an integral part.

If innocent parties were involved in that, then that could achieve the first objective namely safe recovery of the painting. There after police enquiry may have been able to trace matters back, but there were no guarantees.

"It resulted in some costs being incurred but I think if you look at the seven or eight years since the painting was stolen and balance out the costs that Dumfries and Galloway have incurred I don't think it's unreasonable by any means.”

If you were aware of the SOCA meeting information being withheld from you, then you would be outraged. It seems to be abundantly clear that SOCA and Mark Dalrymple kept Dumfries and Galloway Police in the dark about the Gatwick Airport Hilton meeting thereby affording them plausible deniability.

It is anticipated that the current Independent Police Complaints Commission Investigation against SOCA will establish that Dumfries and Galloway Police were not advised of the Gatwick Airport Hilton meeting in January 2007

"If you were to ask me would I make the same decisions again in terms of that undercover deployment - yes, I would without question."

With due respect to Detective Chief Inspector Dalgleish you have to wonder who has been asking him this very question

With respect Inspector Dalgleish no you would not. You are clearly an officer with integrity and SOCA have placed you into a position that in untenable. You clearly are unaware of the SOCA meeting and thus you have plausible deniability

Despite the lack of convictions, Det Ch Insp Dalgleish said that gathering sufficient evidence to take the case to court was something the force was proud of. "The jury will make the decision that they are charged to do, that is beyond my control," he said.

"For us the result, if you like, was getting the evidence against those individuals to that position where the jury can make a decision."

“Everybody’s playing the game but nobody’s rules are the same”

Chess

A jury can only make a true decision where everyone plays by the rules and had SOCA played by the rules and disclosed the evidence of the meeting at the Gatwick Airport Hilton in January 2007 then the Crown could not have mounted a conspiracy prosecution based on a conspiracy alleged to have commenced in July 2007 which undercover officers joined in.

Lord Carloway in the Court of Appeal stated.

"INSTRUCTIONS TO UNDERCOVER OFFICERS

1. A Police Officer must not act as an 'agent provocateur'. This means they must not

(a) Incite or procure a person, nor through that person anybody else, to commit an offence, or an offence of a more serious character, which that person would not otherwise have committed.

(b) Through pressure, encouragement or inducement invite any person to commit an offence, which that person would never otherwise have been committing. (Weir v Jessop 1991 SCCR 636)

2. However, a Police Officer is entitled to join a conspiracy, which is already in being...

...

4. Police Officers are entitled to use the tool of infiltration of groups or organisations. In such a case it is proper for the undercover officer to show interest in, and enthusiasm for proposals made even though they are unlawful, but, in so doing, they must try to tread the difficult line between showing the necessary interest and enthusiasm to keep their cover (and pursue their investigation) and actually becoming an agent provocateur. Invariably this means you enter a criminal conspiracy or become part of a pre-arranged criminal offence.

...

6. Police Officers must bear in mind that the court will scrutinise carefully the role of the Officer in undercover operations and take into account the circumstances in which evidence was obtained. The principle of fairness will be applied by the court.

7. Police Officers must be conversant with Article 6 (the right to fair trial) and Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights".

The Trial Judge accepted that from this point, when they first became involved with the accused, the primary objective of the police was the recovery of the painting, rather than to arrest anyone involved in its theft or reset. Any such arrest would be ancillary to the main objective. As soon as they heard of the contact between Mr Ronald and Mr Dalrymple, the police were suspicious of the actings of Mr Ronald and those he purported to represent. The Trial Judge also accepted that the undercover police, who were under the supervision of senior officers, acted in good faith throughout the events which then followed. He accepted too that, but for the use of undercover techniques, it is unlikely that the painting would have been recovered. He regarded the use of such techniques as "both sensible, from an operational point of view, and proportionate"

“In applying the recognised test, the first point of significance is that the crown are alleging that all five accused conspired to extort money from the owners of the painting and that this conspiracy started on 30 July 2007, before any undercover policemen became involved”

The suppression of evidence before the entrapment hearing in front of Lord Mackay renders the proceeding farce. Had the judge heard the evidence of the two SOCA officers and Mark Dalrymple conspiring in January 2007 six months before the accused had even heard of the painting, he could not possible have reached the conclusions he did. SOCA ran roughshod over the instructions to undercover officers and thereby acted without lawful authority. The rules are there for a reason and when the rules are broken then the system fails. SOCA has not only fallen below the professional standards demanded of them by society they have also let down their professional colleagues in Dumfries and Galloway.

As Mark Dalrymple and two SOCA officers gave evidence before him questions may arise as to their motivations before the Court. The Duke of Buccleuch’s evidence was to the effect that he knew nothing of the recovery operation until the day of the recovery.

I wonder how angry Lord Mackay, Lord Reid, Lord Carloway and Lord Menzies would be to discover how they were deceived in respect of the SOCA meeting at Gatwick Airport.

The figures quoted seem conservative and the resources clearly are top heavy in seeking to procure convictions. The Da Vinci case was strategically flawed from the moment the recovery strategy switched from the Brown case. The buy back idea achieved its objective because the painting was recovered. The strategy to build a case against the returners rather than to follow the £350,000 is baffling.

On the 10 August 2007 an open offer was made to repatriate the painting within 72 hours. I took until 4 October 2007 purely to accommodate police requests for their holidays.

This case has exercised some of the finest legal brains in Scotland both on and off the bench. The acquittals have been a vindication of the jury system and highly embarrassing to the Crown and Dumfries and Galloway Police.

So who has played whom in the Da Vinci case?

· The Duke has his painting back, so far at no expense,

· Persons unknown are £350,000 in cash better off. Presumably serious and organised criminals

· SOCA are facing an investigation by the IPCC

· Dumfries and Galloway Police are facing complaints which may end up with the Scottish Police Complaints Commissioner

· Mark Dalrymple is facing an inquiry into his conduct by the Institute of Professional Loss Adjusters

· Hiscox have paid no reward due to police objection

The outcome of the enquiries underway is eagerly awaited and the civil actions may well grace the courts for some time to come

“Everybody’s playing the game but nobody’s rules are the same”

Chess

Update;

So much breaking news

Lord Stewartby Coin Collection in Play

Lord Stewartby's coin collection, remember expenses allowed, then as soon as there is a glimse of the coin collection, Police swoop and recover the Lord Stewartby Coin collection and arrest everyone within a ten mile radius. Remember what happened with the Da Vinci Madonna, John Craig posed as a representative of the Duke of Buccleuch but in reality was an Undercover Police Officer.

Also, do you remember Peter Sonny Martin O'Halloran, the prolific professional art thief ???

Well, he is meant to be in jail serving seven years as I recall. Wonder if he has gone walkabout again ???

Moving over to Canada, a suposedly rare Chinese scroll painting was stolen from a Mall shop and reputed to be worth $200,000, they have CCTV images. Could it be Darryl Vincent, Ray Hobin or even mobile phone provider Aaron Syberg, usual suspects ???

Finally, hope this is not true, but a whisper is Longleat Furniture robbery. Please tell me this is not true, not another Police failure after Art Hostage warned May 2009 Longleat was in the sights of the Art Underworld again and pointed out the security flaw that should have been fixed.

Sorry for print size, template playing up.

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Firle Place Porcelain Sweden, Hmmm, who do we know has long standing Swedish connections ????

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