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The $5 Million Violin and the Telltale Taser: Inside an Epically Stupid Crime
By Justin Rohrlich
It was a little after 10PM when Frank Almond, the concertmaster
of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO), walked out of Wisconsin
Lutheran College into the sub-zero January night. He had just finished a
chamber music performance at the small school, located in the quiet
suburb of Wauwatosa, and he was headed home.
As Almond opened the
passenger door of his car to put his violin inside, a 41-year-old ex-con
named Salah Salahadyn allegedly walked up to Almond and tased him
unconscious. Almond came to just in time to see his attacker speed away
in a burgundy minivan driven by a woman in a black hat. Almond’s iPad
was gone. As were two 19th-century bows, which were worth a combined
$50,000. And so was the violin, a 1715 Stradivarius he had been playing
since a wealthy benefactor loaned it to him in 2008.
It was worth $5 million.
“There
is now exactly one documented case of a Strad-level violin specifically
targeted for an armed robbery," Almond tells VICE News. "Lucky me.” * * *
He actually was pretty lucky.
Salahadyn, who had previously spent five years in prison
for swiping a $25,000 statue from a Milwaukee art gallery in the
mid-1990s and then trying to sell it back to the gallery owner, once
described stealing a Strad as his "dream theft." But when he allegedly
stole Almond's, it wasn't exactly the perfect score. Somehow Salahadyn
had failed to realize that each time a Taser is fired, it disperses tiny
ID tags imprinted with bar-coded serial numbers — kind of like guilt
confetti. A phone call from police to the manufacturer of the Taser
identified a 36-year-old Milwaukee barber named Universal Knowledge
Allah as the man who'd bought it.
Allah (born Shaudell Johnson)
planned to tell cops that the Taser had been stolen if they started
asking questions, but according to court documents, he managed to
implicate himself and Salahadyn before that ever happened. Four days
after the robbery, Allah gave a haircut to a customer identified only as
“W.D.” W.D. then gave Allah a lift home. It was during this ride that
Allah told W.D. all that had happened, right down to Salahadyn having
“used the electric, not the heat.” By that point, the robbery was big
news, and a $100,000 reward had been offered by the MSO.
The following day, W.D. went to police and told them everything he knew.
Allah
was quickly arrested, followed almost immediately by Salahadyn, who had
neglected to dispose of two key pieces of evidence: a binder filled
with magazine articles about Strads, and a note he wrote to himself
reading, “Taser.com $500-$1000.” Salahadyn then led investigators to an
associate’s home where he had stashed the stolen violin. In the attic,
hidden inside a suitcase, was Almond’s undamaged Stradivarius, along with Salahadyn’s own ID.
The alleged getaway driver, LaToya Atlas — also Salahadyn’s on-again,
off-again girlfriend and the mother of his child — was arrested and
released without charges. Officials have thus far declined to explain
why.
Famous Strads 'have been photographed from more angles than a porn star.'
Dick Ellis, the detective who founded New Scotland Yard’s Art & Antiques Unit
in 1989, describes the world of rare instrument theft as “a small
subset of a niche area of criminality.” In other words, Strads are
almost never stolen, despite the fact that so many of them — like
Almond's — are absurdly easy targets. And there's one overarching reason
why.
There are lots of dumb things you can steal. A Stradivarius may be the dumbest. * * *
Of
the approximately 1,000 violins, violas, and cellos Antonio Stradivari
made in his lifetime, the most coveted come from what is called his
“golden period,” which lasted from 1700 to 1725. Of these, two are
considered the cream of the crop. One is the 1716 Messiah, which is in
the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK. The other is Almond’s 1715 Lipinski.
There
are various theories about what makes the 450 or so surviving
Stradivarius violins so sublime. Some experts have speculated it has to
do with unique climate conditions experienced only during a brief time
in the 17th century, which gave special acoustic properties to the wood
used by Stradivari. Others believe it had something to do with the
varnish, a secret formulation whose recipe disappeared when Stradivari
died in 1737 at the age of 93. Still others think river fungi got into
timber being floated down from the Italian Alps to Stradivari’s home
base of Cremona, which somehow altered the wood’s cells in a magical way
that has never been duplicated.
All of those theories may be
total BS. Beyond dispute, however, is the fact that Stradivari’s
creations are a testament to a singular brand of genius, an artisan who
spent his life relentlessly trying to improve upon his past work.
But
Strads don't cost millions of dollars simply because they sound good.
They are pieces of art. The 1721 Lady Blunt Stradivarius is worth,
ounce-for-ounce, 625 times the price of gold. Next month, Sotheby’s will
open sealed bids for Stradivari’s 1719 Macdonald viola. There are far
fewer Stradivarius violas still around than there are violins; if the
Macdonald realizes the estimated sale price of more than $45 million, it
will be the most expensive musical instrument ever to change hands.
It's no wonder Salahadyn got ideas.
“People
read these articles about a Stradivarius worth millions of dollars and
think, ‘Hey, if we just get 10 percent of its actual price, that’s still
a lot of money,’” says former FBI agent Robert K. Wittman, founder of the Bureau’s Art Crime Team and author of Priceless.
“The real art in an art heist isn’t the stealing, it’s the selling.” To
that end, three things are absolutely vital if you’re going to get any
value out of a Strad: authenticity, provenance, and proper
documentation. This is where the deal tends to fall apart for a thief. A
stolen Strad “might be real as rain,” Wittman says, but once it’s out
of the rightful owner’s hands, it becomes relatively worthless.
"I
call high-value stolen art ‘headache art’ because it disrupts the
everyday handling of lesser stolen art, therefore causing everyone a
fucking headache."
Strads derive their value in part from
the fact that their provenance is so well-documented. Every nick, bump,
and scratch has been analyzed and pored over, as has the grain of the
wood. Modern-day violin makers use Stradivariuses as models for their
own instruments, which makes the makers intimately familiar with the
violins, violas, and cellos. Famous Strads “have been photographed from
more angles than a porn star,” says Laurie Niles, a concert violinist
and the editor-in-chief of Violinist.com. Privately run organizations like the Art Loss Register and Art Recovery International
have dedicated databases focused solely on tracking stringed
instruments for dealers, auction houses, collectors and buyers, police,
museums, insurance companies, and anyone else with an interest in their
recovery.
“Morons — low-level idiots,” is how ex art thief “Turbo” Paul Hendry
describes Salahadyn and Allah, who are both due back in court May 15
and face up to 15 years in prison. Hendry, who claims to have been Great
Britain’s most prolific trafficker of stolen art before he went
straight in 1993, says most crooked dealers will handle only
lesser-known pieces, which can be blended back into the legitimate
market at, or close to, full price. Since most thieves know not to steal
internationally recognizable items, the overall recovery rate for art
and antiquities is a paltry 5 percent to 10 percent.
“Give me 100
stolen pieces worth $10,000 over one worth $1 million any day,” Hendry
says. “I call high-value, iconic, stolen art ‘headache art’ because it
disrupts the everyday handling of lesser stolen art, therefore causing
everyone a fucking headache.”
The chances of a legitimate buyer
taking a stolen Stradivarius off a thief's hands are, effectively, zero.
According to Niles, a multimillion-dollar Strad without the right
papers “might fetch $500” in a pawn shop. That said, there are a handful
of famous Strads that have disappeared and remain missing. So where are
they?
“So far I've seen absolutely no evidence that a black
market for high-end instruments even exists — in contrast to paintings,”
Almond says. “I'm aware of exactly three great Strads that have
disappeared since 1994 and have not resurfaced; that's not much of a
market.”
He’s right. As one dealer explains, the rarer the item,
the smaller the world becomes. This is one reason why Ellis believes
many stolen instruments — like the Le Maurien, Colossus, and
Davidoff-Morini Strads Almond mentions — could very well have been
fenced for, essentially, nothing. Today they may be hiding in plain
sight.
Says Ellis: “I suspect they have been sold on to students and [other people] who have no idea what they bought on the cheap." * * *
There
are only two police officers in the United States who serve as full
time “art cops.” One of them is Detective Don Hrycyk of the Los Angeles
Police Department.
Back in the late 1980s, when Los Angeles was
seeing roughly 1,000 murders a year, Hrycyk was working homicide in
South Central’s violent 77th Street Division. When the relentless
bloodshed got to be too much, he put in for a transfer to the commercial
burglary unit. Hrycyk’s caseload initially included a handful of art
crimes, and in 1993 that became his sole focus. Today, the 40-year
veteran is in charge of the LAPD’s Art Theft Detail, which currently consists of one person: Don Hrycyk.
Over
the past 20 years, he has orchestrated the return of seven of eight
rare violins stolen in LA. (A Luigi Mozzani 1917 model known simply as
“#108” remains missing.)
In his experience, there is no common MO among art thieves; Hrycyk has
seen rare instruments get swept up as part of a larger haul in ordinary
burglaries, snatched out of spite during domestic disputes, and stolen
by everyone from highly organized crews to domestic laborers. Although
he says he’s encountered the odd targeted theft, the kind of advance
work Salahadyn did before allegedly stealing Almond's Strad is rare.
Twice
on Hrycyk’s watch, high-end stringed instruments have walked away when
distracted musicians left them unattended. In 2004, the $3.5 million
General Kyd Stradivarius, a cello on loan from the LA Philharmonic to
cellist Peter Stumpf, disappeared when he absentmindedly left it overnight
on the front porch of his Los Feliz home. The following year, a 1742
Sanctus Seraphin violin, on loan from Southern California philanthropist
Peter Mandell to music student Lindsay Deutsch, was snatched from the back seat
of her car while she shopped at a West Hills supermarket. Both were
quickly returned in exchange for rewards: $50,000 put up by an anonymous
donor in the case of the General Kyd, and $10,000 put up by Deutsch’s
parents for the safe return of the $350,000 Sanctus Seraphin — and the
$160,000 bow that was stolen with it.
Both were crimes of
opportunity, and Hrycyk didn’t have much doubt the cello and the violin
would turn up eventually. What still disturbs him is that the crimes
seem to have paid off; the thieves were never caught.
“Our feeling
was that the people who ‘found’ these things were probably sent in as
mules for the thief to get the reward,” Hrycyk says.
That tactic
is becoming less and less feasible. In fact, according to Hendry,
stealing a Strad in hopes of collecting a reward — or ransom, as he
calls it — is almost as foolish a plan as Salahadyn’s was in Milwaukee.
“Rewards
are a load of bullshit,” Hendry says. “It used to be common for stolen
art to be recovered quietly and payments made, but recent
money-laundering laws in Europe and the US have made those deals harder
to make. Law enforcement will not allow the private sector to recover
stolen art without arrests anymore; anyone acting as a conduit knows to
get a legal agreement in place before helping recovery. I have done this
many times and when no agreement is forthcoming, I walk away.”
“I never met a drug dealer who would be willing to trade good heroin or coke for a Stradivarius he can’t do anything with.”
Of course, rules are sometimes broken. In 2010, solo violinist Min-Jin Kym’s 1696 Strad, worth about $2 million, was stolen
while she chatted with a friend at a Pret-a-Manger in London’s Euston
Station. A closed-circuit camera later identified the culprits as John
Maughan, a 30-year-old Irish Traveler with 46 known aliases and 123
criminal convictions to his credit, and two teenage accomplices who were
too young to be named publicly. After pleading guilty, the boys were
sentenced to undisclosed terms; Maugham was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in
prison, which was reduced on appeal to 3 1/2. But the violin remained
missing.
After a £30,000 reward offered by the violin’s insurer
failed to turn up anything conclusive, Kym was paid by her insurance
company for the loss. For three years, cops chased leads all over
Europe, but Maughan clammed up and the trail seemed to have gone cold.
Then, last June, British Transport Police (BTP) announced that
investigators had miraculously found the Strad. The BTP said nothing else, other that the violin had been located at “a house in the Midlands.”
Further details were never revealed. So we asked Hendry to tell us what he knows.
The
violin that became known as the “ex-Kym” Strad was auctioned for $2.3
million last December, and the public was told that a portion of the
proceeds were donated to the authorities who had recovered it. But
Hendry says the sale proceeds “donated” to police actually went to
Maughan’s associates.
“The truth is, it was handed back by fellow
gypsies who had taken possession of the Strad from Maughan, the original
thief,” Hendry tells VICE News. “This was an illegal act under UK law,
but done because there was simply no other way of recovering the Strad.
It’s a grey area that happens when the desire to recover the stolen
artwork overrides the ability to make arrests.”
Authorities’
desire to recover the Strad was motivated in part by the fact that it
was being used as collateral for drug deals, Hendry says. But that's an
extremely unusual circumstance.
“I never met a drug dealer who
would be willing to trade good heroin or coke," Wittman says, "for a
Stradivarius he can’t do anything with.” * * *
Musicians
say each Strad has a distinct personality. Most have names, and Hrycyk
believes this adds to the huge sense of loss when one gets stolen.
Almond
was no exception. The day after the robbery, he addressed the media at a
news conference. “It is difficult to fully articulate, but the main
thing about instruments in this echelon is that your interaction with
them on so many levels becomes something very similar to a primary human
relationship, with all its twists and turns," he said. "For many years I
have been incredibly fortunate to be passing through its life, not the
other way around.”
And it’s not just the musicians who feel an acute loss. After the theft, a local Milwaukee music critic named Rick Walters wrote,
“Hearing its rich tones has been a defining aspect of classical music
in Milwaukee. As the violin’s audience, we are also violated by this
robbery. My reaction is some combination of outrage and grief.”
According
to British cultural critic Norman Lebrecht, a violinist in 1960 could
expect to pay about $1,600 for “a fine 19th-century instrument,” or
roughly double his annual salary. Today, Lebrecht says, the ratio is 10 or 12 times average orchestral earnings. More than $100,000 in Bitcoin was stolen in a ridiculously low-tech heist. Read more here.
In recent years, Stradivarius investment funds
have started to appear, pushing already astronomical prices even
higher. Not entirely unlike oil prices that started to rise when
speculators got involved, the market for rare violins became even more
distorted once Strads became an
asset class. The instruments remain coveted not only because they are a
finite commodity almost guaranteed to appreciate, but also because
loaning one to an elite musician bestows upon the owner — whether a
corporation, foundation, or private individual — a level of status that a
barrel of oil never could. Plus, regular use is part of a Strad’s
maintenance; many believe the sound becomes more exquisite each time the
instrument is played.
That's why it’s important to remember that
violins are instruments, says Dorit Straus, an insurance advisor for Art
Recovery International and herself a professional-level violinist. That
is, they are tools, not museum pieces. Yes, a Strad is a work of art
and a cultural artifact — but it is meant to be played. High-value
paintings or sculptures, which are rarely if ever transported, are often
accompanied by specialists and guards when they are.
Two weeks after the robbery, Frank Almond played the Lipinski Stradivarius at a sold-out recital.
Avoiding trial: Plea hearing scheduled for “mastermind” in Stradivarius theft
MILWAUKEE (WITI) — One day after it was announced Universal Allah has
reached a plea deal for his role in the theft of the valuable
Stradivarius violin — we’ve now learned the second man charged in the
case — Salah Salahadyn has reached a plea deal as well.
Salahadyn faces one count of robbery in the case. Prosecutors say Salahadyn was the mastermind behind the theft.
He appeared in court for a scheduling conference on Thursday, May 15th — and a plea hearing was scheduled for June 30th.
Salahadyn previously pleaded not guilty in the case.
Allah was in court on Wednesday, May 14th.
Allah faces one count of robbery, and one count of possession with intent to deliver THC (less than 200 grams).
Allah’s attorney requested a plea hearing — and it is expected Allah will plead guilty.
Prosecutors say Allah was the one who purchased and provided the stun
gun that was used to attack and rob Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
violinist Frank Almond.
The plea hearing will take place on May 28th — and a sentencing hearing is set for July 24th for Allah.
The violin was stolen on January 27th.
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond had just
finished up a concert at the Wisconsin Lutheran College on Bluemound
Road. Almond was exiting the performance hall, and he approached his
vehicle and opened the rear door on his car to put the violin inside.
That’s when a man walked up to him, “produced a flashlight-style Taser-type weapon, and fired that Taser at Mr. Almond.”
Almond told police the “ejected probes of the Taser struck him in the wrist and chest.
Almond said he fell to the ground, and was momentarily incapacitated.
Upon gaining control of himself, Almond said the Stradivarius Lipinski 1715 violin was missing.
The Milwaukee Police Department eventually recovered the stolen 1715
Lipinski Stradivarius violin from a home in the city’s Bay View
neighborhood.
French Art Heist Mastermind Says Ex-FBI Agent Robert Wittman Framed Him
Jan Brueghel the Elder, Allegory of Earth (circa 1611).
Courtesy Musée des Beaux Arts, Nice.
Convicted art thief Bernard Ternus now claims that he’s been framed for his alleged role in a French art heist, the AFP reports. The 2007 theft at Nice’s Musée des Beaux-Arts took place in broad daylight and was carried out by five armed robbers who made off with four paintings by Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
The Miami-based Ternus was convicted in US
court of masterminding the crime in 2008, and after serving a five-year
prison sentence, has been transferred to France. While testifying in
Aix-en-Provence, Ternus claimed that he had been framed for the crime by
an FBI sting operation.
According to Ternus, two men approached him
asking for paintings by Dutch masters. “I was manipulated, I have never
in my life asked anyone to steal paintings,” he said in court. Ternus
went on to claim that the supposed FBI operatives, one of whom he
described as a “mysterious Frenchman,” were quite insistent, and
eventually threatened him.
Claude Monet, Cliffs near Dieppe (1897).
Courtesy Musée des Beaux Arts, Nice.
All four paintings—Monet’s Cliffs near Dieppe, Sisley’s The Lane of Polars at Moret, and Brueghel’s Allegory of Water and Allegory of Earth—were eventually recovered in Marseille. FBI art crimes investigator Robert Wittman
led the effort that resulted in the arrest and conviction of five men,
all of whom were sentenced to between two and nine years by French
courts.
The burglars, who were disguised as cleaning workers, pulled off the blockbuster heist in just five minutes. According to a New York Timesreport,
the Sisley was previously taken by thieves in 1978, and recovered in a
Marseille sewer a few days later. It was also stolen, along with the
Monet, in 1998, but turned up shortly thereafter on a boat in a town not
far away. The latter robbery was overseen by Jean Forneris, the
museum’s curator at the time.
Ternus’s trial is scheduled to end today, May 14. Word has it Bernard Ternus was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in jail.
Thieves ransack Daylesford church stealing $100K of historic items
Police are appealing for witnesses after more than
$100,000 worth of historic items were stolen from a church in Daylesford
in central Victoria.
It is believed the antiques were stolen from the Anglican Church on Central Springs Road on Tuesday night.
The
items taken include a 17th century mirror and wooden screen-print, a
gem-encrusted brass and silver cross and a 140-year-old lectern.
Detective Sergeant Tony Coxall says it is unclear whether the property was secure at the time of the theft.
"Yes there are indications that there could have been a vehicle involved," he said.
"Unfortunately
we don't have a description of the vehicle but we believe either a van
or a wagon of some sort must have been involved with the number of
items.
"We're still getting a full list of the items stolen but we believe it must be well in excess of $100,000 at the moment."
Detective Sergeant Coxall says it is believed multiple offenders were involved due to the weight of some of the items.
Father
Jeff O'Hare says most of the furniture has also been taken and the
community will be bringing their own seats for this weekend's services.
He says the parish is devastated by the loss of such rare items.
"They've all been given, and the cross, for instance, from the high altar, has stood in place since the 1860s," he said.
"So it's historic value as well as for some people extremely sentimental value."
Burglars steal antiques in raid in Twyford near Winchester
ANTIQUE furniture and jewellery were stolen from a house in Twyford near Winchester.
Entry was forced and raiders stole items including an eight foot
grandfather clock and 6ft by 4ft cabinet along with Chinese-style
pottery and antique jewellery.
The burglary in hazeley Road was between 8.30pm on Thursday, May 8 and 10.30am on Friday, May 9.
PC Jasmin Connolly from Winchester police station said: “This burglary
has been devastating for the family as many precious family belongings
have been stolen including very large pieces of furniture.
“The offenders must have used a van to remove the items and there are likely to have been at least two offenders.
Painting returned to Dublin gallery 20 years after theft
A
small but valuable painting stolen from a Dublin art gallery more than
20 years ago is back hanging on its walls after being recovered by
detectives.
In The Omnibus by the French artist Honore Daumier has
been returned to the Hugh Lane gallery in Dublin after being found by
proceeds of crime officers late last year.
The drawing in
watercolour and gouache was stolen on a Saturday afternoon in June 1992
when the gallery was open to the public and a thief ripped it from a
wall.
It was valued at the time in the hundreds of thousands but gallery chiefs refused to be drawn on its value today.
Dr
Barbara Dawson, appointed director of the Hugh Lane a year before the
theft, suggested the remarkable discovery may have been thanks to the
keen eye of detectives running a wider investigation.
“It was shocking for me at the time. It was literally pulled off the wall,” she said.
“It
was a very particular theft, and interesting that it was that painting
that someone went for. We weren’t sure if it was a ’magpie’ that liked
to have things to look at themselves or was it stolen to order.
“We haven’t been told. Maybe it was someone who was covetous and liked to have things for their own enjoyment.”
It
is understood that the stolen painting was discovered when Criminal
Assets Bureau (CAB) detectives began investigating other proceeds of
crime and the unusual work was uncovered.
In The Omnibus was part
of the original collection presented by Hugh Lane to the city of Dublin
for the Gallery of Modern Art which first opened to the public in 1908.
Daumier was a satirist, caricaturist and renowned for his social commentary on life in France in the 1800s.
Detective Garda Philip Galvin, of the CAB, has been credited with the work that led to the discovery.
CAB chief, Detective Chief Superintendent Eugene Corcoran, praised the work of his officers.
“The
Bureau is particularly pleased that as part of its investigative work
in 2013, this significant piece of artwork has been recovered and
restored to the gallery, having been stolen in 1992,” he said.
Based in Paris, Daumier was famous for chronicling modern French urban life.
His
works began focusing on satire and he criticised the social, legal and
political systems in France under King Louis Philippe.
He spent six months in jail after drawing a caricature of the monarch as Gargantua eating gold coins.
In
The Omnibus shows a crowded group of workers and a young child in quiet
contemplation as they travel through the city and is regarded as having
a powerful resonance as social commentary. Daumier’s work is held in
public collections worldwide including the Louvre, The Metropolitan
Museum New York and The National Gallery London.
Security tightened to beat jewel thieves at Cannes Film Festival
Security
tightened with 700 police deployed for opening of blockbuster movie
festival today after a series of audacious jewellery thefts last year
While
movie stars shine on the red carpet, security is being tightened in
Cannes this year after a spate of increasingly audacious raids
highlighted the ease with which jewel thieves can strike.
A year ago, as film festival luminaries partied into the early hours,
a thief broke into the hotel room of an employee of Swiss jewellers
Chopard and made off with a US$1.4 million haul.
The theft came hours after the premiere of The Bling Ring,
Sofia Coppola's film about a group of Californian teenagers who break
into celebrity mansions to steal designer items while their A-list
owners are out on the red carpet.
Twelve months on, with the jewels still missing, Cannes authorities
are preparing to deploy nearly 700 police for this year's festival,
which begins today.
Scott Selby, co-author of Flawless about the US$100 million
Antwerp Diamond Centre heist in 2003, said the thieves at last year's
festival took advantage of "relatively lax" security to snatch items
that were normally well protected.
"The Chopard employee left the jewellery in a hotel safety deposit box in her hotel room. That was a mistake," he said.
"All someone needed to do was rip the safe from the wall. The thief
did not even need to know how to break it open. He or she simply took it
with them."
Also during last year's festival, a US$1.9 million diamond necklace
by de Grisogono was taken from under the noses of a reported 80-strong
contingent of security guards during a party at the Hotel du
Cap-Eden-Roc near Cannes. Two months later, thieves raised the stakes
when they struck again, this time taking jewellery worth US$142 million
from the Carlton Hotel.
A man with a semi-automatic pistol walked into an exhibition in a
wing of the hotel with direct access to the street. He cleared the
display cabinets before melting into the crowd on the Croisette, the
Cannes promenade.
Selby said the theft had at least some of the hallmarks of the gang
of robbers known as the Pink Panthers. They are wanted for stealing
items worth US$450 million from luxury stores around the world since
1999.
Insurers Lloyd's of London have offered a reward of up to US$1.3
million for information leading to the recovery of the Carlton
exhibition jewels.
But jewel thefts are notoriously difficult to solve. "It's very hard
to catch people because it's not the sort of thing people talk about and
there is a short window to catch someone," Selby said.
"It's possible that later there's some kind of snitch or they catch
somebody for something else who tells them about it. But the loot will
have been long gone."
The Carlton jewels would have been smuggled out of France and the
stones resold after any certificate numbers inscribed on the sides had
been polished off.
Unlike art theft, jewel theft was lucrative because it was relatively
easy to get away with, Selby said. Only the most unusual stones would
present a problem for the thieves.
"A really nice necklace that's got a giant pink stone or a giant
yellow stone that is going to be very identifiable becomes tricky.
"That's where you have a choice to either sell to a buyer willing to buy a stolen item, often in Hong Kong or in the Emirates.
"Or what you have to do is find a corrupt polisher and cleaver in
Antwerp and to turn it into two stones or shave a little bit off and put
it in a new shape," he said.
The vast majority of these stones would have been one or two carat white or yellow stones that were easy to resell.
Such stones were very probably in engagement rings "that someone is wearing in London right now", he added.
Cyprus authorities have requested information on the notorious ‘Pink
Panther’ jewel theft gang after four suspected members of the operation
were recently apprehended by the Greek police.
Police spokesman Andreas Angelides confirmed that the request to the
Greek authorities will hopefully shed light on the gang’s method of
operation and help local detectives in the ongoing investigations of
jewellery heists on the island which the Pink Panthers are suspected of
involvement in.
The suspects - four Serbian nationals, believed to be ex-military - were arrested in the Kypseli district of Athens last week.
Greek police believe the gang members are responsible for at least 30
jewellery shop heists in the country to the tune of €800,000.
The Pink Panthers are suspected of robbing items worth €450 million in
luxury jewellery shops in more than 20 countries since 1999, according
to Interpol.
They got their nickname from British police in 2003 when gang members in
London hid a stolen diamond in a pot of beauty cream, a trick used in
one of the Pink Panther comedy films.
The gang – believed to be a network of around 200 people - commit
elaborate armed robberies with extreme precision. Suspected members of
the operation have disguised themselves as Hawaiian tourists, workmen
and pensioners for jobs and have made their escapes in cars, speedboats,
and on scooters or bicycles depending on the location.
A painting by Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Van Gogh
that has been missing for 40 years has reportedly been recovered in
Spain.
Reports are indicating that tax collectors who were going through the
contents of a safe-deposit box discovered the long-lost work.
The artwork, titled "Cypress, Sky and Country" disappeared from the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum in Vienna.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo has reported that the painting, which they say was found in December, measures just over 1ft by 1ft.
According to the authorities the landscape painting, which is dated
1889, bears three seals on its back, indicating that the work resided in
different museums throughout the 20th century.
The most recent mark appears to be from the Museum of Fine Arts, also known as the Kunsthistorisches Museum, in Vienna. El Mundo says that the painting may have been created during
Van Gogh's stay at the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence asylum in the south of
France – the same place the artists created his beautiful painting "The
Starry Night".
The safe-deposit box was one of hundreds targeted by Spanish officials in an in-depth tax-evasion investigation.
Authorities in Spain are said to be working on authenticating the painting.
West Yarmouth man charged with theft from antiques show
FRAMINGHAM
- A West Yarmouth man and his father stole a minivan full of antiques
from a Holliston antique show last year and admitted to the theft when
busted for drugs in Barnstable, authorities said.
FRAMINGHAM - A West Yarmouth man and his father stole a
minivan full of antiques from a Holliston antique show last year and
admitted to the theft when busted for drugs in Barnstable, authorities
said.
Ronald D. Kimball, 27, pleaded not guilty at his Framingham District Court arraignment on Wednesday.
Holliston
police issued a warrant for Kimball's arrest last May, but he has been
in jail on drug charges since before the arrest warrant was issued. He
went to Framingham District Court on Wednesday to answer the charges.
On
April 25, 2013, a vendor working at the annual antique show at
Holliston High School reported his van full of antiques was stolen from
the school parking lot. Police began an investigation and in early May,
the Barnstable Police contacted them, according to a police report filed
in Framingham District Court on Wednesday.
Barnstable
Police had arrested Kimball on several drug charges, and while being
interrogated, he offered that he and his father, Ronald Kimball Sr.,
committed a theft in Holliston, the report said.
He
told police they went to the antique show on April 24 to look around,
and returned the following day, planning to steal from someone. The plan
was to follow one of the vendors home and to steal the car after it was
parked, the report said.
However, they saw one vendor load a minivan full of antiques and then go back inside the school, while leaving the van running.
"He stated they took advantage of this opportunity and stole the van," the report said.
The
pair drove the van to a nearby location where they had stashed a rental
car. They transferred all of the antiques from the van to the car and
ditched the van.
They then went to another
location and dumped seven bins worth of antiques they thought would be
to hard to sell, Kimball told police, the report said. The items were
later found and returned to the owner.
Police issued warrants for both Kimball and his father's arrest. Ronald Kimball Sr. has not been located.
The
younger Kimball, of 9 Rosetta St., West Yarmouth is charged with
larceny of a vehicle and larceny of property worth more than $250.
Prosecutors
did not ask for bail because Kimball is already being held. Judge
Douglas Stoddart did not set bail. Kimball is due back in court on June
19 for a pretrial conference.
Federal agents go on the hunt for stolen treasures
NEW YORK - Art theft is nothing new. And it turns out, the
U.S. government has a special unit that seeks out - and returns - stolen
artwork.
A 2,000-year-old sarcophagus was found in a private collector's Virginia home. He said it was passed down from his father.
But the ancient coffin was actually stolen from Egypt, and sold on an international black market.
"By
looking at the cracks and the cuts, it was probably cut up in many
pieces and air shipped," said James Dinkins, former director of the U.S.
Immigration and Custom Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations division.
In doing so, the sellers risked ruining the sarcophagus, Dinkins said, "but to them it's just money."
HSI tracks down stolen antiquities smuggled into the United States and returns them to the rightful owners.
"It goes from everything from dinosaur fossils to looted art that the Nazis may have stolen during World War II," Dinkins said.
He said the majority of the buyers know that they're getting stolen items.
"These are usually businessmen, taking advantage of opportunities to sell them to wealthy businessmen," he said.
A
CBS News crew was with HIS agents in March when they followed an
informant's tip and searched a storage facility in the New York City
borough of Queens. They found hundreds of items worth an estimated $8
million.
The items were allegedly stolen by Indian dealer
Subhash Kapoor, a man international authorities say has been smuggling
artifacts for decades. He is currently on trial after pleading not
guilty to looting and smuggling charges.
Thieves steal treasures like these from temples in India and sell them on the black market.
CBS News
How do the thieves get the artifacts in the first place?
"They'll hire folks to go out to a temple in India and literally chip
away and take off decorative pieces from those temples," Dinkins said.
He pointed to one of the recovered items. "This is a real skull."
In
the last seven years, HSI has returned more than 7,100 stolen items,
such as fossils of a Tyrannosaurus given back to Mongolia, gold
ornaments sent back to Afghanistan, and paintings that went back to
Peru.
Dinkins says agents often volunteer to work with HSI because the department is unlike any other.
"In
many of our cases that we investigate, you can't undo the crime that
has happened. In this case, you are literally about to right a wrong,
set the clock back and return that item back to rightful owner as if it
never left," he said.
They're not only recovering priceless art; they're restoring stolen history.
Gallery holds out hope for missing Spencer painting
The Stanley Spencer Gallery is appealing for the safe return of a
painting two years after it was stolen in a smash-and-grab raid.
'Cookham from Englefield' was taken during an early morning break-in at the gallery in High Street on Tuesday, April 29 in 2012.
A drain cover was thrown through a window to gain entry and two other
paintings were damaged when they could not be removed from their
frames.
DC Iain Watkinson) of Thames Valley Police appeared on BBC's
Crimewatch in 2012 to appeal for information regarding the theft, which
carries a reward of £10,000 for a recovery and arrest.
Despite a number of positive leads, the painting has yet to be found.
Chairman of trustees at the Stanley Spencer Gallery, Stuart Conlin, said the gallery is still confident it can be returned.
"We're still hopeful the painting is around," he said.
"Looking at other cases, you see instances of stolen art turning up
more than two years later, sometimes its 10, 20 or 30 years after the
event.
"If anybody has seen the picture or come across it on their travels
in antique shops or jumble sales then please come forward and talk to
the police.
"Someone might have it on their wall enjoying it, you never know."
The painting measures about 90cms by 60cms.
4-6 June, New York City
New York University & Art Recovery International
Art Crime and Cultural Heritage: Fakes, Forgeries, and Looted and Stolen Art
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) currently ranks art crime as the
third-largest criminal enterprise in the world. The increase in
international art transactions has incubated a booming market for stolen
and fraudulent art, and major U.S. arts institutions still grapple with
repatriation of stolen or looted objects in their collections.
Co-organized by Jane C.H. Jacob, art historian and provenance research expert, Jacob Fine Art, Inc., Chris Marinello,
director and founder, Art Recovery International, and Alice
Farren-Bradley, Museum Security Network, this forum brings together
experts from major museums and auction houses, NYU School of Law, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, and President’s Cultural Property
Advisory Committee, as well as independent scholars and authors, art
crime victims, art crime attorneys, forensic scientists, and other major
players working to address art crime worldwide.
Topics include art theft and gallery scams, misappropriated use of
work, looting and cultural repatriation, fakes and forgeries, art market
drivers, insurance fraud, scientific and forensic approaches,
provenance research, issues facing auction houses and purchasers, and
current case studies.
CLE units and financial aid are available for those who qualify.
Lawyers attending the symposium can earn 7.5 CLEs in Professional
Practice: 2.5 CLEs (June 4), 3.0 CLEs (June 5), and 2.0 CLEs (June 6).
CLEs are transitional.
Sign in Starts: 8 a.m. Location:
Lipton Hall, NYU Law School Registration Fees: Full Symposium
General: $955
AAA, ISA, ASA, RICS, NYCBA, and NYSBA Members | NYU Students: $900 Single Day
General: $350
AAA, ISA, ASA, RICS, NYCBA, and NYSBA Members | NYU Students: $300
The NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies
(NYU-SCPS) thanks the following sponsors for their contribution to the
Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Symposium.
Amy Adler, Emily Kempin Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Anthony Amore, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; coauthor, Stealing Rembrandts
Evan T. Barr, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, U.S. v. An Antique Platter of Gold
John Cahill, Cahill Partners, LLP; Chair, Art Law Committee, New York City Bar Association
Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, Art Collector and Advisor
Raymond Dowd, Partner, Dunnington Bartholow & Miller LLP
Milton Esterow, Editor and Publisher, ARTnews; art crime expert
Alice Farren-Bradley, Moderator, Museum Security Network and Associate Director of Recoveries, Art Recovery International Ltd.
Jack Flam, President and CEO, Dedalus Foundation
Robert Goldman, Robert E. Goldman LLC
Patty Gerstenblith, Director, Center for Art, Museum, and Cultural
Heritage Law, DePaul University; Chair, President's Cultural Property
Advisory Committee
Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, Manager, FBI Art Theft Program
James Martin, Orion Analytical, LLC
James E. McAndrew, Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman &
Klestadt LLP; former Senior Special Agent, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
David McFadden, Retired Chief Curator, Museum of Arts & Design
Joe Medeiros, Writer and Director, Mona Lisa Is Missing: The Truth About the Man Who Stole the Masterpiece
Justine Medeiros, Producer, Mona Lisa Is Missing: The Truth About the Man Who Stole the Masterpiece
Judith Pearson, President, ARIS Corporation
Steve Pincus, Managing Partner, DeWitt Stern Group
Christopher Robinson, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Marianne Rosenberg, Attorney and granddaughter of Paul Rosenberg,
who was one of the world’s leading dealers in modern art prior to World
War II; working to recover family art looted by the Nazis
Lucian Simmons, Senior Vice President and Worldwide Head of the Provenance and Restitution Department, Sotheby's
Lawrence Steigrad, Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts
Geza von Habsburg, internationally renowned author and authority on
antiquities and Fabergé; former Associate Professor, Bard Graduate
Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture and NYU
Yuri Yanchyshyn, Furniture Conservator and Head of Studio, Period Furniture Conservation LLC
*Please Note: This symposium, when
attended in its entirety, counts as a 10-session elective. For
additional information on the symposium, please call (212) 998-7289 or e-mail scps.libarts@nyu.edu.
Browse the program for the three-day symposium, which includes the list of daily lectures, panel discussions, and presentations.
There will be tables available for books covering art crime topics
and for book signings. For more information on book tables, please
contact:
ATHENS, May 03, 2014 (AFP) -
Greek police said Saturday they have arrested four Serbian
suspected members of a gang of international jewel thieves known as the
Pink Panthers.
Police said the four Serbs took part in the theft
of cars as well as in some 30 jewellery shop burglaries in Greece worth
an estimated 550,000 euros ($762,900).
In one crime, they
allegedly smashed into a jewellery shop with a stolen car, made off with
the jewellery and fled with other stolen vehicles or motocycles, the
Athens News Agency reported.
Police arrested one of the four
suspects, a 26-year-old man, in the Athens district of Kypseli on Friday
afternoon after he kicked and punched the policemen in an attempt to
flee.
Forged documents such as a Bulgarian identity card and a
driving licence were found in his possession along with a pistol and a
balaclava.
The Pink Panthers are suspected of robbing items worth
330 million euros ($450 million) in luxury stores around the world
since 1999, cross-border police agency Interpol says on its website.
They
got their nickname from British police in 2003 when gang members in
London hid a stolen diamond in a pot of beauty cream, a trick used in
one of the "Pink Panther" comedy films.
Of the gang's estimated
220 members, most are thought to be from the countries of the former
Yugoslavia, including some former members of the military.
- See
more at:
http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/europe/20140503/136831-greece-arrests-4-serbian-39pink-panther39-jewel-thieves.html#sthash.9BOatuFJ.dpuf
US bill would allow museums to knowingly exhibit stolen art
As Europe votes on a groundbreaking directive
to help facilitate the return of stolen cultural treasures, the United
States moves forward with legislation that would prevent claimants from
recovering their rightful property. All in the name of museums.
We Americans enjoy some of the world’s finest museums, showcasing
treasures from the ancient to contemporary. But with this privilege
comes responsibility. This is owed to the masterpieces themselves, their
previous custodians, and the individuals and civilisations that created
them. These duties may seem one and the same and indeed they often are.
Yet the right of museums to possess and display art, and the public’s
to view it, increasingly clashes with the rights of those who may
actually be its moral and legal owners.
Like so many conflicts, these rights are not decided by those most
affected, whether they are the victims of Nazi looting or the
trafficking of stolen antiquities and indigenous sacred artifacts.
Instead, the fate of plundered cultural patrimony is now in the hands of
US lawyers and lawmakers and the interest groups that control them.
As is often the case, the loudest voices are currently coming from a
hardcore minority of people with the most vested interest in the outcome
of this debate. Needless to say, this does not represent the larger
community of museum professionals and cultural experts, let alone the
general public. But if you want to keep American museums free of loot,
including that taken from the UK and Europe, this issue concerns you.
And you should speak up.
The bill in question
On March 25, backed by the art trade lobby, Republican Congressman Steve Chabot reintroduced the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
to the House of Representatives. On its face, HR 4292 asks Congress to
“clarify” a small section of the the law. But in truth, the bill goes
far beyond mere clarification.
It would instead undo established US law and policy by allowing
American cultural institutions to block legal claims to artwork on loan
from abroad. Museums would knowingly be able to exhibit stolen and
looted art and antiquities. It would leave the rightful owners without
any legal recourse to recover their property in US courts.
This bill is just the latest attempt by the less responsible players
in the art market to weaken US law. American legal principles have long
held that a thief cannot transfer good title. The receipt, possession,
and transport of stolen property is a crime. US legislation has carved
out a narrow exception
to prevent the judicial seizure of art imported for exhibition, but only
in very limited circumstances, which it clearly enumerates. HR 4292
would greatly expand this exception by divesting our courts of all
jurisdiction over such objects.
There are many looted sculptures from Cambodia’s Koh Ker region in American museums.BluesyPete, CC BY-SA
The bill’s stated — and it must be said commendable — purpose is to encourage cultural exchange (that its supporters hope Russia to be the main partner for such exchange is a story for another day).
But at what cost? Who can enjoy viewing an Egon Schiele on loan to a
museum, knowing the Third Reich sent its previous owners to their deaths
at concentration camp? Or an ancient Cambodian statue, knowing it was
plundered during the country’s bloody civil war, perhaps even to fund
the genocidal Khmer Rouge?
Even without HR 4292, claimants already face huge legal hurdles in US
courts, despite clear evidence of theft or looting. For example,
Cambodia had to fight for three years to recover a 1,000-year-old masterpiece
from Sotheby’s, even though the feet of the figure were still in situ
at an ancient temple complex. The case would have likely gone on much
longer had the auction house not settled.
And the legal battle over Schiele’s Portrait of Wally
– seized by a Nazi art collector from a Jewish art dealer fleeing
Austria – raged for over a decade. That too ended only because a
settlement was made. The vast majority of claims are never decided on
their merits, but on procedural issues like statutes of limitations.
At the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets
in 1998, 44 governments agreed to encourage claims from pre-World War
II owners and heirs of Nazi-looted artwork in the interest of justice.
The US was party to these principles, and yet, HR 4292 goes against
everything they represent. The bill would in effect make American
museums a haven for pieces of illicit art. All lenders need to do is
jump through a single necessary hoop, undermining our nation’s time
honoured tradition of property rights and cultural heritage preservation
as they go.
Those who support this bill in the name of “culture” are
misrepresenting it and the greater interests of most cultural
institutions in the US.
In the absence of a Ministry of Culture, our government has never
clearly defined its own cultural policy. But it’s one thing not to have a
Ministry of Culture and quite another to let the market run roughshod
over established legal principles.
In contrast, just this week the European Parliament approved Directive IP/14/430,
which makes it much easier for member states to recover “national
treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value” from other
countries in the European Union. When compared with its predecessor,
this broadens the range of protected cultural objects and triples the
time in which a nation can make a claim. If it passes a few more stages,
it could be national law within 18 months.
If only Chabot and HR 4292’s other sponsors would learn from Europe’s
example and support victims of plunder in seeking restitution. As it
is, instead of promoting cultural exchange, they risk aiding and
abetting its very destruction. This piece is written in collaboration with Marc Masurovsky, co-founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project (HARP).He
has researched the question of assets looted during the Holocaust and
World War II since 1980 and is the co-author of the 2006 book Le Festin du Reich.
Lost & Found: The Recovery of Stolen Art
In January 2014, Darren Agee Merager was sentenced to four years in
prison after being convicted of stealing millions of dollars of art from
the home of Jeffrey Gundlach, a prominent bond trader. The stolen
items, including artwork by Piet Mondrian, Jasper Johns, Joseph Cornell
and Richard Diebenkorn, were all eventually recovered.
More often than not, stolen works of art are not recovered. According
to the Interpol database, there are over 42,000 art objects listed as
stolen with many relating to thefts which occurred during wartime.
Consider the activities that took place in Europe during World War
II. According to the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal, a website
launched by the American Association of Museums, “From the time it came
into power in Germany in 1933 through the end of World War II in 1945,
the Nazi regime orchestrated a program of theft, confiscation, coercive
transfer, looting, pillage and destruction of objects of art and other
cultural property in Europe on a massive and unprecedented scale.”
While some objects were eventually recovered, others have never been
found or returned. Following this time, museums around the world
continued to collect art and artifacts without fully researching their
history. As a result, the original owners of some of the pieces began
making ownership claims. Today, museums have begun the long and arduous
task of researching pieces in their collections, and in some cases
returning them to their rightful owners. What Can Be Done?
Despite locks, alarms and laws, it is inevitable that art will be stolen. So what can be done to protect items of value?
First, it is important to document fine art. Unlike jewelry which can
be melted down and made into something new, artwork is usually not
altered because the value of the work is in its original state.
Therefore, art is one of the most likely objects recovered.
The object ID checklist is the international standard for describing
cultural objects. A checklist should be created for each object and
include the following: The maker, the type of object, the title,
materials and techniques, measurements, date or period, inscriptions and
markings, distinguishing features and subject. A brief paragraph
describing the object should be written and clear photographs taken.
Once the inventory is complete it should be stored in a safe, locked in a
location away from the objects themselves.
This can be a time consuming project and for that reason some serious
collectors opt to hire appraisers to collect and document the necessary
information. If art has been stolen the theft should be immediately
registered with one of the art loss databases such as the Art Loss
Register, Interpol, and the National Stolen Art File, which is run by
the FBI.
Finally, it is important to mention that, although rare, some
insurance companies offer a buy-back provision. If an artwork is stolen
and later recovered, this gives the original owner the opportunity to
regain title. This can be particularly important if the work of art has
gone up in value since the time of the theft. For example, if a painting
was stolen when it was worth $50,000 and at the time of recovery it was
worth $100,000, the original owner could pay back the insurance company
the $50,000 and then retrieve their property now worth the full
$100,000.
Recovery of stolen art doesn’t have to be a monumental task.
As many as 350 soldiers eventually enlisted and recovered five
million pieces of Nazi-looted artwork, books and documents, according to
the Monuments Men Foundation. Many were destroyed and remain lost.
These men risked their lives in the name of provenance, stewardship and
posterity. While certainly a noble endeavor, fortunately we have the
insurance industry to cover our backs.
As long as art and artifacts have been viewed as precious, beautiful
and valuable, there have been people willing to take risks to steal it
for themselves or others. In recent years, these robberies are making
headlines.
One of the most recent and shocking cases is that of a respected New
York City antiquities dealer, Subhash Kapoor, who allegedly raided
archaeological sites in Cambodia, Pakistan and India and then used ports
of entry to ship the items back to the United States. Of the objects
recovered so far, one sandstone sculpture of a woman is said to be worth
$15 million.
Suspected Dubai jewel thieves arrested in Greece
Four Serbians suspected of being members of the
Pink Panthers gang, which was involved in a AED55m ($15m) robbery at Wafi Mall
in Dubai in 2007, have been arrested by Greek police, it was announced on
Saturday.
Police said the four Serbian suspects had been
involved in around 30 jewellery shop burglaries in Greece, the Athens News
Agency reported.
The Dubai Wafi Mall robbery was a key driver in the
creation of Interpol’s Project Pink Panthers in 2007 to coordinate global
activities after DNA profiles sent by the UAE from the Dubai robbery were
matched against others submitted to the Interpol General Secretariat from a
robbery in Lichtenstein in 2006, revealing that the armed robbery ring was
active not just in Europe, but around the world.
The main objective of Project Pink Panthers is to
centralise information related to the suspects of such crimes, identifying
material, the crimes in which they are involved in, and their criminal
partnerships and contacts.
The group is believed to include approximately 800
individuals responsible for nearly 300 robberies in 35 countries since 1999,
with the value of stolen jewellery estimated at more than $485m.
Fourth member of Pink Panther jewel gang arrested in Kypsel
A fourth member of the so-called Pink Panther gang of international jewel thieves was arrested late on Friday.
Police said that the 26-year-old was arrested in the Athens neighborhood of Kypseli.
Like the other three suspects arrested earlier on Friday, he is also a Serbian national.
Officers recovered a fake Bulgarian identity card and driving license from his apartment, a replica gun and a ski mask.
The
gang is believed to be behind more than 30 jewelry store burglaries in
Attica alone, netting a total loot in excess of half a million euros.
It is also thought to have carried out robberies in Britain, Dubai, Japan and Switzerland.
Riopelle art theft ‘a complete con job,’ dealer says
A Winnipeg art dealer whose painting by Canadian master Jean-Paul
Riopelle was stolen from a Toronto gallery says the heist was more
sophisticated swindle than brutish burglary.
An untitled Riopelle
from the 1950s was found this week in a Montreal home during a police
raid, Quebec provincial police said Friday. The painting was stolen
April 1 from the Toronto branch of Mayberry Fine Art, the gallery
confirmed.
“It was a complete con job,” said Shaun Mayberry, the Canadian art
specialist of the Winnipeg-based art dealing family. “This theft was
very cleverly orchestrated. Nothing in my 40 years experience prepared
me for that; nothing like that has ever happened.”
The Integrated
Art Crime Investigation Team of the RCMP and Quebec provincial police
released a photograph of a man they say is a chief suspect after they
seized the painting. Provincial police spokeswoman Sergeant Mélanie
Dumaresq said a person was questioned after the painting was seized in
Montreal, but no arrests were made. “They’re still investigating,” she
said.
The Riopelle painting, valued at about $225,000, was among
the artist’s oil-on-canvas abstract works completed in Paris in 1958 –
the same year he rose in international prominence with an honourable
mention from the Guggenheim International Award.
“It’s a classic
Riopelle canvas,” Mr. Mayberry said. “One of the great postwar paintings
from a period where he was very influential. It’s a coveted period in
the artist’s career, and that makes it very desirable from a collector’s
point of view.”
Mr. Mayberry said the thief was clearly aware of
the painting’s history when he walked into the gallery to conduct
business, and was also intimately familiar with the transaction process
for the purchase of a work of art worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
from a reputable gallery.
Both the police and Mr. Mayberry were
reluctant to go too deeply into theft methodology, citing the continuing
investigation and, in Mr. Mayberry’s case, the security of other
artworks. But he did say other galleries in Toronto have been victimized
by similar frauds.
“These people were professionals, and we
weren’t alone in being victimized,” Mr. Mayberry said. “Our
communication, the transaction we conducted, there was nothing to
suggest it was other than business-as-usual. Of course, in hindsight, I
can now see gaps in our process.”
Riopelle artworks have been a favourite target of thieves for years. In 2011, a bronze statue titled La Défaite
(The Defeat) was stolen from near his former workshop in Estérel, Que.
It was discovered smashed in a nearby forest. Several of his lithographs
were stolen in the early 2000s from a Montreal art supply store and
turned up on Kijiji in 2010.
Mr. Riopelle, who is revered in his
home province of Quebec and died in 2002 at 78 years old, was a prolific
artist who created very marketable works, art experts say. Stealing art
is one thing – finding a buyer willing to pay big money for artworks of
dubious provenance is another.
“There are people out there who
will turn a blind eye, but if the motivation is financial gain, it’s
generally only a matter of time until someone gets tripped up,” Mr.
Mayberry said.
German Stolen Nazi Art Collector Cornelius Gurlitt Dies
Some 60 paintings were found at the house of art collector Cornelius Gurlitt in Munich, Germany.Reuters
Reclusive German art collector Cornelius Gurlitt, who had previously
been found hiding more than 1,400 paintings in his Munich apartment, has
died according to local media.
Gurlitt, 81, made the headlines last year after tax inspectors
chanced upon the artworks - a priceless collection of Picasso, Chagall
and Matisse - behind a stack of tinned beans at Gurlitt's flat in the Munich suburb of Schwabing.
Gurlitt's father Hildebrand was an art historian when Adolf Hitler
came to power in 1933 and operated as a Nazi-approved art dealer during
the Third Reich.
He was one of the few dealers commissioned to handle artworks
confiscated by the regime and he allegedly acquired hundreds of artworks
sold for a pittance by Jews who were trying to escape Germany.
Gurlitt inherited the stock on his father's death in 1956.
He claimed that all the paintings had been bought legally from
museums and other dealers. Jewish groups have called for the collection
to be revealed in order to help ascertain if some are stolen art.
Gurlitt had been seriously ill following major heart surgery.
Swiss museum says it is ‘the unrestricted and unfettered sole heir’
according to the will of art collector who hoarded Nazi loot worth £1bn
Cornelius Gurlitt, 81, died at apartment in Schawbin, Munich, yesterday
With no close relatives, the future of his collection had been in doubt
But a museum in Bern has announced it is sole beneficiary of his estate
+14
Cornelius Gurlitt, 81, who hid a £1bn trove of suspected stolen Nazi art has died in his Munich flat
A museum in Switzerland today said it
has been named the 'unrestricted and unfettered sole heir' of reclusive
art collector Cornelius Gurlitt. The
81-year-old son of Adolf Hitler's art dealer, whose collection included
many pieces looted by the Nazis, had made a will shortly before his
death yesterday. There had already been speculation that the beneficiary was a museum outside of Germany, possibly in Austria or Switzerland. But
now the Kunstmuseum Bern has announced it is 'surprised and delighted'
to have learned that Mr Gurlitt's remaining paintings will be left to
its collection. In a
statement it said the appointment brings “a considerable burden of
responsibility and a wealth of questions of the most difficult and
sensitive kind, and questions in particular of a legal and ethical
nature.” The museum says it never previously had any dealings with Gurlitt. Mr
Gurlitt died in the Munich flat where he kept many of the paintings,
which included works by Renoir, Matisse and Picasso that were either
looted or bought from Jews at knock-down prices. He
had been selling them over the years to support himself, until in 2012
Bavarian customs officials swooped and confiscated the collection of
1,400 works. Authorities kept most, but allowed Mr Gurlitt to keep hundreds after investigators could find no evidence they were looted. With
his death, the ownership of those artworks had seemed to have been
thrown into doubt. But now all eyes are on his final will.
Stephan Holzinger, Mr Gurlitt's lawyer, told the BBC that Mr Gurlitt wrote the will in the last few weeks. 'It
now falls to the probate court to determine if the will is valid and
whether a contract of inheritance exists,' he said. 'I can understand
that there is now wild speculation, but I don't want to comment on that
at this stage.' Munich daily
Süddeutsche Zeitung claimed it had learned that Mr Gurlitt intended his
entire collection to remain together and go to a museum in Switzerland
or Austria, where he had contacts. The
paper claimed that authorities in Germany were angry the controversial
collector had chosen to leave the artworks to a foreign institution.
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The Kunstmuseum in Bern, Switzerland: The museum
said it has learned it is the 'unrestricted and unfettered sole heir'
of Mr Gurlitt, who died yesterday at his home in Munich, Germany
Mr Gurlitt, who
had been ill with a heart condition, learnt just two months ago that he
would be allowed to keep several hundred paintings after prosecutors
said they could find no evidence that they had been looted. He
claimed all the paintings were legally acquired by his father, but at
least 500 were found to have been either stolen by the Nazis or were
strong-armed from Jewish collectors at rock-bottom prices. Mr
Gurlitt’s father Hildebrand was Nazi Germany’s leading expert on modern
art, personally tasked by Hitler to sell paintings he despised abroad
to help fund the Third Reich’s war effort. However, Mr Gurlitt Snr secretly kept many of the pictures for himself. After
the war, he was questioned by the American Army’s ‘Monuments Men’ unit
but never charged with any crimes. He lied that the bulk of his
collection had been destroyed in the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945. In
fact, the artworks survived intact and he passed them on to his son, a
lifelong bachelor, who said before his death: ‘I never loved anything or
anybody in life but my paintings.’
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The collection, which includes works by Picasso, Matisse and Dix was discovered inside his Munich apartment
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Under a new deal with prosecutors, art
historians will have a year to examine the 1,401 works to establish
where they came from and if they were stolen (pictured, a work by Otto
Dix)
In 2011, he was investigated as a
possible tax fraudster when he was found with money he could not
explain, but investigators later found paintings hidden behind tins of
beans and out-of-date food in his flat. In February this year, more paintings, worth at least £100million, were found in a house he owned in Salzburg, Austria. But a court decided he could get between 300 and 350 paintings back. Under the terms of deal, the
art will be held at a secret location for a year while historians carry
out background checks on each of the paintings.
At the end of this year any
painting which investigators had not finished studying would have been handed back to the 81-year-old. Augsburg
state prosecutor Matthias Nickolai said at the time: 'We have come across new
evidence in the course of the investigation ... that leads us to
re-evaluate the legal situation.' Gurlitt's lawyer Tido Park applauded the decision to release the art, saying: 'It's a good day for Cornelius Gurlitt.' The
German government came under fire - especially by families whose
relatives were robbed by the Nazis - for keeping silent for almost two
years about the trove of art works. Gurlitt was arrested in 2012 but it wasn't until last year that knowledge of the collection became public. Separately, representatives for Gurlitt
later secured a further 238 artworks at a dilapidated house he owned in
Salzburg, Austria. Gurlitt was never under investigation in Austria and
those works weren't seized by authorities.
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Gurlitt was set to have the paintings returned
at the end of the year if investigators could not unearth whether they
were stolen (painting by Henri Matisse)
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One of the pieces of work discovered in his flat was this masterpiece by Franz Marc
Last year it transpired
that Mr Gurlitt had given four of his paintings to his brother-in-law.
They may also have been looted by the Nazis, according to the
authorities. What happens to
the artwork now remains to be seen. It could go to Mr Gurlitt's younger
sister, Benita, but she would have to be named in a will - and such a
document has yet to surface. Christopher
Marinello, Director and Founder of Art Recovery International, told
MailOnline: 'It's a pretty murky situation. We don't know if he left a
will. If his lawyers were smart they would have cleared up the issue in
advance. It'll get cleared up over the next couple of days.' One
of the works of art in the trove - a Matisse valued at up to £60million
- has been claimed by the ex-wife of Dominique Strauss Kahn. Sitting Woman is thought to have belonged to Anne Sinclair’s maternal grandfather, the late French art dealer Paul Rosenberg. Mr Marinello is representing the Rosenberg family and added that he's confident it will be returned to them. He said that a second claim for the painting had 'been dispensed with'. Gurlitt
stayed out of sight after news of his collection broke, barely talking
to media, and was apparently overwhelmed by the publicity. In January,
his representatives said they were considering claims for some of the
works and that he was seeking ‘fair and just solutions’ to the case. ‘So
much has happened in the past weeks and months, and is still
happening,’ he wrote on a newly created website shortly afterward. ‘I
only wanted to live with my pictures, in peace and calm.’ Gurlitt
was born in Hamburg in 1932 and came from a prominent German family of
artists, composers and collectors, but little is known about his life
beyond his position as the heir of his father Hildebrand's art
collection. When U.S.
investigators questioned Hildebrand Gurlitt after the end of World War
II about the origins of his collection, they were doubtful whether all
the pieces really belonged to him but eventually decided that he was the
rightful owner of most of them. After
his father's 1956 death in a car accident, Cornelius Gurlitt lived
together with his mother in Munich until she died in 1968. He reportedly
lived a reclusive life, making a living by selling paintings from time
to time. Experts who examined the pieces seized in Munich said they included both ‘degenerate art’ and looted art.
+14
In the frame: A painting by German artist Max
Liebermann called Zwei Reiter am Strande (Two Horsemen at the Beach),
which was found at Gurlitt's house
+14
Remarkable: A formerly unknown painting of French artist Marc Chagall was found at Gurlitt's apartment
+14
Sa.Giustina in Pra della Vale (1751/1800) by Antonio Canaletto
The Nazis took so-called
degenerate art - mostly avant-garde modern art, such as expressionism -
from museums and public institutions because it was deemed a corrupting
influence on the German people. Looted art was stolen or bought for a
pittance from Jewish collectors who were forced to sell under duress
during the Third Reich. For
the heirs of those collectors, the discovery raised hopes of recovering
art, but the slow release of information by the German government
stirred frustration. After
much back and forth, Gurlitt eventually agreed last month to a deal with
the German government, under which hundreds of works owned by the
collector would be checked for a Nazi-era past while staying in
government hands.
+14
Displayed: Auguste Rodin's 'Etude de femme nue debout, les bras releves, les mains croisees au-dessus de la tite' (undated)
+14
Nine hundred and seventy of the works were
believed to have been confiscated, stolen or looted by the Nazis.
Pictured is Otto Griebel's Die Verschleierte ('The Veiled', 1926)
+14
The works were first discovered in 2012. Pictured is Otto Griebel's Child at the Table
+14
The remarkable find was first revealed in
Germany's Focus magazine. Pictured is Carl Spitzweg's Das Klavierspiel
('Piano Serenade', about 1840)
+14
Sketch: Ludwig Godenschweg's Female Nude (undated)
Prosecutors who initially confiscated
all the works of art they found at his apartment then announced that
they were releasing the rest of the collection. Gurlitt's lawyers had
argued that the prosecutors acted disproportionately in seizing the
entire collection, and that the art wasn't relevant as evidence for
prosecutors' suspicion of import tax evasion. Monika
Gruetters, Germany's culture minister, said on Tuesday that Gurlitt's
decision to work with authorities deserved ‘recognition and respect.’ ‘It
will remain to Cornelius Gurlitt's credit that he ... sent an exemplary
signal for the search for fair and just solutions with this avowal of
moral responsibility,’ she said.
ATHENS, May 03, 2014 (AFP) -
Greek police said Saturday they have arrested four Serbian
suspected members of a gang of international jewel thieves known as the
Pink Panthers.
Police said the four Serbs took part in the theft
of cars as well as in some 30 jewellery shop burglaries in Greece worth
an estimated 550,000 euros ($762,900).
In one crime, they
allegedly smashed into a jewellery shop with a stolen car, made off with
the jewellery and fled with other stolen vehicles or motocycles, the
Athens News Agency reported.
Police arrested one of the four
suspects, a 26-year-old man, in the Athens district of Kypseli on Friday
afternoon after he kicked and punched the policemen in an attempt to
flee.
Forged documents such as a Bulgarian identity card and a
driving licence were found in his possession along with a pistol and a
balaclava.
The Pink Panthers are suspected of robbing items worth
330 million euros ($450 million) in luxury stores around the world
since 1999, cross-border police agency Interpol says on its website.
They
got their nickname from British police in 2003 when gang members in
London hid a stolen diamond in a pot of beauty cream, a trick used in
one of the "Pink Panther" comedy films.
Of the gang's estimated
220 members, most are thought to be from the countries of the former
Yugoslavia, including some former members of the military.
- See
more at:
http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/europe/20140503/136831-greece-arrests-4-serbian-39pink-panther39-jewel-thieves.html#sthash.9BOatuFJ.dpuf
ATHENS, May 03, 2014 (AFP) -
Greek police said Saturday they have arrested four Serbian
suspected members of a gang of international jewel thieves known as the
Pink Panthers.
Police said the four Serbs took part in the theft
of cars as well as in some 30 jewellery shop burglaries in Greece worth
an estimated 550,000 euros ($762,900).
In one crime, they
allegedly smashed into a jewellery shop with a stolen car, made off with
the jewellery and fled with other stolen vehicles or motocycles, the
Athens News Agency reported.
Police arrested one of the four
suspects, a 26-year-old man, in the Athens district of Kypseli on Friday
afternoon after he kicked and punched the policemen in an attempt to
flee.
Forged documents such as a Bulgarian identity card and a
driving licence were found in his possession along with a pistol and a
balaclava.
The Pink Panthers are suspected of robbing items worth
330 million euros ($450 million) in luxury stores around the world
since 1999, cross-border police agency Interpol says on its website.
They
got their nickname from British police in 2003 when gang members in
London hid a stolen diamond in a pot of beauty cream, a trick used in
one of the "Pink Panther" comedy films.
Of the gang's estimated
220 members, most are thought to be from the countries of the former
Yugoslavia, including some former members of the military.
- See
more at:
http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/europe/20140503/136831-greece-arrests-4-serbian-39pink-panther39-jewel-thieves.html#sthash.9BOatuFJ.dpuf
Cyprus authorities have requested information on the notorious ‘Pink
Panther’ jewel theft gang after four suspected members of the operation
were recently apprehended by the Greek police.
