Stolen Art Watch, Hotel Targeted for Close-Season Art Theft

Art thieves steal hotel paintings

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7204726.stm

Art thieves have stolen £35,000 worth of oil paintings from a historic hotel in the heart of the Highlands.
Glengarry Castle Hotel, which lies on the shores of Loch Oich, was targeted on Monday night when it was closed to guests over winter.

The intruders managed to make off with the paintings without alerting the hotel caretaker, who was the only person in the building at the time.

The haul included two by works by Victorian artist George Armfield.

Hotel manager Donald MacCallum, whose family has owned the estate - which includes the famous Invergarry Castle, where Bonnie Prince Charlie sought solace after his defeat at Culloden - for half a century, said he was devastated at the loss.

Mr MacCallum added: "The thieves took a total of four of our collection of oil paintings. These four are valued at around £35,000.

"Two of them by George Armfield were very large, four foot by three foot. These were placed above the fireplace in the lounge and library and attracted a lot of attention from guests.

"These main ones were of hunting scenes. One showed a grouse that had been shot with dogs jumping around it. The other showed three dogs around a table looking guilty as they had obviously pulled some dead grouse off it.

"They were impressive paintings and very fitting for this house. They will be very much missed."

Two thieves

Of the other smaller paintings, one was by an artist called William Kennedy and showed a scene of a man ploughing fields.

Mr MacCallum said it would have taken at least two thieves to have carried off the larger works.

He added: "We are closed between November and March, so there was only a handyman living in the hotel at the time.

"We live a few hundred yards away in the grounds, so saw and heard nothing."

Northern Constabulary detectives have appealed for information about the theft.

Art Hostage comments:

Brighton breezy, whilst working in the area last Summer/Fall, the Hotel contents were logged, then, when closed for Winter, the team arrives to steal the paintings.

The two Armfield paintings were the most valuable things in the Hotel and were targeted specifically. The other paintings were stolen as an afterthought.

Sold on to a criminal Art handler, these paintings will adorn the walls of an Unsuspecting New Money Art Collector, or be shipped out of the country to America/Japan where these kind of big impressive paintings are sought after.

So, don't be surprised to hear of these paintings being traced to America/Japan in the future.

If these Armfield paintings are discovered in Japan, then unfortunately, under Japanese law the buyer will have legal title to them, strange as that may seem.

The targeting of Hotels is much more common than you may think.

A hit list is held by the Criminal Underworld of Hotels with valuable artworks displayed and attempts are made to steal them until proven successful.

What would this hit list be worth ?

Keep a look out for more Hotel art thefts, coming soon !!

Click the link below for review of Glengarry Hotel by those who have stayed there.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g551968-d194658-Reviews-Glengarry_Castle_Hotel-Invergarry_Scottish_Highlands_Scotland.html

It was a long shot, but I was hoping the thieves may have posted a good review, especially as they have now got their grubby little hands on the "Armfield duo"

Stolen Art Watch, Anyone Lost A Jesus Painting ?

Mystery over hidden painting

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED16%20Jan%202008%2021%3A54%3A32%3A807

An unusual mystery is intriguing the art world as a remarkable painting has emerged from under a layer of paint which has hidden it for decades.

The stunning 19th century work, which shows the followers of Christ weeping over his body at the foot of the cross, was hidden by a different, inferior version of the same picture. It could have been a technique to conceal a stolen painting or to smuggle it out of the country, or the painting may have been toned down for religious reasons.

The canvas will go under the hammer in Beccles next month after being brought in from a local house clearance. No-one knows how much it will make, but it has stirred up considerable interest in the art world. The telephone at Durrants in Beccles has been busy with phone calls from dealers since the picture was advertised in a specialist antiques publication.

Auction rooms manager Miles Lamdin said: “When we looked at it we realised the paint was peeling off and underneath was a much better painting.

“We don't know why it was painted over, but they used paint that peeled off very easily. It is almost as if it had been done deliberately as a temporary measure. Usually when you get canvases that have been painted over the one underneath is pretty grim. The exceptions were when during various wars paintings were smuggled out of the country by painting something worthless on top.”

The 40in by 50in canvas, depicting the Lamentation over the dead Christ, is English and in the Gothic revival style. Mr Lamdin believes it would have been commissioned by some kind of religious body.

Penny Killingbeck, the Norwich-based restorer who spent three painstaking weeks removing the top level of paint with nothing more than scalpel blades, warm water and cotton wool, said: “In my 35-year career I have had five or six pictures like this where a picture has been deliberately obscuring another one. Usually it is because people wanted to take paintings out of the country, for example before the second world war.”

But she said that in those instances the painting on top was very crude, which was not the case here. “The painting on top was incredibly detailed and would have taken a long time to do. Maybe someone wanted to dull and grey it down for religious reasons. Maybe they thought it was too Catholic and gaudy.

“The one on top is a very dreary picture. It is unremarkable. The one underneath is extremely good.”

The later artist replaced the Virgin Mary's elaborate embroidered robe with a much simpler version, while a detailed cityscape covered in gold leaf also disappeared when it was painted over.

Whatever it goes for, it is unlikely to benefit its original owner or their family. The painting was part of a house clearance and the clearance company - which has not been named by Durrants - will have paid a fixed sum for the entire contents of the house. Mr Lamdin has no idea whether the person the painting belonged to is alive or where it came from, which makes it difficult to find out more about its history.

He said: “All I hope is that we don't get a call from Scotland Yard saying it is a painting that has been registered as stolen since 1937, or from a museum saying it is a missing painting that belongs to them!”

The painting will go under the hammer at Durrants in Beccles on February 8.

Do you recognise the picture or do you know who it belonged to? Contact the EDP on 01502 712060 or email sarah.brealey@archant.co.uk.

How the painting looked before being restored

Stolen Art Watch, Slap on the Wrists Will not Deter Iconic Art Thefts !!

Two jailed in Golden Horns theft

http://www.cphpost.dk/get/105068.html

Another chapter was added to the ongoing saga of Denmark’s Golden Horns Thursday after a Jutland court sentenced two men to prison for stealing the items from a museum last autumn.

Although the two horns are merely replicas of the original Golden Horns which were made 1600 years ago, they hold nearly mythical status in the nation’s consciousness.

Upon discovering their disappearance from the Jelling Museum in Jutland on 17 September, police initiated the most massive manhunt in recent history.

Within a few days, they apprehended two men, 22 and 24 years old, as well as a 46-year-old woman who was the mother of the younger man.

During the ensuing court case, the 22-year-old pled guilty and was sentenced to 28 months. He explained he had been asked by an unnamed suspect to steal the horns in order to pay a DKK 25,000 debt.

The other man received a 24-month prison sentence.

Charges against the woman were dropped after she convinced the court she had merely found the horns in her attic and tried to convince her son to return them.

Some good came out of the theft, according to Niels Jensen, the spokesperson for the National Museum, which had lent the horns to the Jelling Museum. Since their recovery, visitors have flocked to view the horns and attendance figures have doubled.

‘The theft has without a doubt raised attention both about the Golden Horns and our centre in Jelling,’ Jensen said.


Denmark’s Golden Horns


The first golden horn was found in a field in Jutland near Slesvig by a young girl, Kirsten Svendsdatter, in 1639.

A farmer named Erik Lassen found the second, shorter golden horn in 1734 in the same field where the first horn was found.

The horns were later transferred to the Royal Art Collection in Copenhagen.

The loss of the Golden Horns inspired the poet Adam Oehlenschläger to write an account which went on to become one of Denmark’s most famous poems. Oehlenschläger ironically penned the poem just a few doors down from where the stolen horns were being melted.

Reproductions of the Golden Horns were forged in silver and plated with gold based on sketches from earlier studies. The reproductions, which were on loan to the Jelling museum, therefore had little real value and art experts suggested it would have been nearly impossible for the thieves to sell them.

Scholars believe the original golden horns were made some time during the Iron Age in Germany.

Art Hostage comments:

These sentences do nothing to deter the theft of Iconic works of art.

Publicly declaring that the theft has giving much needed publicity to the town of Jelling sends out the wrong message and glorifies iconic art theft as some kind of romantic notion.

Stolen Art Watch, Selling the Story Taints Munch Convictions !!

Munch Art Thieves Get Longer Sentences


OSLO, Norway (AP) — The Norwegian Supreme Court on Friday increased the sentences of two men convicted in the theft of Edvard Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" and ordered a new trial for a third convicted man.

The paintings, which are considered priceless, were stolen in August 2004 in a daylight raid on the Oslo city-owned Munch Museum. They were recovered by police nearly two years later, and are undergoing repairs for scrapes, punctures, loose paint, and moisture damage.

All three men appealed their April 2006 sentences from a lower court, which ranged from five to 9 1/2 years, last month.

In its unanimous 12-page ruling, Norway's highest court said sentences for two of the men, Petter Tharaldsen and Stian Skjold, were too low considering the "irreplaceable national cultural value" of the paintings.

"The sentence should therefor be somewhat higher ... than if it had been the theft of money of the same economic value," said the court, which is a final ruling for the two.

The paintings are insured for $141 million, but experts say their real value cannot be estimated.

The court increased Tharaldsen's sentence by one year to 10 1/2 years, and Skjold's sentence by six months to six years. Under Norwegian law, higher courts frequently increase sentences when considering appeals.

But the court rejected the conviction of a third man, Bjoern Hoen, who had been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison, saying testimony in his trial may have been tainted, and sent his case back to the lower courts for a new trial.

Two of the key witnesses against Hoen, including a police informant, had agreed to work together on a book about the thefts without informing the courts or the defense attorneys of their plans.

The Supreme Court wrote that testimony by those two witnesses "could have been judged differently if the court had been given information about the book project, with consequence being that the question of guilt or sentencing being evaluated in a different way."

Munch's emotionally charged painting style became a major influence in the birth of the 20th-century Expressionist movement. Munch died in 1944 at the age of 80.

Art Hostage comments:

The main reason why criminals target public museums and buildings is because they are seen as low risk for potential high return.

Mandatory 10-20 years jail time for high value/Cultural art theft from public buildings or museums is all that is needed to curb the intentions of the criminal underworld.

This will lead to dispersal of all art theft into the private art collecting circle, who are better placed to protect their art collections.

I think I am safe in saying that both law enforcement and the criminal underworld agree stealing iconic artworks is a headache to be avoided at all costs.

The headache for law enforcement is when a high profile iconic artwork is stolen, precious resources are diverted from front line crime fighting to try and solve the art loss.

Sometimes millions are wasted on investigations that only result in minor convictions and none of the stolen art is recovered. This lack of success does nothing for public support of law enforcement especially if the iconic artworks are not recovered.

However, sometimes the extra resources and inter-agency co-operation do have positive results for law enforcement, as seen in the Da Vinci Madonna case.

The headache for the criminal underworld is the disruption to other criminal activity caused by Law Enforcement pursuing the stolen art.

O'h, if only there could be a Modus Vivendi between law enforcement and the underworld, whereby art theft from public buildings and museums is off-limits, and when these art thefts do occur, the underworld facilitates the swift return of the stolen art without reward, just credit of a metaphorical kind.

Historically, Law enforcement Art and Antiques investigators had a cordial relationship with the criminal art world and if an iconic artwork was stolen, word would go out, in a polite but firm manner, that the stolen art work must surface, otherwise there would be random raids disrupting regular everyday dealings.

The criminal art world took this on board and the said stolen artwork would be recovered within a week.

Today however, the art world, both criminal and so-called legitimate world are terrified to even acknowledge being in receipt of information about stolen art for fear of being prosecuted under the 2002 proceeds of crime act.

This has led to a void and a big gap in intelligence gathering.

Whilst some high profile art thefts get solved in the media spotlight, the mainstream everyday art theft goes unsolved and the public bear the brunt of being targeted unabated.

Stolen Art Watch, Dionne Warwick Theft in Same Hotel, Same Room as Cameron Diaz Theft 7 Years Ago, Spooky !!!!

Dionne Warwick's jewels stolen in Rome hotel


ROME (Reuters Life!) - Thieves stole valuables worth more than $100,000 including a diamond ring and a Rolex watch from pop singer Dionne Warwick's room in a posh Rome hotel, Italian newspapers said on Wednesday.

The robbers made off with two rings, a necklace, the watch and a pair of earrings left on a night table while the five-time Grammy award winner was preparing for a concert in Rome on Monday, La Repubblica newspaper said.

The robbery occurred in the same room at the luxurious Hotel De Russie where actress Cameron Diaz encountered a pair of thieves seven years ago, newspapers said.

Warwick, best known for pop R&B hits such as "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?", "I Say A Little Prayer" and "That's What Friends Are For", is touring in Italy this month.

Art Hostage comments:

Same Hotel, same room, Spooky, to say the least.

Unless it is the same insider, cleaner, staff member, giving the thieves inside information ??

Spotted the jewellery on display then organised the theft !!

Stolen Art Watch, De Morgan Pottery Handed Back/Recovered !!

Antiques recovered from De Morgan theft

http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.1926464.0.antiques_recovered_from_de_morgan_theft.php

Antique ceramics stolen from the De Morgan Centre in Wandsworth have been recovered by detectives.

Police believe burglars broke into the museum in West Hill, Wandsworth, on July 29 after climbing a ladder and getting in through a first floor toilet window.

Six plates and a vase - valued at £200,000 - were taken during the break in.

Another plate was smashed into pieces and a vase damaged after the burglars broke a glass display cabinet holding the antiques.

A £15,000 reward was offered for information leading to the return of the ceramics.

The recovered art works were all William de Morgan pieces, some comprising unique pieces of art.

This included a red and gold lustre dish of a snake wrapped around the body of a winged dragon; a red and gold lustre dish with three peacocks; and a two handled lustre urn with snakes and cherubs playing musical instruments.

The ceramics were found in south London on Friday.

Police say no arrests have been made and inquiries are continuing.

Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley of the Met's Art and Antiques Unit, said: "We are really pleased to have been able to return these beautiful objects in time for Christmas.

"We have been assured by the De Morgan Centre that they will be put back on display so that public can once again enjoy them."

Art Hostage comments:

What a wonderful Christmas present for the people of London.

Well done to **** ********* for enabling this recovery to happen.

However, as with all recoveries of stolen art, the sting in tail is whether any of the reward money is paid ??

That decision is wholly for the investigating Police to make.

Anyone claiming the reward must satisfy Police, who then will give a letter of absolute discretion to the Loss Adjuster, who can then pay the reward.

Alternatively, if the reward claimant is a registered Police Informant/Sewer Rat, the reward will be paid backwards, Loss Adjuster to Police, who pass the money to their Informant/Sewer Rat.

I must say it is really gratifying to see these ceramics returned for the public to enjoy.

Looking forward to 2008, the Chinese year of the Rat, perhaps we may see many more important stolen art recoveries.

However, 2008 could also turn out to be the year when iconic art is stolen with more vigour and regularity than ever seen.

Stolen Art Watch, Picasso Pinched, Anyone Fu-Coffee !!

Picasso stolen from Brazil museum

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7154101.stm

Thieves in Brazil have stolen two paintings said to be worth $100m (£252m) in a dawn raid on Latin America's most renowned museum.

Police said Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, and The Coffee Worker by Brazil's Candido Portinari, were taken from the Museum of Art of Sao Paulo.

The operation, which lasted about three minutes, was caught on security cameras, officials said.

Police investigating the theft are due to give a news conference.

Valuable pieces

The theft took place shortly after 0500 (0700 GMT).

The thieves left behind some of their tools, and police have shut down the museum to search for clues, officials said.

The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, painted in 1904, is among the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection.

The Coffee Worker (O Lavrador de Cafe) was painted in 1939 and is one of Portinari's most famous works.

O Globo newspaper said that the museum's press service had estimated their joint worth at more than $100m.

However, museum spokesman Eduardo Cosomano told the Associated Press news agency that it was difficult to judge their exact monetary value.

Stolen Art Watch, You've Grassed on me, Well, you're a Fence !!

Fence sold loot at auction houses

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/yorknews/display.var.1908506.0.fence_sold_loot_at_auction_houses.php

By Megi Rychlikova
A FENCE who used auction houses to dispose of a burglar's loot from North Yorkshire properties has been jailed for three years.

Lynden Yates Kitchen, 40, tried to sell a £3,000 painting which had been stolen from Hutton Wandesley, near Rufforth, through a London auctioneer, but the deceit was discovered, said Chris Smith, prosecuting.

Kitchen also took several thousand pounds worth of antiques and other loot from Settrington House, near Malton, and Great Broughton, north of the North York Moors, to a Darlington auctioneer.


Last month, Michael Edward Kenny was convicted by a jury of six burglaries. After Kenny's trial ended, Kitchen admitted he knew he was fencing loot from Kenny's raids.

"I have come to the conclusion that you are a professional criminal," Judge Jim Spencer QC told Kitchen.

Kitchen, no fixed address, pleaded guilty to three offences of handling stolen goods and was jailed for three years.

Kenny, of Finchley, London, is on the run after skipping bail halfway through his trial. He had previous convictions for burglary and was jailed for eight years in his absence after the verdicts.

The Press reported last Friday how Kenny had now been named as one of the UK's most wanted criminals.

For Kitchen, James Robinson said he had already suffered some punishment because the handling charges had prevented him being released early from a four-year sentence for drug dealing.

It had also prevented him from attending a rehabilitation course for gamblers.

The barrister suggested that Kenny was the main man in the crimes.

Mr Smith said the police had received information that suggested Kenny may have threatened a third man in the case and accused him of being a "grass".

The burglaries occurred in 2004, York Crown Court heard.

Kitchen had attempted to sell the painting in July 2004 and the other stolen items in February 2005.

Art Hostage comments:

When criminals fall-out, Police get success, divide and rule, food for thought !!

If no-one Snitched/grassed, Police would be left high and dry, as 85% of Police success comes from informants, Snitches, Sewer Rats !!

Stolen Art Watch, We'll Give You a Medal of Honour for Recovering the Stolen VC's !!

PM pins hopes on police to stop stolen medals leaving NZ

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200712032225/pm_pins_hopes_on_police_to_stop_stolen_medals_leaving_nz

Prime Minister Helen Clark says all hopes are on an effective police operation to stop stolen military medals being moved out of New Zealand.

Interpol has been alerted to the theft of nine Victoria Crosses and a Bar, and two George Crosses.

The Victoria Cross and Bar awarded to Charles Upham were among the medals taken in the break-in at the Army Museum at Waiouru early on Sunday morning.

Miss Clark says her best guess is that it was a "steal-to-order" theft.

She says a law passed last year enabled New Zealand to sign up to international conventions on stolen cultural items.

Miss Clark says if the medals turn up in countries that are parties to the conventions, New Zealand will have legal means to have them returned.

Border alert
Customs has issued a border alert in case of an attempt to take the medals out of New Zealand.

Ruapehu Inspector Steve Mastrovich says police are looking at CCTV footage from inside the museum, and also plan to look at footage from service stations within two hours' driving distance of Waiouru, in the central North Island.

Inspector Mastrovich told Checkpoint police have several weeks worth of security footage.

He says police and ESR forensic scientists have recovered items outside the museum but whether they are germane to the inquiry remains to be seen. He says at this stage nothing appears to have been left behind by the offenders.

He also says the scene examination may be finished by midday on Tuesday.

The thieves gained entry to the Valour Alcove, where the medals were kept, and left the museum via a fire escape at the back of the building.

Inspector Mastrovich says the theft is a 'stupid' crime and says those responsible will find it difficult to sell such well-known national treasures.

Director devastated
Museum director Raymond Seymour told Checkpoint the "gutwrenching" theft has left him "absolutely devastated".

"This crime is a crime against every New Zealander. What they have done is taken the heartbeat out of every New Zealander. These medals .... were awarded to such brave men."

Colonel Seymour described the theft as a "well-planned mission", saying the perpetrators must have been in the museum previously to observe what was going on.

He says a patrol was in the area at the time the alarm was set off and the building's own security guard was on the scene within three minutes.

Colonel Seymour says security cameras are mounted over the display cabinets that held the medals, and in many other parts of the museum.

The museum remains closed, with the commander of the Waiouru Army base, Colonel Roger McElwain, saying security will be progressively updated, although some action will be taken immediately..

Ransom theory
A Victoria Cross expert says he believes the stolen medals are likely to be held for ransom.

Michael Maxton is the curator for The Michael Ashcroft Trust in England, which cares for a tenth of the 1357 VCs awarded since 1856.

He told Nine to Noon the fact that relatively few medals were taken showed the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for.

Mr Maxton says those responsible would have known the medals would not be able to be sold, meaning they would likely be held for ransom.

He says a theft of this scale from an historical institution is unprecedented.

Reward suggested
Charley Hill, a former detective from Scotland Yard's art and antiques unit who recovered The Scream by Edvard Munch, says the most realistic way of getting the medals back is for the police to offer a reward and wait for someone to surface.

Police have said it is unlikely a reward will be offered.

The Army says the collection of medals would be valued in the millions, but its importance to the country is immeasurable.

Chief of Army, Major General Lou Gardiner, told Morning Report the Army feels violated by the theft and it will have to review security.

Highest honour
The Victoria Cross, inscribed "For valour", is the highest honour in the British and Commonwealth military.

The BBC reports a total of 1,355 VCs have been awarded since the award was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856 following the Crimean War. Only 12 have been awarded since 1946.

Twenty-one VCs and one Bar were awarded to New Zealanders before the Victoria Cross for New Zealand was instituted in 1999.

Amongst the VCs taken in the raid were the VC and Bar awarded to New Zealand's most decorated soldier, Captain Charles Upham, for valour in Crete and North Africa during World War II.

Captain Upham, who died in 1994, was only the third person, as well as the only combatant soldier, to have been awarded the medal twice.

Two George Medals, awarded to civilians for great bravery, and an Albert Medal, awarded for lifesaving, were also stolen.

National treasures
Defence Minister Phil Goff says the medals are national treasures.

Only 22 New Zealanders have been awarded Victoria Crosses.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Major General Gardiner said the value of the medals is what they symbolise:

"This theft is not just from Defence and Army, it is from the nation. New Zealand's history and heritage is closely interwoven with its military history and heritage.

"These medals were awarded to their recipients for their extraordinary valour and have come to symbolise the huge sacrifices that all New Zealanders made in the many conflicts fought for the freedoms we have come to accept."

Major General Gardiner said the theft of the medals is a theft from New Zealand.

Medals list
The list of medals is:

Samuel Frickleton VC; Leslie Andrew VC; Randolph Ridling (Albert Medal); Reginald Judson VC, DCM, MM; John Grant VC; Henry Laurent VC; Jack Hinton VC; Clive Hulme VC; Keith Elliot VC; Charles Upham VC and Bar; David Russell GC and Ken Hudson GC.

The Victoria Cross for New Zealand medal recently awarded to Corporal Willie Apiata is not among them.

Police are appealing to anyone who was in the Waiouru area, or passing through, between midnight and 2am Sunday to call 0800 VALOUR, or 0800 825 687, from Tuesday morning.

Art Hostage comments:

By refusing to offer any reward for recovery or arrests, authorities are making further iconic art thefts less likely and attractive to thieves.

This does not help recover the stolen iconic medals, or the stolen Cavalier painting taken this year in Australia.

However, our Antipodean friends are leading the courageous fight against high value art theft by refusing to offer rewards, false or not.

It is about time Law Enforcement were banned from accepting information from public and informants, this will show how competent Police are using their own initiative and talent.

Currently, 85% of Police Detective work is done by public and informant information, giving some Police Officers the ability to serve their time in a Dilatory, lazy, and incompetent manner, just waiting to collect their pension.

Upon another note, as the medals stolen were awarded for Valour, then it is only right to offer a Medal of Honour for recovering them, rather than some false promise of reward money.

The recipient of this Medal of Honour for recovering the stolen VC's, etc, can then use the kudos surrounding their medal award to make money with the story.

One to watch !!

Stolen Art Watch, Dilatory Delay, Makes Stolen Antiques Harder to Trace !!

Raiders steal antiques worth nearly £100,000

By Pat Smith

NEARLY £100,000 worth of antiques have been stolen from a house in Bromsgrove.

Police are appealing for help in locating the large quantity of valuables, believed to have been taken from a house in the Slideslow area sometime since August.

The stolen property includes paintings, furniture, chinaware, glassware, jewellery and electrical items, and is estimated to be worth around £95,000.

The haul includes an oil painting in a gold frame of a boy playing a flute with a Cavalier dog, worth £20,000; another oil painting of cows in a gold frame, worth £15,000; an oblong wooden cabinet with glass frontage and a drawer at the bottom, worth £10,000; and a set of oriental porcelain dishes and small cups, valued at £5,000.

In addition the thieves took a light wood glass fronted china display cabinet with hand carved shelves, worth £20,000; a light wood glass fronted cupboard with bow shaped doors with light coloured wood panels, worth £3,000; and a Queen Anne-style desk made of dark wood with side and centre drawers, worth around £1,500.


A wealth of smaller items also went missing during the raid including a Chinese plate, worth £50; silver dishes, worth £1,000; a silver tea set, worth £1,500; and a set of oriental porcelain dishes and small cups, worth £5,000.

A large amount of modern valuables were also stolen including a Sony music centre, a 32 inch TV and a DVD machine together worth thousands of pounds.

PC Jamie Weaver, of Bromsgrove police, said: "These items will probably be sold through auction or local antique dealers and I am appealing for people to look out for them."

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Weaver on 08457 444888 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Art Hostage comments:

Stolen in August and only publicised now, three months later !!

If an Antiques dealer has bought these items unwittingly, who is going to compensate the Antiques dealer ???

What incentive is offered to Antiques dealers to come forward, I'll tel you, none what so ever.

So, these stolen antiques, like thousands of other stolen artworks, will stay out of the reach of investigators, unless they stumble across them when investigating other criminality.

Rolls eyes, leaves room in disgust !!

Stolen Art Watch, Stolen in Sussex, Sold in the States, Art Crime is Mainstream !!

Stolen art is recovered from the US

http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/488/Stolen-art-is-recovered-from.3517062.jp

By carly.wymark@trbeckett.co.uk

With the help of investigators both sides of the Atlantic, stolen paintings which belonged to an elderly man, who died shortly after they were taken, have been recovered.

Peter Crook, who lived in Granville Road and was 90 when he died, was conned by a man offering to restore and clean items of silverware and paintings.

A number of paintings and silverware which had sentimental value were stolen. Amongst these were two paintings by his grandfather, GF Wetherbee.

Dr John Crook, the victim's son, said, "I felt anger that my parents were taken for a ride by an unscrupulous individual.

"He came back on several occasions to gain their confidence. Elderly people should be suspicious of individuals coming knocking on their door asking to look at items."

Dr Crook registered the items on the Art Loss Register (ALR), the world's leading database of stolen art.

The Art Loss Register is a team of art loss investigators who have helped in the recovery of more than 1,000 artworks, with a combined estimated value in the region of £100 million.

The group is best known for high-profile recoveries such as Cezanne, Picasso, Warhol and Nolde, but dedicate just as much effort to recovering items stolen from family homes.

Dr Crook kept up his search for the paintings.

Through chance and persistence he happened to come across an image of two of the stolen Wetherbee paintings on an American website and asked ALR to investigate.

The ALR's team worked hard to pursue the paintingsand traced the artworks through eBay and a Maryland auction house.

After months of work, assisted by the police and the auction house, which relinquished its claim to the paintings when it discovered their history, culminated in the paintings being recovered.

Earlier this year they were returned to Dr Crook at the ALR's offices, in London.

The Crook family is delighted to have the paintings — which are of a river landscape with children and children feeding hens — back. The characters in the paintings are members of the family.

Mr Crook said, "I did a search for the painting's artist and saw they had been put up for sale in America, so naturally I was very excited. ALR worked very hard in recovering them, it wasn't easy."

Art Hostage comments:

What happened to the man who stole these paintings ??

Just shows the Sussex stolen art market is thriving, just as House prices seem to be falling.

Perhaps the Sussex new money property tycoons will revert back to stolen art if property is a bad investment ????????

Worth noting and food for thought, for every two stolen paintings recovered, there are 48 that remain outstanding, working on a recovery rate of around 4-5%.

Stolen Art Watch, This is not the Begining of the End, it is just the End of the Begining !!

Dumped oil painting fetches $1m

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7104916.stm

A painting stolen 20 years ago then found lying in a pile of rubbish on a New York City street has sold at auction for just over $1m (£484,000).

The 1970 painting Tres Personajes (Three People) by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo was taken from a warehouse where the owners had placed it while moving.

It was found by Elizabeth Gibson as she took her morning walk four years ago on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

After discovering the painting's value, she returned it to its original owner.

It sold for $1,049,000 (£507,900) to a telephone bidder at Sotheby's New York auction house.

Sotheby's describes the painting as an important work from Rufino Tamayo's mature period.

Website clue

Elizabeth Gibson said she was drawn to the painting when she spotted it on the street.

"I know nothing of modern art but it didn't seem right for any piece of art to be discarded like that," she said.

It hung on a wall in her home for several months before a friend suggested it might be valuable.

An internet search revealed that the missing painting had been the subject of an appeal for information on the Antiques Roadshow TV programme.


Ms Gibson has already received a $15,000 reward the couple put up when it was stolen, plus an undisclosed percentage of the sale of the painting.

It is still not known how the painting ended up on the street.

The owners - a couple from Houston whose names have not been disclosed - bought the oil on canvas, with marble dust and sand worked into the paint, in 1977 at Sotheby's.

August Uribe, Sotheby's senior vice-president of impressionist and modern art, said that the husband had paid $55,000 for it as a gift for his wife. The husband later died.

At the time of the theft in 1987, the couple alerted local and federal authorities.

Information on the painting was posted on the databases of the International Foundation for Art Research, and the Art Loss Register.

The FBI is still investigating the theft.

Art Hostage comments:

It appears, at least for the moment, Ms Gibson is in line for a windfall.

I would imagine Ms Gibson's cut of the sale price would be around 10-15%, giving her around $90,000 to add to the $15,000 already paid to her.

However, as with all these things, the FBI have not gone away, you know !!

Don't be surprised to hear of Ms Gibson being arrested sometime in the future,if the FBI can join the dots of how,in reality,Ms Gibson came into possession of this purloined artwork.

The secret to returning stolen art and making a valid claim for any reward offered is:

"The person claiming the reward must stand up to public and law enforcement scrutiny."

Currently, this can only be achieved if the reward claimant is a Man of the Cloth, a Catholic Priest.

Confessioner

"Forgive me Father for I have sinned"

Father **** to confessioner:

"Go on my son, the Boston Vermeer, yes, yes, now what about Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee, OK my son."

Soon after:

Hello, is that the Garda/Police/Boston Police Department?,

"This is Father *****, I have found the stolen Gardner art in one of my confession boxes and would like to return them forthwith, oh yes, and claim the reward."

"That's the only way to do it !"

Stolen Art Watch, Meet the Fakers !!

How garden shed fakers fooled the art world


· Talented son and aged parents admit fraud
· Museum paid £440,000 for Egyptian princess

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2212590,00.html

David Ward
Saturday November 17, 2007
The Guardian


A man was jailed for four years and eight months yesterday after earning £850,000 from making fake art treasures with the help of his parents in their 80s in their terraced house in Bolton.

Shaun Greenhalgh's biggest triumph was the sale for £440,000 of a statue which he claimed was 3,300 years old and represented the Princess Amarna, daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti.

It had, in fact, been "knocked up" in a garden shed. But he and his parents fooled the museum and art gallery of the town in Greater Manchester, which bought the piece and put it on display.

Greenhalgh, 47, his father, George, 84, and mother, Olive, 83, admitted conspiring to defraud art institutions between June 1989 and March 2006. She was given a suspended jail term of 12 months, while her husband will be sentenced later.

Their cottage industry did not confine itself to Egyptology, but produced artifacts ranging from a Roman plate to a goose supposedly sculpted by Barbara Hepworth. According to the Metropolitan police arts and antiques unit, the trio may have worked less for profit than to shame the art world.

"We believe Shaun is a failed creator who had no success selling his work because, as he saw it, he had not been to art school and did not know the right people," said Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley. "He realised he could make more money conning the art market. He wanted to show them up, and to a degree he succeeded."

"The antiquities and art were produced by Shaun Greenhalgh and sold by George Greenhalgh with, from time to time, the assistance of his mother Olive," said Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, at Bolton crown court.

"It appears that, although gifted as an artist, Shaun Greenhalgh was not a salesman. His father, in particular, fulfilled that role admirably, and fooled experts from all the great auction houses and other experts from Leeds to Vienna and from London to New York."

The business began in 1989 when George Greenhalgh took to Manchester University a small silver object bearing an alleged Old English inscription and containing a relic of the true cross. Experts at the British Museum and English Heritage concluded it was not an original but that the wood was possibly genuine. It was bought for £100, and later made the subject of an academic thesis.

The court heard that the family business was exposed when three "Assyrian" stone reliefs, taken to the British Museum, were proved to be fakes. Outside court, detectives said experts spotted a spelling mistake in their cuneiform script.

"It will be never known the full extent of the enterprise or the monies that were made," said Mr Cadwallader. "As to bank accounts, the records only go back for six years, which is only a little over a third of the whole period."

For Shaun Greenhalgh, Andrew Nuttall said: "Mr Greenhalgh discovered many years ago he has no style of his own ... He had one outlook and that was his garden shed. The Amarna Princess was knocked up in three weeks in this garden shed.

"He was trying to perfect the love he had for such arts. That talent was misdirected."

The Greenhalghs also pleaded guilty to laundering the money made from the fakes. Rapley said: "Despite their talent and ability to reproduce these artworks and the false provenances that accompanied them, they were still living a relatively frugal life on the proceeds of their crime.

"Whilst numerous forged items have been recovered and every effort has been made to trace all the Greenhalgh forgeries, there can be little doubt that there are a number of forgeries still circulating within the art market."

Below, Copy of The Meeting House by L.S. Lowry

Art Hostage comments:

The current art market is so competitive that people get intoxicated by Provenance, they fail to spot the obvious.

Interesting to note there was a spelling mistake in the Syrian relief, simple mistakes have undone many a sophisticated cunning plan.

Stolen Art Watch, If You Vant a Vatch, Buy a Vatch, Stop Vatching the Vatches in the Vindow !!

Hickory, dickory dock: Stolen museum loot found

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/922554.html

By Danny Rubinstein

Dozens of rare and priceless clocks stolen from the L.A. Mayer Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem 24 years ago, in a theft that has mystified investigators, have returned home and are soon to be presented to the public.

Among the items, located in August, 2006, after the museum's director received a telephone tip from a Tel Aviv watchmaker, the rarest and most expensive clock is a gold and rock-crystal pocket-watch made over a number of years for Marie Antoinette by the French watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823).

The theft of 40 items from the original collection of 100 clocks, one of the most important in the world, occured on Friday night, April 15, 1983, when thieves managed to bend the bars on a back window of the museum and use a ladder to get inside, covering their presence with a large truck, which they parked in the back, taking advantage of the fact that the alarm system was broken, and the guard was stationed in the front. On Sunday morning when the theft was discovered, police said it had clearly been "commissioned" because the thieves knew to take only the most expensive items in the collection.

The rarer items were known to dealers and galleries the world over, and the search was intense and wide-reaching, but fruitless. Monetary rewards posted by the museum and its insurers went unclaimed.

Then, in August 2006, a break came in the notorious case: The museum's veteran director, Rachel Hasson, received a phone call from a Tel Aviv watchmaker who told her a young lawyer had phoned and invited him to her office to appraise 40 clocks she had in her possession. The watchmaker immediately realized these were some of the clocks stolen from the L.A. Mayer Museum of Islamic Art. The lawyer told him that the clocks belonged to a foreign client of hers.

Hasson immediately reported the information to the museum's board of directors, and a few hours later they arrived at the lawyer's office, only to find that the clocks had been returned to their bank vault. They showed the lawyer a catalog of the clocks and she identified some of them and confirmed that they belonged to her client, a resident of the U.K., who had inherited them following the death of her partner. The lawyer said she would be willing to return them if she were compensated financially.

The board set up a meeting with the lawyer for the next day, when she was to show them the clocks so they could confirm which items from the collection were included. But on the way back to Jerusalem, she called the board chairman, Eli Kahan and said she wanted to finish up the deal in one day and that her client had one condition: to keep her name out of it and do everything through her attorney.

The next day, the attorney showed the board three worn cardboard boxes, with the 40 rare clocks, wrapped in newspaper, including the Breguet creation for Marie Antoinette and another Breguet creation from 1819, known as the "Sympathique," which ran on a system in which a watch placed in a recess of the clock was automatically set and reset, and an 11 cm-long "pistol clock" created at the beginning of the 19th century in France.

Excitedly, the board members spent hours going over the collection. Most of the items were fairly well preserved, but some where damaged. After a brief negotiation, Kahan gave the lawyer a check of not a large amount in return for her assistance. The clocks were brought to Jerusalem and placed secretly in a safe so the story would not get out, and the police were informed of the developments.

The months that followed saw negotiations with the insurance company, which had meanwhile paid the museum's claim on the lost clocks, and work to restore the damaged clocks and prepare them for exhibition once again.

Meanwhile, the identity of the thieves remains a mystery. However they are believed unlikely to have been inveterate watch collectors, but rather local operators, at least two in number. They apparently dismantled some of the clocks, removing and selling gold and jewels. The most expensive clocks were apparently too familiar to be sold and thus remained in their possession over the years.

The clocks, which are unconnected to Islamic culture, are part of the collection of Sir David Lionel Salomons, who in 1855 became the first Jewish mayor of London. They were donated by his daughter, Mrs. Vera Francis Salomons, a British philanthropist who founded the L.A. Mayer Museum of Islamic Art and named it after her professor of Islamic studies and rector of the Hebrew University, who was also a collector of rare clocks.

Art Hostage M.A. B.A. (Hons) A.H.E.C. Comments:

In some ways this is a similar case to the Da Vinci Madonna, however, authorities in Israel seem to have taken a softer line with the Lawyers.

Alternatively, Israeli law may be different and allow this kind of buy back and also allow a ransom to be paid.

The Israeli clock case shows the Museum working without informing authorities until it had already recovered its stolen property, something illegal in the UK.

It is only after the event that Israeli authorities have the chance to consider if any laws were broken and if any criminal charges should be sought.

Here in the UK, Scotland in the Da Vinci case, the private investigators, as soon as they were contacted about the stolen Da Vinci Madonna, went running at breakneck speed to "Tell the Teacher" sorry, snitch, sorry, inform authorities.

Do you remember the Weasel featured little turds at school, who would run to the teacher and snitch, opinion was always that the Little Turds would grow up without friends and become Police officers, still without friends, other than their fellow little turds in the Police.

It must be said however, that there have been attempts to recruit decent considerate popular and competent people into the Police, but there is still an element of the Weasel featured little turd syndrome at the core of all aspects of law enforcement.

This means the public are even more reluctant to come forward and help, if those requesting help are the very same Weasel featured Little Snitching Turds, who were hated universally at School.

The law enforcement reaction to recovering stolen art varies from country to country and depends on how powerful those negotiating the return of stolen art are.

The Turner case in point, where the players were establishment figures who clearly paid a multi-million pound ransom. Then a media back-out followed.

The Titian recovery by the much maligned Charlie Hill, where he paid David Dudden £15,000 deposit, then £85,000 post recovery, who in turn paid the money backwards, another buy-back. Charlie Hill was warned he would be arrested if he did this kind of recovery again. Since the Titian how much stolen art has Charlie Hill recovered, none, zero, zilch !!

The Da Vinci case has thrown down the Gauntlet to the legal profession and is asking questions about client attorney privilege.

This is not personal, it is a considered campaign to undermined lawyers and make defending accused that much harder.

The issue of legal aid has been another way to put out of reach, competent lawyers for most defendants, giving Prosecutors an unwarranted advantage.

This march to tip the scales of justice in the prosecution's favour is fraught with danger and will inevitably lead to the increase of unsafe and corrupt convictions.

There is a rumour that the use of underworld supergrasses in on the agenda, so keep an eye out for that !!

Upon another note

When Art Hostage was a lad, he used to go and stare at the expensive watches displayed in a jewellers window.

The Jewish owner came out one day and exclaimed:

"If you Vant a Vatch, buy a Vatch, stop Vatching the Vatches in the Vindow !!"

Subsequent to this first meeting, Art Hostage was taught a great deal by this wise man, who became somewhat of a mentor and good friend.

This Jewish jeweller took Art Hostage under his wing and allow him to learn about buying and selling of jewellery and watches.

Art Hostage used to "run" items on a sale or return basis, even dined with the family.

When the Jewish Jeweller died, he left Art Hostage a Rolex Gold pocket watch and Gold watch chain, the very same one Art Hostage used to look at as a young lad in the Vindow !!

Art Hostage, when asked if he is Jewish replies:

"Unfortunately, that is an Honour for which God has failed to Bestow upon me"

(Allegedly, Art Hostage's natural father was a Polish Jew, (natural mother Irish Catholic), which, I am told, doesn't count !!)

Stolen Art Watch, Morons of the Week !!

SANTA ROSA: FIVE ARRESTED FOR BURGLARY AND POSSESSING STOLEN ANTIQUES

http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2007/11/07/n/HeadlineNews/BURGLARY-ARRESTS/resources_bcn_html

11/07/07 6:30 PST

SANTA ROSA (BCN)

Santa Rosa police have arrested five people suspected of stealing more than $25,000 of jewelry and antique items from a southwest Santa Rosa residence last month.

Sgt. Eric Litchfield said the suspects sold the stolen items to several pawnshops and jewelry stores including one owned by the burglary victim.

"The suspects were apparently unaware they were selling the victim his own stolen property," Litchfield said.

The burglary occurred on Oct. 27 and police served search warrants at six Santa Rosa homes Monday. The suspects and the stolen property were found at four of the residences, Litchfield said.

Police recovered most of the stolen property that included jewelry, furniture, paintings, cameras, sterling silver and bronze items and other antique items. Other items were found at pawnshops, Litchfield said.

Tony Cuellar, 30; Brandan Rhoades, 28; Karissa Amante, 30; and Sophia Martinez, 25, all of Santa Rosa, were arrested for burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit a crime, Litchfield said.

Heather Tressel, 22, of Santa Rosa, was arrested for possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit a crime and police are looking for Malee Molly Samphan, 26, Litchfield said.

Police are still looking for several antique ivory statues similar to Confucius in appearance, a 3-foot long antique sword with "Solingen" on the blade, a steel scabbard and two Knights of Columbus/Masonic antique swords with Masonic symbols engraved on ivory handles.

Anyone with information about the stolen property still outstanding is asked to call Detective Shacklett at (707) 543-3575.

Art Hostage comments:

Thankfully, these morons have brains the size of Olive's.

Stolen Art Watch, Art Hostage Passes Masters Degree !!

Art Hostage has passed !!

Got the results at noon today.

Interesting to note, during the Queens Speech to Parliament, Her Majesty broke from the script to announce Art Hostage had passed his Masters Degree, a roar went up from both sides of the House.

So, now its Art Hostage M.A. B.A. (Hons) A.H.E.C.


A very humbling experience.

Stolen Art Watch, Lowry Theft Arrests, A Pyrrhic Victory !!

Lowry theft suspect being led away !!

Four arrested over Lowry thefts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7079408.stm

Four people have been arrested by police investigating the theft of five LS Lowry paintings worth more than £1m in Greater Manchester.
Officers raided several addresses in Tameside after receiving information from the public.

A 31-year-old man from Hyde, along with three men from Denton, aged 36, 22 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of robbery, police said.

The paintings were stolen from a house in Cheadle Hulme in May.

Art collector Ivan Aird was tied up and his wife and two-year-old daughter threatened during the robbery at their home.

Five artworks were taken, together with Lowry's palette and brushes.

So unique

The most valuable works are the Viaduct, at about £700,000 and The Tanker Entering The Tyne, which is worth between £500,000 and £600,000.

The others are pencil sketches - The Bridge at Ringley and The Street Market.

The value of the palette and paintbrushes is not known, because they are said to be so unique.

Det Con Chris Barnes said: "We have had a number of people come forward, both as a result of the media appeals and the recent Crimewatch appeal.

"A £70,000 reward remains available to anyone who provides information leading to the recovery and return of these paintings."

The raids were carried out in Audenshaw, Denton, Houghton Green, Hyde and Gorton.

Art Hostage comments:

A Pyrrhic victory and we still have the stolen Lowry artworks outstanding.

Police could, and should have devoted more resources to this case from the get go.

Then, subsequent victims would not have been robbed.

Still, better late than never, or are these arrests just window dressing ??

It is Police who have jumped the gun for quick headlines, rather than wait and recover the stolen artworks before arresting these men.

Police already knew the identies of these men, but public pressure has allowed the Lowry paintings to remain outstanding, or have they been recovered already ??

Right, who is going to be the first to become a "Sewer Rat" ??

The offer of a reduced sentence is the lure to get one or more of these accused men to reveal the whereabouts of the stolen Lowry paintings.

To the current handler of the stolen Lowry paintings, before Police storm your house/work/shop and recover the paintings, hand them back by placing them in a certain place and then telephoning the police anonymously.

If you get caught in possession of the stolen Lowry's some-time soon, don't say you weren't warned !!

The Lowry's are a millstone around your neck and will disrupt any other business dealings.

Will you lose money, of course, but better lose money on the Lowry's than lose the whole lot.

Oh, to be continued..............

Update...............

Expect some good news from Yorkshire Police/London Met Police about the spate of art thefts this summer.

I cannot say too much, but hopefully the Newby table and Doncaster silver cups will be recovered before Yorkshire Police arrest the gangs they are watching !!

Not forgetting the De Morgan, tick tock, etc which the current handlers are contemplating handing back !!

Guys, get rid of these stolen artworks before you get arrested, placed, then fetch and collect by Police.

The clock is ticking and before long, Yorkshire Police and the London Met Police will be told to

"Round them up, and Collar the lot" to quote Churchill.

Stolen Art Watch, Bread and Butter Art Theft under £1 Million, Who Cares !!

Breaking news: Reward for information re £40,000 burglary

http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/news/Breaking-news-Reward-for-.3427798.jp

A REWARD is being offered following a burglary in Bishop Burton between 6.05pm on Wednesday 10 October and 15 minutes past midnight on Thursday 11 October 2007.
The burglary resulted in antiques and jewellery worth around £40,000 being stolen.

The reward, of up to £3,000 is being issued by the owner for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects.

Detective Inspector Gavin Orsborne Humberside Police said "This burglary resulted in a substantial amount of property being stolen; the property was valuable and had sentimental value for the family involved.

"The reward is being offered to encourage people to come forward with information which will hopefully lead to the arrest and conviction of suspect(s).

"The property is distinctive, and it is believed the suspects will be trying to sell it on and we are asking for the public, antiques dealers and specialist shops to be on the look out for the property."

Art Hostage comments:

Perhaps these antiques were sold in Hull and from there they were sold to a South Coast antiques dealer with long-standing links to Hull ?

I am sure these items will be floating around the trade in London and the South East.

Arrests and convictions for £3,000, worth becoming a Sewer Rat, you decide !!

Stolen Art Watch, Lowry Theft TV Plea or Smoke-Screen to Protect Informant !!

Art raid terror on Crimewatch

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1021933_art_raid_terror_on_crimewatch

Brian Lashley
29/10/2007

A FAMILY'S terrifying ordeal during a raid on their home, in which Lowry paintings worth more than £1.5m were stolen, is to be shown on Crimewatch tonight.

Louise Aird, 40, opened the door of her home in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, to what she thought was the postman - but up to four knife-wielding raiders stormed in.

Her husband, Ivan, 41, was tied up, and the men threatened to kill their two-year-old daughter, Sabrina.

The gang escaped with a haul of valuable paintings, including one titled The Viaduct worth more than £700,000 and another called the Tanker Entering The Tyne said to be worth up to £600,000.

Mr Aird is a leading collector of works by Salford painter Lowry, who had been a family friend. A reconstruction of the robbery on May 3 is to be shown on the BBC 1programme Crimewatch at 9pm.

Det Con Carolann Eaton, from Greater Manchester Police's major incident team, said: "This was a despicable crime, and the whole family have been left traumatised by what has happened to them.

"The stolen paintings are extremely valuable but also hold a great deal of sentimental value for Mr Aird, as Mr Lowry was a close family friend.

"It would be almost impossible for these distinctive paintings to be sold on, as they would be immediately recognised as stolen.

"I would appeal to anyone who has information on the people responsible, or the current location of the stolen paintings, to contact us."

Anyone with information should contact the major incident room on 0161 856 2482, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Art Hostage comments:

Police may already know the identities of the robbers, but are using Crimewatch to try and smoke out further evidence and deflect the blame away from the informant, who has already given the names ?

Knowing who committed this dreadful robbery does not recover the stolen Lowry's !!

How far is Manchester from Glasgow ?

I will update once it has aired !!

Stolen Art Watch, Bread and Butter Bulgarian Booty !!

BULGARIAN ANTIQUES TRAFFICKING CHANNEL SHUT DOWN

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/bulgarian-antiques-trafficking-channel-shut-down/id_25771/catid_66

19:41 Thu 25 Oct 2007

A large channel for trafficking of antiques to Western Europe and the USA had been closed down by the department for fighting organised crime of the Interior Ministry, mediapool.bg said.

Confiscated cultural-historical heritage was estimated to be worth over 10 million leva, though the precise amount was not yet clear.

Arrested were 13 people, 25 searches had been carried out in the regions of Pazardjik, Vratsa, Montana, Vidin and Rouse. Among the arrested was the organiser of the group, a well-known businessman from Pazardjik, whose name has been withheld.

Confiscated had been over 15 000 antique coins and over 400 antique vases, made from metal, ceramic and glass. Uncovered have been large amounts of fragments of marble tiles, capitals from columns and sculptures, antique swords, knives, peaks of arrows and spears, ornaments of horse-trappings, parts of warrior cart-drivers, a large collection of antique jewelry and decorative elements from an antique shrine.

The organiser of the group was said to own an impressive amount of real estate and a hotel centre. Much of which was suspected to have been bought with money from trafficking antiques.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kamen Sitnilski said prosecuting the accused would be a challenge, but the first accusation would be the possession of stolen goods in large quantities.

The operation took place October 22 - 24, and from the 13 who had been arrested, four were still under arrest. For the others no grounds for longer arrest were found.

As for the origin of the antiques, so far it was not clear whether they had recently been excavated or were stolen.

Spanish Police Arrest Bulgarian National on Drug Charges

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=86853

26 October 2007, Friday

Spanish police said on Friday it arrested a Bulgarian national, who was part of an international drug smuggling ring.

Three men were arrested in total, including a 40-year-old Bulgaria, a Turkish national and a Spaniard, as well as seizing 23 kilograms of heroin in a raid in the southern city of Seville.

The ring was under surveillance for nearly a year and police believe the Bulgarian national was smuggling the drugs into the country.

The police seized the drugs in a secret compartment of a car and was to be sold throughout the Andalucia region of Spain.

Art Hostage comments:

A domino affect !!