Art Hostage Services
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The Art Hostage team undertakes a wide range of services, including due diligence, collection conservation and management, risk assessment and security as well as legal issues, recovery and dispute resolution involving art and artifacts. Through partnerships with leading organizations, the Art Hostage team can provide a complete service for all aspects of collecting and protecting art.
PARIS — Investigators have announced the
recovery of a Rembrandt painting 15 years after it was stolen from a
museum in Southeastern France in the midst of a passing military parade.
An unidentified man, 43, claimed
responsibility last week for the theft, according to the police. He said
that it took place in the municipal museum in Draguignan during
a break-in timed to a Bastille Day parade that masked the sound of
security alarms. He turned himself into police in Southern France last
Wednesday, a day after detectives arrested two men in Nice as they tried
to sell the stolen painting, the Dutch master’s “Child With a Soap
Bubble, ” which is valued at more than 3.2 million euros or almost five
million dollars.
Investigators were tipped off by an art
dealer who realized that the painting was listed as stolen from the
museum of Draguignan. The painting has been returned to the museum.
In a separate case in Serbia last week, local
authorities arrested four men and retrieved a Rembrandt painting that
had been stolen by masked gunmen in 2006 from the City Museum in Novi
Sad. “The Portrait of a Father,” painted in 1630, was stolen once before
in 1996 and recovered in Spain. It was one of three paintings,
including a Rubens, that was stolen from the Serbian museum.
Stolen Rembrandt painting recovered after 15 years
The recovered painting has been shown to the press
A 17th Century painting by Dutch master Rembrandt has been recovered in France, 15 years after it was stolen.
L'enfant a la bulle de savon (Child with soap bubble), valued
at 3.2m euros (£2.7m), was taken from a museum in the southern city of
Draguignan in 1999.
Two men were arrested in Nice on Tuesday, according to the Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency.
Police said they received information that a transaction was due to take place in a hotel the following day.
The men, aged 46 and 53, one of whom was described as a former insurer, appeared in court in Nice on Thursday, AFP said.
They were reported to be known to police for previous petty crimes. Police are still looking for other suspects.
The painting measures 60cm by 49cm and was said to be in a good condition
The painting was stolen from Draguignan's Musee Municipal d'art
et d'histoire during the city's Bastille Day celebrations in July 1999.
At the time, police said the thieves entered through a back door and escaped before officers responded to the alarm.
The undated painting, which portrays a teenage boy with long
dark brown locks, wearing a golden necklace and holding a soap bubble,
was said to be in a good condition.
Stolen items returned to Petworth House
A detective returned a selection of antiques
to Petworth House this week, after a prolific thief from London was
jailed for stealing them.
The pair of Japanese plates - together with a Derby
porcelain plaque from Clandon Park - were recovered from a pawn broker
in Hatton Gardens, London.
Paul Whiting, 68, originally from
Hammersmith in London, appeared at Guildford Crown Court on February 6
where he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for the theft of two
Japanese plates from Petworth in February 2012 and a porcelain plaque
from Clandon Park in May 2013.
The sentence is to run concurrent to a sentence he is already serving for a theft at a National Trust property in Hertfordshire.
A
key piece of evidence to convict Whiting came from CCTV images of the
68 year old when he took the porcelain plaque to Bonhams Auctioneers in
New Bond Street for a valuation.
John Sandon and Fergus Gambon of
The Antiques Roadshow fame, were working that day at the auctioneers and
carried out an inspection of the item.
A few days later, Mr
Sandon read an article in The Antique Trade Gazette regarding the theft
of the plaque from Clandon Park and recognised the piece as being the
one he had recently examined.
CCTV was produced from Bonhams of
the meeting and circulated to other police forces. An officer from
Hertfordshire saw the stills and recognised Whiting as someone he had
arrested for a burglary at a National Trust House in West Wycombe Park
in June 2013.
Officers from Surrey Police interviewed Whiting in prison and subsequently charged him with the two burglaries.
Andrew
Loukes, House and Collections Manager at Petworth said: “The National
Trust at Petworth are delighted to have the Japanese dishes back, and
are very grateful to Surrey and West Sussex Police Forces for all their
efforts.
“We are also pleased that our own CCTV coverage was able to link Whiting with the theft from Petworth.”
300 rings stolen during raid at Honiton jewellers
Banwell Antiques in Honiton High Street.
Police are investigating a robbery at a jewellers shop in Honiton.
A lone man attacked a female worker at Banwell Antiques in the High Street as she opened the store at 9am this morning.
The suspect got away with more than 300 rings, pendants and earrings.
He's described as white, of slim build, heavily unshaven, with short
dark hair, and aged between 30 – 50 years. He was wearing a blue coat,
blue denim jeans, black trainers, a beige coloured flat cap and was
carrying a blue rucksack.
The victim is shaken but unhurt.
Police return stolen antiques to National Trust Houses
A detective from Surrey Police had the enjoyable task of returning a
selection of antiques to National Trust Properties this week which had
been stolen by a prolific thief from London.
The items, a Derby Porcelain Plaque and two Japanese Plates were
recovered from a pawn broker in Hatton Gardens, London having been
stolen from Clandon Park, Guildford and Petworth House in West Sussex.
Paul Whiting, 68 years, originally from Hammersmith, London appeared
at Guildford Crown Court on 6 February 2014 where he was sentenced to
twelve months imprisonment for the theft of the porcelain plaque from
Clandon Park in May 2013 and the theft of two Japanese Plates from
Petworth in February 2012. The sentence is to run concurrent to a
sentence he is already serving for a theft at a National Trust property
in Hertfordshire.
A key piece of evidence to convict Whiting came from CCTV images of
the 68 year old when he took the porcelain plaque to Bonhams Auctioneers
in New Bond Street for a valuation. John Sandon and Fergus Gambon of
The Antiques Roadshow fame, were working that day at the Auctioneers and
carried out an inspection of the item. A few days later, Mr Sandon read
an article in The Antique Trade Gazette regarding the theft of the
plaque from Clandon Park and recognised the piece as being the one he
had recently examined. CCTV was produced from Bonhams of the meeting and
circulated to other police forces. An officer from Hertfordshire saw
the stills and recognised Whiting as someone he had arrested for a
burglary at a National Trust House in West Wycombe Park in June 2013.
Officers from Surrey Police interviewed Whiting in prison and
subsequently charged him with the two burglaries.
DC Dave Pellatt from Surrey Police CID said: "Whiting is a prolific
antiques thief who has caused a great deal of heartache and
inconvenience to all those affected by his offending. I'm really pleased
that we have been able to recover the stolen items and it's equally
satisfying to know that he is now behind bars for a lengthy period.”
Caroline Sones, House Manager atClandonParksaid: "Last year staff and
volunteers at Clandon were saddened when this beautifulDerbyporcelain
plaquewas stolen. We are delighted that officers from Surrey
Police have recovered it for us and can't wait to have it on display
again. The National Trust is one ofEurope's largest conservation
charities and looks after historic collections forever for everyone.
People come from near and far to enjoyClandonPark's collections of
textiles, furniture and ceramics, representing the best in 18th century
craftsmanship, in a grand English country house."
Andrew Loukes, House and Collections Manager at Petworth added: "The
National Trust at Petworth are delighted to have the Japanese dishes
back, and are very grateful to Surrey and West Sussex Police Forces for
all their efforts. We are also pleased that our own CCTV coverage was
able to link Whiting with the theft from Petworth.”
- See more at:
http://www.surrey.police.uk/news/news-stories/full-news-story/article/9013/police-return-stolen-antiques-to-national-trust-houses#sthash.M0xuDPNu.dpuf
Police return stolen antiques to National Trust Houses
A detective from Surrey Police had the enjoyable task of returning a
selection of antiques to National Trust Properties this week which had
been stolen by a prolific thief from London.
The items, a Derby Porcelain Plaque and two Japanese Plates were
recovered from a pawn broker in Hatton Gardens, London having been
stolen from Clandon Park, Guildford and Petworth House in West Sussex.
Paul Whiting, 68 years, originally from Hammersmith, London appeared
at Guildford Crown Court on 6 February 2014 where he was sentenced to
twelve months imprisonment for the theft of the porcelain plaque from
Clandon Park in May 2013 and the theft of two Japanese Plates from
Petworth in February 2012. The sentence is to run concurrent to a
sentence he is already serving for a theft at a National Trust property
in Hertfordshire.
A key piece of evidence to convict Whiting came from CCTV images of
the 68 year old when he took the porcelain plaque to Bonhams Auctioneers
in New Bond Street for a valuation. John Sandon and Fergus Gambon of
The Antiques Roadshow fame, were working that day at the Auctioneers and
carried out an inspection of the item. A few days later, Mr Sandon read
an article in The Antique Trade Gazette regarding the theft of the
plaque from Clandon Park and recognised the piece as being the one he
had recently examined. CCTV was produced from Bonhams of the meeting and
circulated to other police forces. An officer from Hertfordshire saw
the stills and recognised Whiting as someone he had arrested for a
burglary at a National Trust House in West Wycombe Park in June 2013.
Officers from Surrey Police interviewed Whiting in prison and
subsequently charged him with the two burglaries.
DC Dave Pellatt from Surrey Police CID said: "Whiting is a prolific
antiques thief who has caused a great deal of heartache and
inconvenience to all those affected by his offending. I'm really pleased
that we have been able to recover the stolen items and it's equally
satisfying to know that he is now behind bars for a lengthy period.”
Caroline Sones, House Manager atClandonParksaid: "Last year staff and
volunteers at Clandon were saddened when this beautifulDerbyporcelain
plaquewas stolen. We are delighted that officers from Surrey
Police have recovered it for us and can't wait to have it on display
again. The National Trust is one ofEurope's largest conservation
charities and looks after historic collections forever for everyone.
People come from near and far to enjoyClandonPark's collections of
textiles, furniture and ceramics, representing the best in 18th century
craftsmanship, in a grand English country house."
Andrew Loukes, House and Collections Manager at Petworth added: "The
National Trust at Petworth are delighted to have the Japanese dishes
back, and are very grateful to Surrey and West Sussex Police Forces for
all their efforts. We are also pleased that our own CCTV coverage was
able to link Whiting with the theft from Petworth.”
- See more at:
http://www.surrey.police.uk/news/news-stories/full-news-story/article/9013/police-return-stolen-antiques-to-national-trust-houses#sthash.M0xuDPNu.dpuf
Elderly couple, accomplice held for antiques theft
An elderly couple and an acquaintance have been arrested for stealing
antique jewellery items and currency notes worth a few lakhs of rupees
from a resident in South Mumbai's Peddar Road area.
The Gamdevi police have managed to recover all the 58 currency
notes, which date back to the period of the British rule in India. They
said the jewellery stolen is worth Rs17 lakh and they have found some of
the items.
The three accused, Deepak Sambare, 63, his wife Smita, 61, and Aryan
Patel, 28, have been booked for theft and criminal breach of trust
under sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Deepak and Smita are real estate brokers who got to know Neeta
Jhaveri in December last year, said Rajaram Prabhu, senior police
inspector.
During their visits to Jhaveri's house in Sonarika building, the
65-year-old lady talked to them about her interest in collecting antique
jewellery and currency notes, and she even showed them these items.
"She also told them that she wanted to sell the items. So, some days
later, the Sambares sent Aryan Patel to her house, introducing him as
an antique dealer," the police inspector said.
Jhaveri showed Patel the currency notes and the jewellery. Then he
asked her for some water to drink and when she left the room he stepped
out of the house with the items.
Jhaveri called the Sambares to tell them what had happened, but they
did not answer her calls. Realizing that she was cheated, the woman's
son lodged a complaint with the Gamdevi police on February 22.
The police located the three by tracking their phone calls. The
Sambare couple were caught near Charni Road station on March 10 and
Patel, a resident of Mira Road, was apprehended a couple of days ago.
"It's evident that the Sambares were involved with Patel in the
crime. We have recovered the album containing the antique currency notes
and some of the jewellery from them," the police official said Emil Nolde, Church Altarpiece, stolen
Emil Nolde Church Altarpiece Worth £1m Stolen In Denmark
A Church altarpiece painted by
the German / Danish artist Emil Nolde (1867-1956) has been stolen from a
church in Denmark. The work of art titled, Christ at Emmaus, painted
in1904, was situated in the Ølstrup Church near Ringkøbing, in western
Jutland, Denmark.
The masterpiece was found to be
missing by the church’s verger on 11 March, Poul Madsen a spokesperson
for the Ringkøbing police, stated but it was unclear whether the artwork
was taken the previous day. “Churches are unattended at night and even
in the day there is often no one there" the police added. "They are
places where you have a lot of time on your own,” Madsen said. There
wasn't evidence of a break-in and it is thought the robbery may have
happened during the day while the church was open to everyone.
“We
never thought of our church as an art museum. Everyone should be able
to come inside and sit down without being surveyed by video cameras,”
says Inge-Dorthe Brønden Kaasgard, the vicar. “We have always been very
proud of the painting.”
Nolde was married to the daughter of the
church's pastor, in 1904, and the church commissioned him to paint the
altarpiece. He was paid 340.57 krone for the painting. The work has been
in the church and is now valued at $1.8m at auction.
A major
Emil Nolde retrospective opened at the Städel Museum, Frankfurt, opened
on 5 March. Nolde’s oeuvre has been represented in numerous special
thematic exhibitions, the last retrospective to pay tribute to his work
in Germany took place twenty-five years ago. Some 140 works are on view.
in 1937 his works were confiscated from public collections, and 47 of
his works, including 33 paintings, were subsequently shown in the
Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich. In 1941, he was moreover barred
from the “Reichskammer der bildenden Künste” (Reich Chamber of Visual
Arts) and prohibited from practising his profession. Between 1938 and
1945 he executed the Unpainted Pictures workgroup, consisting of oil
paintings after his own watercolours. Following World War II he received
numerous distinctions, for example an award for his graphic work at the
XXVth Venice Biennale. Nolde died in 1956 at the age of eighty-eight.
Police swoop after 'high value' jewellery stolen from antiques shop in Abbotsbury
POLICE dramatically swooped on a car on a busy road as part of an operation to track down suspects after a jewellery raid.
Shocked motorists told how several police vehicles descended on a vehicle on the A35 between Dorchester and Bridport yesterday afternoon.
It came after what police described as ‘high value’ jewellery was stolen from a shop in Abbotsbury.
Police put out a major alert after the theft from Rodden Antiques about 3pm.
Just over an hour later, officers swooped on a car on the A35 close to the Walditch junction.
An eyewitness said: “At first there were four police vehicles, then another car pulled up and then a van.
“I thought there must be something going on as it was quite out of the ordinary.
“From what I could see they took one man out of the car and took him away.
“They had pulled over the car in the bus stop, just before you reach Bridport.”
A Dorset Police spokesman said: “We have got three people in custody helping us with inquiries in relation to the theft.
“I can confirm that the shop involved in the theft was Rodden Antiques.”
It is understood the shop has recently opened up.
A spokesman for Rodden Antiques said they discovered three arrests had been made by reading the Echo’s website.
He said a nine carat Edwardian watch and an Edwardian ring were taken in the theft but he was unable to comment any further.
Residents in Abbotsbury said they were shocked to hear of the theft.
Colin Boxshall, landlord of the Ilchester Arms on Market Street, said:
“Abbotsbury is generally a very low crime area so everyone here in the
village has been very surprised to hear news of the theft. We never get
any problems in Abbotsbury whatsoever so this is just truly shocking; I
don’t think anyone was expecting something like this to happen.
“If anyone has any more information please do inform the police.”
Abbotsbury resident Lynne Simonds said said: “I’m very, very sad to
hear of this, it’s so sad for a shop that’s just started up. It’s really
awful.
“I think everyone will be on high alert after something like this and I’m very sorry for everyone involved.”
Arthur Cartlidge, of Abbotsbury Antiques, said he was shocked to hear of the theft.
He said: “They have only just opened up and it’s awful that this has happened.”
Police return stolen antiques to National Trust Houses
A detective from Surrey Police had the enjoyable task of returning a
selection of antiques to National Trust Properties this week which had
been stolen by a prolific thief from London.
The items, a Derby Porcelain Plaque and two Japanese Plates were
recovered from a pawn broker in Hatton Gardens, London having been
stolen from Clandon Park, Guildford and Petworth House in West Sussex.
Paul Whiting, 68 years, originally from Hammersmith, London appeared
at Guildford Crown Court on 6 February 2014 where he was sentenced to
twelve months imprisonment for the theft of the porcelain plaque from
Clandon Park in May 2013 and the theft of two Japanese Plates from
Petworth in February 2012. The sentence is to run concurrent to a
sentence he is already serving for a theft at a National Trust property
in Hertfordshire.
A key piece of evidence to convict Whiting came from CCTV images of
the 68 year old when he took the porcelain plaque to Bonhams Auctioneers
in New Bond Street for a valuation. John Sandon and Fergus Gambon of
The Antiques Roadshow fame, were working that day at the Auctioneers and
carried out an inspection of the item. A few days later, Mr Sandon read
an article in The Antique Trade Gazette regarding the theft of the
plaque from Clandon Park and recognised the piece as being the one he
had recently examined. CCTV was produced from Bonhams of the meeting and
circulated to other police forces. An officer from Hertfordshire saw
the stills and recognised Whiting as someone he had arrested for a
burglary at a National Trust House in West Wycombe Park in June 2013.
Officers from Surrey Police interviewed Whiting in prison and
subsequently charged him with the two burglaries.
DC Dave Pellatt from Surrey Police CID said: "Whiting is a prolific
antiques thief who has caused a great deal of heartache and
inconvenience to all those affected by his offending. I'm really pleased
that we have been able to recover the stolen items and it's equally
satisfying to know that he is now behind bars for a lengthy period.”
Caroline Sones, House Manager atClandonParksaid: "Last year staff and
volunteers at Clandon were saddened when this beautifulDerbyporcelain
plaquewas stolen. We are delighted that officers from Surrey
Police have recovered it for us and can't wait to have it on display
again. The National Trust is one ofEurope's largest conservation
charities and looks after historic collections forever for everyone.
People come from near and far to enjoyClandonPark's collections of
textiles, furniture and ceramics, representing the best in 18th century
craftsmanship, in a grand English country house."
Andrew Loukes, House and Collections Manager at Petworth added: "The
National Trust at Petworth are delighted to have the Japanese dishes
back, and are very grateful to Surrey and West Sussex Police Forces for
all their efforts. We are also pleased that our own CCTV coverage was
able to link Whiting with the theft from Petworth.”
- See more at:
http://www.surrey.police.uk/news/news-stories/full-news-story/article/9013/police-return-stolen-antiques-to-national-trust-houses#sthash.M0xuDPNu.dpuf
On Monday, Art Recovery Group PLC — the brand-new competitor to Art
Loss Register — opened its offices in Kensington, London, and announced
an impressive line-up of staff members.
ARG, you’ll recall, was founded last fall after ALR came under intensified scrutiny for its heavy-handed practices. The New York Times laid them all out in an article headlined Tracking Stolen Art, for Profit, and Blurring a Few Lines,
published last Sept. 20. In it, Christopher A. Marinello, who was often
ALR’s spokeman, said he was quitting and would start his own firm —
that happened, with the founding of ARG, last October.
Now Marinello is really open for business. I couldn’t find a website, per se, but it does have a Facebook page entitled Art Recovery International.
Among its new staff are Mark Maurice, Executive Director, a
corporate/wealth manager who has worked with dealers and collectors
worldwide and “has dealt with a number of high profile restitution and
cultural patrimony cases involving complex cross border disputes,” and
Dorit Strauss, who has been in the fine art insurance industry for more
than 30 years, once as Vice President and Worldwide Specialty Fine Art
Manager at Chubb & Son.
Here’s the rest of the press release,
including details of the types of work ARG (or ARI?) will do — like
“Location and recovery services involving stolen, missing and looted
works of art” and “dispute resolution services in cases of defective
title, illegal export and unclear authenticity.”
This service, as we know, is sorely needed. Let’s hope it can compete with ALR — competition is good.
Art Hostage was sent this photo of Tony Gizzy Gearing and asked to write a brief
obituary in an honest manner about one of the very few Antiques dealers
in Brighton that commanded respect from all quarters.
Tony, Gizzy Gearing, it must be said, was a true gentleman, respected by all and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
He rose above all the back biting, rivalry and everyday disputes to take his place as a genuine, decent family man.
His monumentos appetite for life was matched by his appetite for the well being of his beloved family, and he loved his dinner too !!
Gizzy was probably the most staunch of all the antiques dealers in Brighton and never, ever commented to other dealers, Police or anyone in authority.
When Art Hostage makes claims they are based upon facts, so it is a fitting tribute to Tony Gizzy Gearing to express the genuine sadness felt by all those right across the spectrum of the Brighton Antiques trade at the passing of a true gentleman.
Apparently, when Gizzy got to the Pearly gates he was met by Micky Underwood, who greeted him with open arms, Tony Margiotta offered to buy Gizzy lunch and Ten Grand Stan Nelson was lurking in the background with a tip on the favourite.
The Verdict
If you’re a fan of Ocean’s Eleven-style heists –
capers with a good sense of humor and a high dosage of fun – The Art of
the Steal is right up your alley. The characters steal the show, much
like they steal some damn fine art in the movie itself.
Amherst College, FBI reopen 1975 Mead Art Museum heist investigation
JASON PICARD Mead
Art Museum Director Elizabeth Barker, left, and Director of Security
Heath Cummings are seen in front of the Pieter Lastman painting "St.
John the Baptist," which was stolen from the museum in February 1975 but
recovered in January 1989.
AMHERST — It was
just over 39 years ago that the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College
experienced what was likely its worst moment: Thieves broke in on a
winter night and made off with three centuries-old paintings valued at
more than $400,000.
Two of the paintings
were recovered in 1989 following a federal sting operation in Illinois,
in which a notorious art thief and bank robber from Massachusetts, Myles
Connor Jr., was arrested. He had offered the two paintings as
collateral in a drug deal set up by undercover FBI agents.
In a 2009 book, “The Art
of the Heist,” in which he details his life of crime, Connor claims he
stole both those paintings from the Mead.
But the third painting — a piece by Dutch artist Jan Baptist Lambrechts
that is believed to date from the early 18th century — hasn’t been seen
since vanishing from the museum Feb. 8, 1975. And Connor doesn’t mention
it in his book.
Now museum officials,
with the FBI, have reopened the investigation for the missing painting,
titled “Interior with Figures Smoking and Drinking.” Though no new
information has come to light about the work, museum staff said they
have no reason to believe the Lambrechts is not still in decent
condition, somewhere, and they hope that by publicly announcing the
renewed search they’ll prompt some new leads, including tips from the
public.
“I’ve been trying to do
this since I came on here,” said Heath Cummings, the Mead’s head of
security, who began working at the museum in 2006. “It was basically a
matter of going back, looking at all the paperwork on the case, talking
to people who had been involved in it, just slowly collecting data about
it.”
Cummings examined museum
files, college archives, and old newspaper accounts, and he also talked
to various art experts and other law enforcement agents. Then he took
the information to the FBI, which agreed to take a fresh look at the
case, including assigning an agent in the bureau’s Springfield office to
review past information on the missing painting to see if anything had
been overlooked.
Special agent Greg
Comcowich, media coordinator for the bureau’s Boston office, said the
FBI is looking to generate additional publicity for the case beyond the
Valley and Massachusetts.
“It’s not uncommon for
art to resurface years or even decades after it’s been stolen,”
Comcowich said. “It can follow some strange paths.”
He said the art can sometimes wind up with people who don’t realize the value of what they have.
“Anytime we get a
request like this from the public, we want to do all we can to help
out,” said special agent Geoff Kelly, who oversees art theft
investigations for the Boston FBI office. “And today we have better
resources for tracking stolen art than we did in 1975.”
He noted, for instance,
that the bureau maintains a digital national file for looted art, on
which the Lambrechts painting has been listed.
Elizabeth Barker, the
Mead’s director, credited Cummings with doing all the “heavy lifting” on
researching the case of the missing Lambrechts painting. The museum,
she added, decided bringing the case forward again and seeking public
input outweighed the embarrassment of reminding anyone that the
paintings had been stolen in the first place, when museum security was
not as tight as it is now.
“I think it’s important that we show we’re making a real good-faith effort to try and find this painting,” Barker said.
Grim discovery
The theft was discovered
in February 1975 after state police at the Northampton barracks got an
anonymous tip. They contacted Amherst College police, who tracked
footprints still visible in some fresh snow to a broken window at the
Mead. Inside the museum, it quickly became evident that three Dutch
canvasses — all of which the museum had obtained in the previous few
years — had been stripped from their frames.
Aside from the
Lambrechts painting, the missing art included “The Interior of the New
Church, Delft” by Hendrick Cornelisz van Vliet (1611-1675) and “St. John
the Baptist” by Pieter Lastman (1583-1633).
Museum officials did
what they could, registering the stolen works with the Art Dealers
Association of America in case someone tried to sell them, and the
college overhauled the Mead’s security system. In 1982, insurance
allowed the museum to purchase a replacement painting, another work by
van Vliet, “Interior of Nieuwe Kerk, Delft.”
But the trail of the
missing art soon went cold — until 1989, when the van Vliet and Lastman
paintings were recovered during Connor’s arrest in the FBI drug sting.
Both paintings were in pretty good condition, Cummings said, and were
back on display in the museum that year.
However, Connor, who
once stole a Rembrandt from Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts in broad
daylight — then later used it as a bargaining chip for a reduced prison
sentence — gave a new wrinkle to the Mead story in his 2009 book, in
which he details his long list of crimes and prison sentences, including
one for shooting a police officer.
In the book, co-written
by crime novelist Jenny Siler, Connor claims he stole the van Vliet and
Lastman paintings from the Mead on a whim after coming to the area with
two partners to check out a South Hadley bank they were thinking of
robbing. Connor, who enjoyed art and studied it in his spare time,
stopped by the museum before heading to the bank.
Connor, now 71 and
according to various news reports living in Blackstone, in Worcester
County near the Rhode Island border, does not say specifically when he
went to the Mead. But judging from the book’s timeline, his visit would
appear to be in the mid 1970s, about the time the three paintings were
stolen from the museum.
He writes that he didn’t
care for the Mead’s atmosphere — “Small yet pretentious, with an
overblown sense of itself” — but did appreciate its collection of Dutch
oil paintings. Noticing one in the curator’s empty office, he stepped in
for a quick look, only to have the curator reappear, irritated to find
Connor there and dismissive of his inquiries about the painting,
“immediately identifying me as someone of a lower caste.”
Feeling disrespected,
and noticing there did not appear to be any alarm system connected to
the window in his office, Connor resolved to come back that night with
his partners to teach the curator a lesson. He claims the subsequent
break-in, through the window of that same office, “wasn’t especially
memorable” but personally very satisfying, “on par with the most daring
heists of my career.”
Yet, among a number of
items he claims he and his partners stole from the museum, Connor does
not mention Lambrechts’ “Interior with Figures Smoking and Drinking.”
Asked if Connor had been
questioned about that painting, or would be in the future, Geoff Kelly,
the FBI agent, said he couldn’t comment on any specifics about the
investigation but added, “Typically we will approach anyone who we
believe may have knowledge about the case.”
It’s not clear what the
Lambrechts painting might be worth today; Barker said that as a museum
director, she’s ethically bound not to discuss the monetary value of
artwork. But according to artnet.com,
an online service provider for the international art market, other
works by Lambrechts were sold in the past two decades for the equivalent
of anywhere between $22,000 and $43,400.
People get disheartened
sometimes with how long it can take to recover stolen art, Kelly said,
“but they have to be patient — there can be a break in a case anytime.”
He cited a 1978 case in which seven paintings worth millions of dollars
were stolen from a private residence in Stockbridge — the largest
residential theft in state history — and all the art was finally
recovered by about 2010.
“There’s always hope,” said Kelly.
Anyone who may have
information relating to the theft or location of the Lambrechts painting
is asked to contact the FBI at 617-742-5533 or online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
12-page list details drugs seized from apartment where stolen artifact sat for years
Simon Metke, 33, kept an ancient artifact worth $1.2-million on a bookshelf for two years.
EDMONTON
- An RCMP officer helping in the search for a stolen $1.2 million
artifact noticed a strong smell of marijuana within the south Edmonton
apartment. In the first kitchen drawer he opened while looking for
documents related to the Persian bas-relief sculpture, the officer found
containers with what he believed to be marijuana, hash or heroin,
psilocybin, and cocaine or methamphetamine inside, court documents say.
Alberta
RCMP assisted Quebec RCMP’s Integrated Art Crime Investigation Team on
Jan. 22 in recovering the artifact stolen from Montreal’s Museum of Fine
Arts in September 2011. When RCMP entered the 14th-floor suite shortly
before 9 a.m., Simon Metke showed investigators where the stolen
artifact was in his bedroom, an application to obtain a search warrant
says.
Metke, 33, previously told the Edmonton Journal the
artifact, dating from the fifth century BC, sat on an Ikea bookshelf for
two years, displayed above a plastic Star Wars spaceship, flanked by
crystals and a small collection of stuffed animals. He bought the
sculpture from the neighbour of a friend in Montreal for $1,400.
“I’m
not really happy with the way that I found out what it was, but ... I’m
really honoured to have been able to look after it,” he said.
As
Metke and his girlfriend Jana Lang, 25, were escorted out of the
apartment and taken to RCMP headquarters, officers began searching the
suite for documents related to the stolen artifact. Police sought a
second search warrant for drugs and seized what they believed to be
1.072 kilograms of marijuana, 11.1 grams of hash, one gram of heroin,
64.8 grams of psilocybin, 18.1 grams of opium, LSD, “score sheets,”
scales, and packaging material.
The items found are detailed in a 12-page list.
Police
also seized an undetermined amount of cash in 19 bundles and numerous
unidentified drugs, including a plastic margarine container with various
suspected drugs inside and unknown plant matter in small plastic
baggies.
“I noticed two white coffee grinders on the kitchen
counter in plain view,” wrote RCMP Const. Brent Clarke in an application
to obtain a search warrant. One coffee grinder contained ground-up
marijuana, and a kitchen drawer Clarke opened contained small containers
with various drugs, as well as rolling papers, a metal grinder and
scissors.
Clarke also noticed two pieces of paper, believed to be
score sheets. “Score sheets record how much the drug trafficker is
selling the drugs for and the amounts. I noticed code names and prices
consistent with that of a cannabis marijuana trafficker,” the document
says.
Metke previously told the Journal he had been working on
getting his medical marijuana licence, and that the money seized by RCMP
were donations and savings to start a business teaching children about
ecology.
Metke and Lang have been charged with trafficking
marijuana and possession of money obtained by crime. Metke has also been
charged with possession of stolen property. They are slated to appear
in Edmonton provincial court on March 19.
Man charged over Edinburgh antiques theft
Antiques worth about £100,000 were taken from Shapes auction house in December
A 53-year-old man has been charged in connection with the theft of antiques from an auction house in the west of Edinburgh.
Gordon McIntyre appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with theft by housebreaking.
He made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody.
Police Scotland said about £100,000 worth of items were taken from Shapes on Bankhead Medway early on 7 December, 2013.
Officers confirmed they are still attempting to trace the
stolen goods and have appealed for anyone with information to contact
them.
The theft was investigated as part of Operation RAC, which
was established to target housebreaking and other crimes against
property.
Det Insp John Kavanagh said: "Since these items were stolen
during a break-in last year, officers in Edinburgh have been pursuing
numerous lines of inquiry to identify those responsible.
"These inquiries, undertaken as part of Operation RAC, have
culminated in an arrest, while we continue with our efforts to trace the
stolen antiques.
"Anyone who believes they have information that can assist with our investigation should contact police immediately."
Kingpin’ of Wafi Mall jewellery heist held
DUBAI: Dubai Police have confirmed the news
reported by Kuna news agency from Madrid that the Spanish police
arrested on Feb.3 a new member of the “Pink Panther” gang. The gang had
robbed jewellery worth three million euros from a shopping mall in Dubai
in 2007.
According to Kuna agency, the Spanish TV news quoted
the Spanish police that they had arrested a 33-year-old Serbian, Borok
Leinshitesh, one of the members of the “Pink Panther” gang, who is
wanted in more than 20 countries and purportedly the gang leader.
The
Spanish police confirmed that Leinshitesh was arrested in the city of
Alkala de Henares in Madrid, while he was driving a rented car checking
out of a hotel. They said he was sentenced in absentia to life
imprisonment by the Dubai Police.
It is mentioned that this gang
consists of 200 people, and they had committed more than 210 robberies
all over the world, most recent of which was in the French city of
Cannes, during the Cannes Film Festival.
A security source said
they had already arrested about two members of the “Pink Panther” gang
after their identity was revealed by the Dubai Police for the first time
in the world, and they had issued charges against them on the request
of Interpol.
An official arrest warrant against the suspects was
issued by the Dubai Interpol Police since committing the theft in a
famous jewellery store in Wafi Mall. An extradition order has been sent
to the Spanish authorities to extradite the accused to the Dubai police.
It was noted that the Dubai Police had a great role to play in
detecting the case of the jewellery store theft by four suspects,
including a woman.
Dubai Police also revealed the identities of these criminals.
The police confirmed that the suspects were members of a gang which was called the “Pink Panther.”
The
police chased them and they were able to detect the place where they
hid the jewellery a few days after the theft, and arrested one member of
the gang.
Fernando de Szyszlo painting stolen from museum in Arequipa, Peru
Three paintings were taken from the Arequipa Museum of Contemporary Art, among them “Cuadro de Auvers” by Peruvian artist Fernando de Szyszlo.
Three painting have been stolen from the Arequipa Museum of Contemporary Art, say museum officials.
The most well-known work taken by the art thieves is the “Cuadro de
Auvers” by Peruvian abstract artist Fernando de Szyszlo. The two other
paintings that were taken were “Aves de totorita” by Gerardo Chavez and
“Sueño de Fuego” by Venancio Shinki.
Eduardo Ugarte, director of the Arequipa Museum of Contemporary art told EFE
“We’re asking for international help in distributing [images] of the
paintings so they won’t be sold, as we think what we’re dealing with is
an international art trafficking network, because one of the criminals
had a foreign accent.”
“These three painting are very important for us,” explained the director. EFE reports that the burglary appears to
have been a well-organized operation. “They studied the routine and
[knew] how to do it,” said Ugarte.
According to EFE, the paintings were cut
from their frames with a razor blade. Two members of the three-person
team worked to distract museum staff while the third went alone to
remove the paintings from their frames. They were able to leave before
museum security realized what had happened. EFE reports that Interpol has been notified of the theft.
Theft of $1.8 million in baroque paintings a blow to Guatemalan art world
“La Oración en el Huerto,” Tomás de
Merlo, 18th century, stolen from Guatemala’s El Calvario church in
Antigua, in early February.
(Courtesy Miguel Torres)
ANTIGUA, Guatemala – Two weeks ago, thieves made off with six
paintings by 18th century master Tomás de Merlo from the colonial-era
church of El Calvario in La Antigua. Experts are devastated by the loss.
Late on the afternoon of Feb. 7, two men entered the historic church,
tied up groundskeeper Feliciano Chávez hand and foot, and, joined by
accomplices, cut the six paintings from their frames, one by one.
Experts have valued the paintings at about $300,000 each, or $1.8
million total. But for Miguel Torres, an academic fellow at the
Guatemalan Academy of Geography and History, “it’s impossible to assign a
monetary value to any of the paintings.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Torres lamented. “The paintings are part of our history.”
Benjamin Reeves/The Tico Times
The stolen works, which depict the Passion of Christ and were
commissioned after the 1717 San Miguel earthquakes to adorn the walls of
El Calvario, represent a crucial component of Guatemala’s 18th century
art.
In a recent story in the daily Prensa Libre, historian Haroldo Rodas
called the theft “intolerable,” while art historian Guillermo Monsanto
said the “heart of baroque Guatemala was stolen.”
Art theft is sadly not uncommon in Guatemala, and the Museum of
Colonial Art in La Antigua has targeted before. In 2004, a large
painting by Cristóbal de Villalpando was stolen and cut into pieces. A
museum guard was killed in that heist. Both halves of the painting were
later recovered in Mexico.
Guatemala hosts vast quantities of cultural patrimony, from ancient
Mayan artifacts to the treasures of the colonial Catholic Church. Much
of the Central American country’s fine art, like De Merlo’s paintings in
El Calvario, originally was commissioned by the Catholic Church, and it
is still largely under the church’s purview.
But the theft of the De Merlo paintings was preventable, Torres said.
“I personally recommended that [they] put in an alarm [on each
painting],” Torres said. Security firms were solicited for bids on an
alarm system, but in the end, “we never got the money.”
While El Calvario did have an alarm, it was only activated when the church was closed, and individual paintings were not wired.
El Calvario, Antigua, Guatemala.
Benjamin Reeves/The Tico Times
Now, finger-pointing has begun, with the Guatemalan Culture Ministry
pinning the blame on the local Catholic Church. According to Eduardo
Hernández, who polices the illicit traffic of cultural goods for the
ministry, the paintings were stolen because of a “lack of cautiousness”
and a “dearth of finances for a new alarm.”
Even Torres has admitted that many experts in the art world,
including himself, were naive in thinking the large scale of the
paintings would prevent their theft.
Experts say the biggest markets for stolen colonial Guatemalan art
are Mexico and Spain, and according to Torres, the De Merlo paintings
are likely in the hands of a private collector. Investigators have
alerted Interpol and major auction houses and museums.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues, and a crime-scene squad from
the Prosecutor’s Office closed the church for a day last week.
Investigators also have requested polygraphs for church employees, and
the government is offering a $13,000 reward for information leading to
the paintings’ safe return.
Police say anyone with information should call +(502) 2239-2100. Benjamin Reeves is a freelance journalist based in Antigua, Guatemala. Follow him on Twitter and on his blog.
More of the stolen paintings:
“La Piedad,” Tomás de Merlo, 18th century.
(Courtesy Miguel Torres)
“Jesús ante Caifas,” Tomás de Merlo, 18th century.
(Courtesy Miguel Torres)
“El Pendimiento de Cristo,” Tomás de Merlo, 18th century.
What we know about suspects accused in Stradivarius theft
MILWAUKEE (WITI) – FOX6 News is learning more about the suspects
accused in the theft of the Stradivarius violin. They are accused of
pulling off one of Milwaukee’s largest heists ever.
Salah Jones
During a news conference on Thursday, February 6th, Milwaukee Police
Chief Ed Flynn said an anonymous tip helped them to identify a primary
suspect — 41-year-old Salah Jones.
Police believe 36-year-old Universal Knowledge Allah purchased the
taser used in this case. Law enforcement officials worked closely with
Taser International which led officials to Allah.
Jones has a criminal history involving stolen art in the past.
In 1999, he was charged with trying to sell a $25,000 statue back to its owner. The statue was taken from a gallery in 1995.
Universal Allah
Allah was once a member of a black supremacy group, known as the
“Five Percenters.” He legally changed his name in 1999 from Shaudell
Johnson.
On the Internet, he can be heard preaching the word of a supreme being.
“My name is Universal Knowledge Allah. Universal — that which can be
applied everywhere. I bear witness to myself having a supreme
intelligence, and supreme knowledge of myself. Allah is the name of the
supreme of all beings — the supreme being black man of Asia. I am the
supreme being black man of Asia,” Allah is heard saying online.
Back in 2005, FOX6 Investigators did a story on the “Five Percenters”
— the black supremacy group Allah has been linked to. Members of the
group were accused of slashing tires of vans rented by the Republican
Party a year earlier.
It has been revealed that he recently cut the hair of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
Allah does not have a criminal record.
A 32-year-old female suspect has been released from custody.
Charges in this case could come Friday morning, February 7th.
1715 Lipinski Stradivarius violin
The Milwaukee Police Department recovered the stolen 1715 Lipinski
Stradivarius violin from a home in the city’s Bay View neighborhood. It
appears to be in perfect condition — and is expected to be returned to
its owner soon.
On Monday, January 27th, two armed suspects, a man and a woman, approached concertmaster violinist Frank Almond of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra who
had just performed at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Almond walked to a
parking lot after the concert and the suspects approached Almond. They
used a taser on Almond, causing him to drop the violin and fall to the
ground. The suspects then stole the violin, valued at approximately $6
million.
Edmonton man charged with possessing stolen artifact ‘honoured' to have looked after it
Sculpture that dates back to fifth century BC is worth $1.2 million
Simon Metke, 33, kept an ancient artifact worth $1.2-million on a bookshelf for two years.
EDMONTON
- For two years, a stolen ancient artifact worth $1.2 million sat on an
Ikea bookshelf in a south Edmonton apartment, displayed above a plastic
Star Wars spaceship, flanked by crystals and a small collection of
stuffed animals. The Persian bas-relief sculpture, dating from the fifth
century BC, sat slightly behind a handmade vase decorated with a
painted fish and filled with dried flowers.
Then, at about 9 a.m.
on Jan. 22, a team of police officers working with Quebec RCMP’s
Integrated Art Crime Investigation Team banged on Simon Metke’s
apartment door.
“There’s like 20 RCMP officers flooding my place,
the sunshine’s coming in, the crystals are making rainbows everywhere,
the bougainvillea flowers are glowing in the sunrise light,” Simon
Metke, 33, said Thursday evening, sitting cross-legged in his south
Edmonton apartment.
“And I’m just sort of, ‘What the heck is
going on?’ And, OK, here’s the thing I think you’re looking for. This
thing is a lot more significant than I thought it was.”
Police say
the sculpture was stolen from Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts in
September 2011. The same thief is then believed to have taken a second
piece from the museum a month later. That piece, a statuette of a man
dating from the first century B.C., is still missing. The man who took
the pieces has not been charged. Police aren’t saying what led them to
Metke.
Metke said he bought the sculpture from the neighbour of a
friend in Montreal, thinking it was an “interesting replica” or maybe an
antique — but mostly drawn to it because of his own interest in
Mesopotamian religion and art.
“I didn’t realize that it was an
actual piece of the Persepolis,” he said, referring to the ancient
Persian ceremonial capital. “I’m honoured to have had it, but I feel
really hurt that I wasn’t able to have a positive experience in the end
with it.”
He said he was somewhat skeptical about buying the piece
for $1,400 — mostly because he thought it might not be worth it. In the
end, he said he bought it to help out his friend, a “starving artist”
who received a $300 commission, and the seller, who said he needed to
pay child support and rent, and assured Metke it was “a good deal.”
Metke
said he thought of taking it to Iran or Iraq to see if an art expert
knew what it was, or going on Antiques Roadshow with it.
“That would have been an interesting Antiques Roadshow, I guess,” he said.
Instead,
Metke was charged with possession of stolen property. He and his
25-year-old girlfriend, Jana Lang, were also charged with trafficking
marijuana and possession of money obtained by crime.
Metke said
he had been working on getting his medical marijuana licence, and that
the money seized by RCMP were donations and savings to start a business
teaching children about ecology.
“I hope that people will
understand, this is just something I thought was neat,” he said. “This
was an interesting piece of art that I could put on the shelf and have
represent my own personal spiritual journey that I was going through.”
Quebec
provincial police announced the recovery of the artifact and the
charges at a news conference Thursday in Montreal. The artifact was
displayed under armed guard.
Danielle Champagne, director of the
Museum of Fine Arts’ foundation, called the thefts of the two pieces
“very unusual.” The last theft from the museum was in 1972, she said.
Metke
said he is worried about the charges, and particularly the impact they
will have on his girlfriend. Neither of them have been in trouble with
the police before, he said.
Still, he said he’s glad he was able to care for the ancient piece — even if he didn’t know it.
“It
sort of feels like it may have come to me to be protected so that it
didn’t get destroyed or lost or something like that ...,” he said. “I’m
not really happy with the way that I found out what it was, but ... I’m
really honoured to have been able to look after it.”
He said he
wishes he had known what it was, so he could have turned it in for an
undisclosed reward offered by the museum's insurer.
Metke and Lang are slated to appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on March 19.
Stolen artifact from Montreal museum recovered in Edmonton
Investigators still searching for missing 1st century antiquity
This recovered artifact — a fragment from a fifth century BC
Persian bas-relief — was found in an Edmonton home after it was stolen
from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (Quebec Provincial Police)
Quebec provincial police have found an ancient artifact in
Edmonton after it was stolen in broad daylight from the Montreal Museum
of Fine Arts.
Police have been searching for more than two years for two pieces of art, which were stolen from the museum in September 2011.
Investigators said they believe a man slipped the antiquities into his pockets and slipped outside.
The recovered artifact — a fragment from a fifth century BC Persian
bas-relief — was found in an Edmonton home on Jan. 22 when officers
from the Sûreté du Québec/RCMP Integrated Art Crime Investigation Team and the Alberta RCMP carried out a search warrant.
Police in Quebec say that a tip led them to the home last month. Sgt.
Joyce Kemp from the Quebec Provincial Police said investigators believe
the artifact was purchased for much less than its value.
"I cannot give you details to how it was purchased because the
investigation is still ongoing it might interfere with the next steps of
the investigation," she said.
"I cannot give you the exact number but it's worth $1.2 million and
clearly the person paid much less than the value of the artifact." Simon Metke, 33, is charged
with possessing stolen property over $5,000, possessing a controlled
substance for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of
crime.
A 26-year-old woman is charged with possessing the proceeeds of
crime and possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of
trafficking.
Police are still searching for the second stolen artifact, a Roman marble statue of a head, dating back to the first century BC.
Police are still searching for this artefact, a marble statue of a Roman head. (Quebec Provincial Police)
The two pieces were not in glass cases, but they were securely
anchored to their displays, and investigators said they are not sure how
the thief managed to take off with the antiquities.
On security footage, a suspect is seen strolling through the museum wearing jeans, a dark jacket and a baseball cap.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the SQ at 1-800-659-4264 or email art.alert@surete.qc.ca.
The museum's insurance company has been offering what it calls a
"substantial reward" for information leading to the recovery of the
pieces.
Artifact Worth $ 1.2 Million Dollars Recovered, Another Remains Missing
Edmonton, Alberta – On January 29, 2014, RCMP arrested and charged Simon METKE,
33, of Edmonton, with Possess Stolen Property over $5,000; Possess a
Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking; and Possess
Proceeds of Crime.
Jana LANG, 26, of Edmonton was charged with Possess a
Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking; and Possess
Proceeds of Crime. Metke and Lang appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on
March 19, 2014.
On January 22, 2014, RCMP Serious/Organized Crime North provided
assistance to the Surete du Quebec/RCMP Integrated Art Crime
Investigation Team by executing a search warrant at an Edmonton
residence and recovering an ancient artifact stolen in September 2011
from the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. The piece worth an estimated $
1.2 million dollars is a fragment of Persian bas-relief dating from the
fifth century BC.
The investigation continues in order to locate a second stolen
artifact. This item is a marble statuette representing the head of a man
in ancient Egyptian style dating from the first century BC. This piece
was stolen Oct. 26, 2011 from the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal.
The investigation team is asking for the public’s assistance in
locating this second item. If you have information as to the location of
this item, please call Central Criminal Intelligence, Sûreté du Québec,
at 1-800-659-4264; or at email: art.alerte @ surete.qc.ca . All
information received will be treated confidentially.
Missing Artifact
The Integrated Art Crime Investigation Team consists of investigators
from the Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who
investigate any offences related to the art market in Quebec. Lt. Guy Lapointe Media Communications Service Sûreté du Québec Montreal
Michael Flatley and his family were in their lavish 18th-century home last night as thieves broke in and stole a rhino horn.
The
burglary took place at the Castlehyde property of the Lord of the
Dance, which overlooks the River Blackwater in Cork, after 6.20pm. Mr
Flatley and his family, who spend limited time at the sprawling Fermoy
estate, were unaware of the robbery at the time.
The four-storey mansion holds many treasures, not least a Steinway grand
piano, a valuable collection of flutes and rare collections of French
and Italian wines but a senior Garda source said the gang stole just one
rhino horn. “They specifically targeted this item, a rhino horn,” the
garda said.
The house also contains priceless fireplaces and a library housing many
first editions including signed copies of works by James Joyce, Oscar
Wilde, WB Yeats and Sean O’Casey.
Gardaí believe the gang had the property under surveillance for quite
some time. About three years ago, gardaí intercepted a gang, believed to
be from Clare and Limerick, en route to Castlehyde with sophisticated
burglary equipment.
An Irish gang specialising in the theft and trafficking of illegal
rhino horns, is the subject of a threat notice from criminal
intelligence agency Europol.
According to Europol, the Traveller gang — which has links to Rathkeale
in Limerick — sources and acquires rhino horns through targeting antique
dealers, auction houses, art galleries, museums, collectors and zoos.
Rhino horns can reap up to €200,000 per horn.
Michael Flatley's mansion robbed while Lord of the Dance star played with son
THIEVES escaped with valuables including African rhino horns worth an estimated €400,000 after Lord of the Dance star, Michael Flatley, accidentally disturbed them at his home.The star went to investigate a suspicious noise at the north Cork
mansion at 6pm this evening as he was playing a computer game with his
son, Michael Jnr. and wife, Niamh.
He was shocked to see dark-clothed figures running from a wing of Castlehyde House.
The star drove up to the main road to try to follow the thieves but they had made their getaway.
At least four raiders were involved in the robbery of the north Cork property with a major Garda investigation now underway.
Almost a dozen Gardai were at the property within minutes of the alarm being raised.
No one was injured in the raid though the dancer and his family are said to be shocked.
Gardai and the dancer’s employees are now engaged in a detailed check of the house inventory.
The mansion – purchased by the star in 2001 for €4.5m – was renovated and refurbished at a cost of almost €30m.
The star has a hunting room in the property which included a mounted African rhino including its horn.
Gardai
have confirmed that the rhino horn was stolen but are now checking to
see what works of art, jewellery and books may be missing.
Gardai are now appealing for anyone who may have spotted suspicious activity near Castlehyde or along the Fermoy-Mallow Road.
They are also checking CCTV security camera footage from premises in Fermoy to determine the movements of truck and vans.
Pope John Paul ll relic stolen from chapel in Italy
Thieves ignored the collection box, apparently targeting the relic
Italian police are hunting for a stolen holy relic that contains the blood of Pope John Paul ll.
It appears to have been taken during the burglary of a small chapel that was a place of special significance to the late Pope.
The church of San Pietro della Ienca lies in an isolated spot in the mountains of central Abruzzo region.
Over the weekend, thieves broke some protective iron bars and forced their way in through a window.
They left the collection box, but took a crucifix and the
priceless relic, which contains a piece of gauze once soaked in the
blood of the late Pope - one of only three such relics in the world.
Members of the local cultural association supporting the chapel are distraught.
"We are very displeased by the theft. We have no idea of who
could have done it. The police are carrying out a search," said Franca
Corrieri, a member of the association, speaking to the BBC.
The Pope used to escape the pressures of life in the Vatican by coming to the mountains.
"This is an area that John Paul II visited often, with his
secretary and not too many bodyguards. We feel very connected to him.
After his death, his secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, came and
told us that he wanted this church to become a sanctuary," said Ms
Corrieri.
Dozens of police officers are now searching the area with sniffer dogs.
The relic contains a piece of gauze once soaked in the blood of the late Pope John Paul ll Update:
L'AQUILA, Italy, --
A Catholic relic containing the blood of Pope John Paul II is lost because thieves in L'Aquila, Italy, do not know where they left it, police said Thursday.
The blood-soaked cloth was stolen from a L'Aquila church over the
weekend, and the two teens arrested in the theft did not understand the
value of the relic or remember where they disposed of it, the Italian
news agency ANSA reported.
Police found the iron frame of the reliquary, the container of the relic, on Thursday and arrested the men. A third suspect is being sought.
The reliquary and a small crucifix on the altar were discovered missing Sunday
morning from the church of San Pietro della Ienca in central Italy's
Abruzzi region. The suspects are believed to have broken in through a
side window in the sanctuary, according to a post on the church's
website
There is no appetite for terror campaign, says top dissident
A republican parade in Lodnonderry in 2011.
There is no appetite for the ongoing campaign of dissident republican violence, a leading dissident has said.
Dominic McGlinchey Jnr, 36, whose father of the same
name was the notorious INLA leader before his 1994 murder, said that
republicans opposed to Sinn Fein’s strategy needed to “have a
conversation about the future of the republican movement”.
The
intervention by Mr McGlinchey comes as the latest in a lengthening line
of veteran republicans at variance with Sinn Fein who have spoken out
about the futility of the continuing campaign of bombings and shootings.
Several
former IRA men have given interviews to the News Letter in which they
have urged fellow republican opponents of Sinn Fein to desist from
violence.
In December, former prisoner Anthony McIntyre told this
newspaper: “Republicans lost the war and the IRA campaign failed and the
dissidents need to be told that it failed rather than be allowed to
continue thinking what they do.”
Richard O’Rawe said at that time that the dissidents’ “whole campaign is insane” and should stop.
Mr
McGlinchey — who has vigorously denied an allegation that he had any
involvement in the 2009 Massereene murders and has never been charged in
relation to the attack — told the Irish News: “I don’t believe the
appetite exists among the people. That’s not to say there is not
considerable support among certain segments of republicanism for
particular types of resistance but what is very clear is that the
appetite is not there for a full-blown campaign.”
He added that dissidents needed to consider if “certain tactics are holding you back from entering a new field of battle”.
MSO concertmaster Almond unharmed after armed robbery of rare violin
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra said Wednesday that concertmaster Frank Almond is unharmed following the armed robbery of a borrowed Stradivarius violin estimated to be worth millions of dollars.
Almond was attacked in a parking lot Monday night following a
performance at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. The thieves used
a stun gun in the incident, causing Almond to drop the violin in its
case, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn
said in a press conference. Flynn said police suspect the thieves
specifically targeted the rare violin, known as the Lipinski
Stradivarius. The violin is reportedly worth $6 million, according to
Milwaukee Business Journal news partner Fox 6.
In a statement, management of the Milwaukee Symphony said it is "profoundly thankful" that Almond remained unharmed.
"It was through a rare and generous gift that Frank acquired the
Strad six years ago," the MSO said. "Its theft is a tremendous loss for
the anonymous donor who was currently loaning Frank this priceless
treasure, a great loss for Milwaukee’s cultural community and the
international arts world."
Flynn described the incident as an "art theft" with the violin
valuable to only a small population. Officials from the FBI Art Crime
Team, which works with Interpol, are involved in the investigation.
The MSO said it is cooperating fully with local, federal and international authorities.
"Unlike other priceless works of art, the beauty of the Strad lies
not only in its form, but in its function," the MSO said. "We hold every
hope that it will be recovered and returned to its rightful owner and
the professional musicians who share its true beauty with the public
through the power of the music." Frank Almond Playing the Lipinski Strad Violin
Egyptian jewellery heist at Leicester museum kept quiet
Third theft at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery revealed
after Freedom of Information request, £90,000 spent on security upgrade
The New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester
A collection of Egyptian jewellery worth £40,000 has
been stolen from the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester.
According to the newspaper the Leicester Mercury, the items were
stolen in May 2012, but the theft was not revealed to the public until a
recent Freedom of Information request. The thieves, who apparently
broke a latch on a display case to gain access to the artefacts, have so
far evaded arrest and none of the pieces have been recovered.
New Walk Museum's Egyptian collection—the largest in the
East Midlands—mainly consists of objects donated by the British School
in Rome and the Egypt Exploration Society in the 19th and 20th
centuries. The most expensive pieces reported as stolen are a
4,000-year-old pendant worth £15,000, and a £12,000 bronze necklace.
Other objects date to the Graeco-Roman Period (332BC-AD394), including
earrings and bronze bracelets.
This is not the first theft from
New Walk Museum in recent years; in April 2012, two pieces of Asian
jewellery were stolen, while in September 2012, three rhino horns also
went missing. The museum has now spent £90,000 upgrading its security.
A detective from Surrey Police had the enjoyable task of returning a
selection of antiques to National Trust Properties this week which had
been stolen by a prolific thief from London. 
POLICE dramatically swooped on a car on a busy road as part of an operation to track down suspects after a jewellery raid.
