Blog Subscription via Follow.it

Showing posts with label Museum thefts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Museum thefts. Show all posts

August 7, 2026

Friday, August 07, 2026 - ,,, No comments

Déjà Vu theft at the Musée du Président Jacques Chirac in Sarran, France

For the third time in less than ten months, the Musée du Président Jacques Chirac in Sarran, Corrèze, has been targeted by thieves.  In the early hours of Thursday, 6 August 2026, following a break-in, the gendarmerie was called to the museum at approximately 4:00 a.m. 

According to Tulle public prosecutor François Tessier, the incident is being investigated as a vol avec effraction, a burglary involving forced entry.  Initial reports indicate that glass in the museum's principal entrance door was broken and that the thieves made off with what the prosecutor has so far described only as "different collection objects".  Their number, nature, and value have not yet been publicly disclosed.

The investigation has been entrusted to the Gendarmerie's Section de recherches de Limoges and France's specialised cultural property crime unit, the Office central de lutte contre le trafic des biens culturels (OCBC). The museum announced that it would remain temporarily closed following the incident.

At first glance, this may appear to be another French museum burglary.  At Sarran, however, the chronology matters.

On 12 October 2025, the museum suffered its first attack, shortly after it opened to the public for the day, four masked men entered the building between approximately 10:00 and 10:30 a.m., reportedly armed with a shotgun and edged weapons.  This was not a covert theft committed against an empty building. It was an armed robbery carried out during visiting hours.

The men threatened reception staff and visitors before taking the museum's cash holdings and at least one collection piece watch.  Police launched an immediate investigation, and four men suspected of involvement were arrested later that same day.  The apparent speed of those arrests might reasonably have suggested that the immediate threat to the museum had passed, but it had not.

During the night of Monday, 13 October, into Tuesday, 14 October, while the four suspects connected with Sunday's armed robbery were still in police custody, the museum was breached again.  This time, the thieves succeeded in removing considerably more valuable material.  Several objects from the collection were stolen, subsequently identified as watches and jewellery presented to Jacques Chirac during his two presidential terms.   By November, the Tulle prosecutor's office had assessed the loss at more than €1 million.

The circumstances are striking. Within roughly 48 hours, the same provincial museum experienced two quite different forms of criminal attack: first an armed daytime robbery in the presence of staff and visitors, followed almost immediately by a nocturnal burglary directed at valuable collection objects.

The fact that the suspects detained in connection with the first robbery were still in custody when the second burglary occurred raises an obvious investigative question about whether the two attacks were connected through other individuals, or whether the first incident exposed a vulnerability subsequently exploited by an entirely different group. Publicly available information does not presently permit either conclusion.

But the October 2025 thefts were in themselves not the museum's first experience of targeted cultural property theft.

In November 2011, thieves broke into the museum during the night and stole a particularly conspicuous diplomatic gift: a yellow-gold falcon encrusted with approximately 1,400 precious stones, including 1,210 diamonds, which had been presented to Jacques Chirac by Saudi Arabia.

The object was valued at approximately €152,000.
According to contemporary reporting, the thieves forced their way through a door, took only the falcon, and completed the theft in less than two minutes. A local official observed at the time that the perpetrators appeared to know precisely what they wanted and to date the falcon has never been recovered.

The significance of that earlier theft should not be overlooked. Sarran is not an institution which, before October 2025, could reasonably have regarded the possibility of targeted theft as entirely theoretical.

The collection at the Musée du Président Jacques Chirac is unusual in both its location and its holdings.  Situated in a small Corrèze commune, the museum was inaugurated in December 2000 and preserves some 5,000 diplomatic gifts received by Jacques Chirac during his presidency from 1995 to 2007 and subsequently donated to the Conseil départemental de la Corrèze.  Its collections include decorative arts, jewellery, watches, ceremonial objects, ethnographic material, and precious objects presented by governments and heads of state.


Lessons were supposedly being learned
The October attacks did not disappear into the local crime pages.
The Musée Jacques Chirac was subsequently cited in French governmental and parliamentary discussions concerning the vulnerability of museum collections. A 2026 report on the security of public collections specifically recorded both the 12 October robbery and the 13 to 14 October theft of watches and jewellery. It also highlighted the increasing violence associated with museum thefts and emphasised the need for institutions to undertake structured post-incident reviews and reconsider security arrangements following an attack.

Following the October incidents, security improvements were reportedly carried out at Sarran during the spring of 2026, including the installation of additional surveillance cameras.

That makes this week's burglary particularly significant.
CCTV is an important component of museum protection, but surveillance and physical protection are not synonymous. Cameras can detect, document, and assist in reconstructing an intrusion. Whether a museum can prevent or sufficiently delay an offender from entering a building, reaching vulnerable objects, removing them, and escaping is a broader question involving layers of protection, staffing, alarms, response times, collection placement, display security, and physical barriers.

Wednesday night's 3rd recent theft therefore warrants more than the observation that yet another museum has been robbed.  The more important question is what was learned after October 2025, what measures were implemented as a result, and why those measures were insufficient to prevent another successful intrusion less than a year later.

It would be premature to speculate about who carried out this week's burglary, whether the offenders had prior knowledge of the museum, whether any connection exists with the October 2025 crimes, or precisely what was taken. Those are matters for investigators.  There are, however, legitimate institutional questions.
Following two attacks within 48 hours last October, was a comprehensive security audit undertaken? Were the recommendations limited principally to surveillance, or did they include physical protection and collection-level risk assessments? Were particularly portable or intrinsically valuable objects relocated or provided with additional safeguards? If yes, what lessons emerged from the formal post-incident review? And, perhaps most importantly, were sufficient resources available to implement them?

Museum security is rarely defeated by one single failure. Effective protection depends upon multiple overlapping layers intended to ensure that when one safeguard fails, another still stands between an offender and the collection.

Unfortunately, at this museum, thieves have now crossed those layers repeatedly.


July 26, 2026

Sunday, July 26, 2026 - ,,, No comments

France’s Museum Security Crisis Deepens with the Theft of the Vix Torc

 

One of the most celebrated surviving masterpieces of Celtic goldwork discovered has been stolen from the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, (Formerly the Musée Archéologique de Châtillon-sur-Seine) in Châtillon-sur-Seine, Burgundy.

At approximately 10:30 on Friday, 24 July 2026, two thieves entered the museum during normal opening hours, posturing as simple visitors.  Once inside, they shattered the recessed glass display case protecting the gold torc of the Lady of Vix, seized the object, and made their retreat through the main entrance. 

The theft was committed despite the presence of visitors, museum employees, and security personnel.  No injuries were reported.  The Dijon public prosecutor has opened an investigation into theft by an organised group, and a major search for those responsible is underway.


The stolen torc formed part of the extraordinary assemblage discovered in January 1953 by René Joffroy, an English teacher and archaeologist, at the oppidum of Mont Lassois near the village of Vix.  Dating to around 470 BCE, the burial contained the remains of an aristocratic woman, now known as the Lady, or Princess, of Vix, who had been interred on a chariot in keeping with a funerary practice associated with the Iron Age Celtic elite. 

Her exceptionally rich grave goods, including the monumental bronze Vix Krater, reflected both the wealth of the community at Mont Lassois and its extensive commercial and diplomatic connections.  The Celtic and Greek artefacts recovered from this burial, together with material from nearby tumuli at Vix and Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine, provide compelling evidence of sustained exchanges of goods, technologies, and prestige objects, not only among the Celts themselves but also between the Celts and the Greeks through the port of Massalia, (modern-day Marseille).

The torc was among the most personal and visually distinctive objects placed with the woman.  Although frequently described as a necklace, the object is more precisely a torc, a rigid neck ornament associated with its owner's status and authority.  It was made from approximately 480 grams of gold, hammered into a closed arc. Simple and ornate at the same time, its terminals take the form of lion paws resting upon hollow spherical elements decorated with concentric geometric designs.  It is also embellished with two small winged horses which appear on the outer edge of both ends, where the spheres are placed.

The craftsmanship combines Celtic symbolism with artistic and technical influences drawn from the Greek, Etruscan, and wider Mediterranean worlds. Museum researchers have suggested that the torc may have been produced locally, making it evidence not simply of imported luxury, but of the movement of ideas, technologies, and artistic traditions across ancient Europe, making its archaeological and historical value is incalculable.  To historians, the weight of its gold is almost irrelevant when compared with the information embodied in its design, manufacture, burial context, and association with one of the most significant archaeological discoveries made in twentieth-century France.

Friday's successful raid followed two earlier attempted break-ins at the museum in less than a year.  During the night of 14 to 15 November 2025, intruders attempted to gain access the building but failed.  A second attempt occurred at approximately 05:00 on 18 July 2026, less than a week before the torc was stolen.  On that occasion, individuals damaged a window, but again failed to gain entry.

Security had reportedly been strengthened following these incidents. Nevertheless, the third attempt was made during opening hours, when the offenders could enter the museum freely, through the same public access points used by legitimate patrons.

The sequence illustrates the difficulty of protecting small, portable, and intrinsically valuable artefacts displayed in publicly accessible institutions as most security measures are designed primarily to prevent night-time intrusion and offer less protection against offenders who are prepared to act rapidly in a populated gallery.

That said, the torc has been extensively photographed, published, and is internationally recognisible.  It cannot be offered openly on the legitimate art market without attracting immediate attention.  Its fame, however, does not guarantee its safety.

Gold antiquities face a particular danger following theft. An offender unable to sell an object intact may hide it for years, damage it while removing identifying features, or destroy it for its raw material. In the case of the Vix torc, melting the object would yield only a fraction of its true cultural value while permanently erasing 2,500 years of archaeological evidence.

Culture Minister Catherine Pégard has now brought forward the government’s museum security plan, originally scheduled for the end of the summer, and will present it on Monday, 27 July.  The plan will need to deliver more than additional cameras and renewed assurances.  To deter further thefts France’s museums require properly funded risk assessments, trained security personnel, tested response procedures, effective display-case protection, and immediate proactive risk assessment actions when hostile reconnaissance or attempted entry show that a collection or artefact has already previously been targeted.


October 30, 2025

Thursday, October 30, 2025 - ,,,,,, No comments

Breakthrough in Louvre Crown Jewels Theft: Five New Arrests

 

Ten days after the theft at the Louvre robbery, during a brief news conference Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, released a statement yesterday indicating that the two detained suspects investigators believe to be connected to the dramatic 19 October 2025 jewel heist have "partially admitted their involvement" in the event, but adding that France's historic jewellery has not been recovered.   "I want to hold onto the hope that they will be found and can be returned to the Louvre Museum and, more broadly, to the nation."

Traced through DNA samples left on objects recovered at the crime scene and around the broken window used to access the museum's Apollon gallery and Beccuau's statements relayed more information about the two individuals, originally residents in Seine-Saint-Denis, presently in French custody.  

The 34 year old suspect was arrested at 8:00 pm at Charles de Gaulle airport last Saturday, with a one-way ticket to Algeria.  He is an Algerian-born resident living in Aubervilliers. Unemployed and known to the French police for a theft conviction as well as various traffic offences, he has lived in France since 2010 and once worked as a delivery driver and garbage man.  His DNA traces was found on one of the scooters used in the thieves' getaway after the robbery.

The second 39 year old suspect was arrested the same night at around 8:40 p.m. He was born in Seine-Saint-Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  An unlicensed taxi and delivery driver, he was taken into custody near his home in Aubervilliers.  Like the first accomplice, he was already known to police for aggravated robberies committed in 2008 and 2014.  At the time of his arrest this week, he was also under judicial supervision while awaiting trial for the charge of aggravated theft in Bobigny, a northeastern suburb of the French capital.  He was tied to the robbery by DNA  found on one of the broken display cases, as well as on objects abandoned as the thieves fled. 

In talking about the case breakthroughs, the prosecutor clarified that there was no evidence that supported statements that this individual had plans to leave the country, dispelling earlier statements in news articles that said that this suspect was intent on leaving France for Mali. 

Both of these suspects have been identified as the two individuals who road the lift elevator and entered into the museum to steal the jewels.  Brought before French Magistrates on Wednesday, they have now been formally charged with organised robbery, which carries a sentence of fifteen years imprisonment and criminal conspiracy, which carries a sentence of ten years imprisonment. 

Later last night, around 9 pm, Prosecutor Beccuau's office released a statement that five more suspects were apprehended by investigators from the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry (BRB) in connection the the museum heist in the swanky 16th (Marseille) and the impoverished 93rd arrondissement (Seine-Saint-Denis) of Paris.  One of these is believed to have been another of the four alleged robbers who carried out the heist and who was linked to the robbery through DNA evidence.

For now the Paris prosecutor has indicated that the stolen jewellery "is not in our possession" and "I want to remain hopeful that they will be found and can be returned to the Louvre Museum and, more broadly, to the nation".

Further news is expected later this morning. 

October 26, 2025

Sunday, October 26, 2025 - ,,,, No comments

Two Suspects Arrested in Connection with the Louvre Museum Jewel Heist


One week after the dramatic 19 October 2025 jewel heist at the Louvre Museum, French investigators have reportedly identified suspects through DNA evidence found at the crime scene.  Forensic teams collected more than 150 samples, including fingerprints and other traces from items the thieves left behind including gloves, a helmet, cutting tools, a blowtorch, and a yellow safety vest.  The perpetrators also failed to destroy the truck-mounted lift used during the heist, providing investigators with additional clues.

News of a break in the case was first reported by the French news service, Le Parisien  citing anonymous sources,

The newspapers story was confirmed via the Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, who stated that two men in their thirties were arrested.  One subject was taken into custody while preparing to board a flight to Algiers at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport northeast of the city centre of Paris.  The second suspect was apprehended at a location in Seine-Saint-Denis, a historically working-class immigrant commune in the northern suburbs of Paris.  

Both suspects are said to have prior records according to French media and will likely be formally charged with organised robbery and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime.

In her statement, prosecutor Beccuau expressed regret over the premature press release of information related to the case, emphasising that such leaks could seriously undermine the investigation.  She noted that the disclosure risked hindering the coordinated work of roughly one hundred investigators who have been mobilised to recover both the stolen jewellery and apprehend all those involved in the crime. Her comments reflected concern that publicising sensitive details too soon could compromise ongoing efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The investigation continues as authorities search for the remaining two members of the four-man team as well as the missing jewels.

October 19, 2025

Sunday, October 19, 2025 - ,,,, No comments

Jewel Heist at the Musée du Louvre

The Crown Jewels Display Cases Room 705, Denon Wing, Level 1
Image Credit Musée du Louvre

As reported by France's interior minister Laurent Nunez, a tragic theft occurred around 09:30 local time this morning at the Musée du Louvre, France's premier museum and former royal palace.

Galerie d’Apollon, circa 1890

It appears that several masked individuals gained entry to the museum from the Quai François-Mitterrand side of the palace using a bucket elevator mounted onto a furniture-moving truck which they drove and parked along the side of the building facing the Seine River.  Riding up to the first floor, two thieves then entered the museum, breaking in through a window which leads to the Denon wing.  Their target was the Louvre's recently redesigned Galerie d’Apollon, on the first (upper) floor of a wing known as the Petite Galerie.

This 60-meter-long royal gallery was completed during the reign of Henry IV and hosts the portraits of the kings and queens of France).  The iconic room was later redesigned between 1661 and 1663 for Louis XIV when he was a resident of the palace.  In 2020, the gallery's ten-month renovation included an update to three of the room's most important display cases, replacing the original ones created by the sculptor-ornamentalist Charles Gasc in 1861.  

The new brushed-steel cabinets housed the royal collection of gems and the Crown Diamonds, or what remains of them, which were previously exhibited in two separate places in the Decorative Arts Department.  Placed in single file along the center of the room, one after the other, the aim was to provide visitors with a comprehensive and historical overview of the museum's unique jewellery creations and their symbolic importance in terms of France's monarchical identity, from the Ancien Régime to the Second Empire. 

The first display case housed jewellery dating from before the Revolution. The second displayed jewellery from the First Empire, the Restoration, and the July Monarchy, while the third display case housed jewellery from the Second Empire, including remnants of Empress Eugénie's grand finery. 

Once inside the museum, two accomplices are said to have used an angle grinder to break open two of the new vitrines which housed the jewels of the Second Empire (1852–1870) and the sovereigns' jewels (1800–1852). 

In just seven minutes, the perpetrators were in and out of the Louvre, carrying away  eight priceless pieces from the French collection, before making a hasty getaway on two Yamaha TMax scooters they also drove to the scene.  Filmed by CCTV cameras, the jewel thieves appear to have left the museum heading in the direction of the A6 motorway and are said to have dropped one of the nine pieces they initially grabbed. 

Initial reports, including one by a witness passing by on a bike, indicate that there were four perpetrators in total: two who dressed as workmen, each wearing a yellow or orange safety vest who ascended the cherry-picker and broke into the museum's gallery.   Two other accomplices  waited below the museum's windows before all for left the museum on the waiting scooters at 9:38, headed in the direction of the Hôtel de Ville. 

Shortly after the incident CL Press posted a video of a motorcycle helmet which was one of several objects found with or underneath the abandoned cherry picker truck.  Taken into evidence, these items may allow for the identification of one or more of the robbers through DNA traces.

According to the press release issued by the  French Ministry of Culture, the eight stolen jewellery items are:

This tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense;

This necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense;

An earring, one of a pair from the sapphire parure of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense;

This emerald necklace from the set of Marie-Louise;

This pair of emerald earrings from Marie-Louise's set.

This Reliquary brooch;

This tiara of Empress Eugenie;

And this large bodice bow of Empress Eugenie (brooch).

A ninth item, the Crown of Empress Eugénie de Montijo, set with numerous emeralds and diamonds and created by Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1855, was dropped by the criminals during their escape and its condition is "under examination".

Immediately after the incident, the Louvre was shuttered for the day as the Paris prosecutor's office opened a judicial investigation in partnership with the Criminal Investigation Department's Anti-Banditism Brigade (BRB) with the support of the Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC).   

Frances crown jewels have always had a tough go of it.  

Between September 11 and 16 in 1792, amid the chaotic events of the French Revolution, and days before the storming of the Bastille, a group of thieves staged a burglary over multiple nights, breaking into the poorly guarded Garde-Meuble de la Couronne (Crown Furniture Storehouse), a grand building on Place de la Concorde (then called Place Louis XV then Place de la Révolution) in Paris.  Over a series of days these accomplices helped themselves to diamonds, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, many considered priceless due to their association with the French monarchy. Three of the most important pieces taken (some later recovered) were the Sancy Diamond, the Regent Diamond, and the Blue Diamond of the Crown (a large blue diamond some believe was later recut to become the Hope Diamond which is now housed at the Smithsonian, however, that theory remains unconfirmed). It was a revolutionary cultural property loss to which France never fully recovered.

Luckily, the Regent was found the following year, in 1792 which allowed Napoleon to display it on his coronation sword on December 2, 1804. 

After the revolutionary debacle, successive monarchies endeavoured to bring parts of the treasure back, but with only limited success.

Fast forward almost two centuries later and the Louvre’s standout jewel theft was an armed night-time raid, which, like today's daylight theft, impacted the Galerie d’Apollon.  On 16 December 1976, three masked burglars climbed a metal scaffolding set up by workers cleaning the facade of the former palace at dawn and assaulted two guards.  After entering the gallery they broke into a glass display case and made off with the diamond-studded ceremonial sword made in 1824 by Frederic Bapst for the coronation of King Charles X, leaving behind his stirrups and saddle.  

That piece has never been recovered. 

It is surreal to think that these stolen objects, symbols of empire, artistry, and craftsmanship, might now be lost forever.  Beyond their material worth, these jewels are part of Europe's collective heritage: tangible links to empires powerfully built and faded, a testament to French culture, and to her power.

The loss is not only France’s, but the world’s.

By:  Lynda Albertson


February 8, 2025

Saturday, February 08, 2025 - ,,,,, No comments

Justice Served: Three Found Guilty in Major Art and Memorabilia Heist Case

On June 15, 2023, a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania indicted Nicholas Dombek, Damien Boland, Joseph Atsus and his brother Alfred Atsus for their alleged involvement in a widespread art and memorabilia theft ring that spanned over two decades and targeted 19 museums and other venues in six states and the District of Columbia.

The charges against the men included conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment or disposal of cultural artefacts, and interstate transportation of stolen property.  Each defendant also faced additional counts related to the theft and concealment of significant cultural objects, with Dombek receiving an extra charge for transporting stolen property across state lines.

The objects taken during the series of breakins included:

Those objects included:

A Christy Mathewson jersey and two contracts signed by Mathewson stolen in 1999 from Keystone College in Factoryville, Pennsylvania;

“Le Grande Passion” by Andy Warhol and “Springs Winter” by Jackson Pollock stolen in 2005 from the Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pennsylvania;

Nine (9) World Series rings, seven (7) other championship rings, and two (2) MVP plaques awarded to Yogi Berra, worth over $1,000,000 stolen in 2014 from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center, Little Falls, New Jersey;

Six (6) championship belts, including four awarded to Carmen Basilio and two awarded to Tony Zale stolen in 2015 from the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Canastota, New York;

The Hickok Belt and MVP Trophy awarded to Roger Maris, stolen in 2016 from the Roger Maris Museum, Fargo, North Dakota;

The U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan, stolen in 2012 from the USGA Golf Museum & Library, Liberty Corner, New Jersey;

Fourteen (14) trophies and other awards worth over $300,000 stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen, New York;

Five (5) trophies worth over $400,000, including the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy, stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Saratoga Springs, New York;

Eleven (11) trophies, including 4 awarded to Art Wall, Jr. stolen in 2011 from the Scranton Country Club, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania;

Three antique firearms worth a combined $1,000,000 stolen in 2006 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum, Wantage, New Jersey;

An 1903/1904 Tiffany Lamp stolen in 2010 from the Lackawanna Historical Society, Scranton, Pennsylvania,

“Upper Hudson” by Jasper Cropsey, worth approximately $500,000, and two antique firearms worth over $300,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor, Ringwood, New Jersey;

$400,000 worth of gold nuggets stolen in 2011 from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, Ogdensburg, New Jersey;

Various gems, minerals, and other items stolen in 2017 from the Franklin Mineral Museum, Franklin, New Jersey;

An antique shotgun worth over $30,000 stolen in 2018 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum, Wantage, New Jersey;

Various jewelry, and other items from multiple antique and jewelry stores in New York, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.

Last night, after three days of lengthy deliberation, a jury in Scranton, Pennsylvania (Lackawanna County) found:
Damien Boland, 48, of Moscow, guilty on all eleven charges;
Nicholas Dombek, 54, of Thornhurst Township, guilty of nine out of eleven charges; 
Joseph Atsus, 50, of Roaring Brook Township, guilty on four out of six charges.
Conversely, Joseph's brother, Alfred Atsus, 48, of Covington Township, was acquitted of all counts.

The prosecution's case relied heavily on the testimony of Thomas Trotta, 49, a former resident of Moscow, Pennsylvania, who law enforcement identified as the ringleader behind the theft operation.  Prior to pleading guilty, state police had used newly acquired DNA evidence to link Trotta to several burglaries which ultimately resulted in him cooperating with state police and the FBI, informing detectives of the extent and scope of the gang's activities.

During his testimony, Trotta spoke of the destruction of the memorbilia for its base metal price, despite the fact that the objects were symbols of legacy.  In providing detailed accounts of the thefts during the trial of his associates, Trotta's testimony highlighted how the group of museum thieves stole the nine World Series rings, trying them on before they set about prying the gemstones out of them, then melting them down, along with the metal on the plaques in his garage.   His cooperation, although controversial, was pivotal in securing the convictions. 

Unfortunately, as this one described incident details, many of the items stolen are not recoverable as the were converted into metal discs or bars which the theft ring then sold in New York for the raw metals. 

Despite this, the trial's outcome has been met with a sense of justice by the numerous law enforcement agencies who worked on this multi-state investigation, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the New York State Police, the New Jersey State Park Police, the Newport Police Department (Rhode Island), the Fargo Police Department (North Dakota), the Chester Police Department (New York), the Wyoming Regional Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Scranton Police Department, the Franklin Police Department (New Jersey), the Village of Goshen Police Department (New York), the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.), the West Milford Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Montclair Police Department (New Jersey), the Saratoga Springs Police Department (New York), the Canastota Police Department (New York), the South Abington Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Bernards Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Salisbury Township Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Montclair State University Police Department (New Jersey), the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office (Pennsylvania), the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (New York), and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office (New York).  

While stolen memorabilia may not hold immense financial value, their historical and cultural significance still makes their loss irreplaceable.  Many of the objects targeted in ring's museum thefts, such as the championship belts, or award rings, carry deep personal and societal meaning, a value which cannot be calculated simply, and which transcends their monetary worth alone. These sports-related objects serve as tangible connections to the past, preserving the stories and achievements of their respective award winners, and these individual's importance within their communities. 

When stolen and melted down, these pieces of history are lost forever—depriving future generations of their educational and cultural importance. 

To read more on this case, check out this article by Ariel Sabar. 

September 14, 2023

Thursday, September 14, 2023 - ,,, No comments

Museum theft at the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst theft in Köln (Cologne), Germany

During the night, between September 12th and 13th, yet another museum theft involving Chinese objects of porcelain occurred at the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst theft in Köln (Cologne), Germany.  Around midnight, two burglars, one carrying a grey backpack, accessed the museum and one of the exhibition rooms after prying open a glazed side window facing Universitätsstrasse.  Once inside, the culprits made off with a total of nine objects from the museum's display cases, including porcelain vases, plates and jars dating from the the 16th to 19th century.  The works are believed to be worth more than 1 million euros. 

The city of Cologne has published photos of the nine rare objects taken during the incident.  They are: 

A Qing-Dynastie, Yongzheng-Period (1723-1735) Chinese Fencai rose coral-ground bowl with a Jiaqing seal mark of the period;

A large dish with dragon and phoenix design, 1 of 2, China, Jingdezhen kiln, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period, (1723-1735);

A rare Ming Dynasty (1573-1619) Wucai "Phoenix" Double Gourd form Wall Vase depicting a pair of phoenix in flight amid ruyi-shaped clouds below a band of downward plantain leaves;

A Fencai Imperial Qing Dynasty (1796-1820) vase with Jiaqing mark and period;

A very rare Ming Dynasty (1521-1567) yellow-ground and iron-red decorated 'Dragon' jar, mark and period of Jiajing;

A porcelain, enamel dish with dragons and clouds, China, Imperial Porcelain Factory, Jingdezhen, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722);

A Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) lotus pot; (NB The lid was left behind. )

A Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) yellow-glazed nine dragon vase;

and an early 16th century (1506-1521), Ming Dynasty porcelain plate with Zhengde mark and period.

One of an ongoing series of thefts of this type, another was reported on the 14th of February at the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof in Leeuwarden.  In that incident, which also occurred in the early morning hours, the burglar, or burglars, entered the museum through its roof and stole 11 rare Chinese ceramics from the first floor. 

Outside the museum, investigators recovered the shards of seven objects, apparent broken as the culprits, fled the scene. Four of these pieces remain missing.

January 21, 2023

Saturday, January 21, 2023 - ,,, No comments

Twitter user @ArtFreak, (George S) sentenced in the theft of a Picasso, a Mondrian, and a Guglielmo Caccia


The thief that burgled Greece’s National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum in Athens eleven years ago has been sentenced.  

Citing that the Court recognised the thief's good behaviour after his arrest for the heist, the Single-Member Court of Criminal Appeals of Athens handed down a six-year suspended probationary sentence with limited electronic monitoring, which will allow Giorgos Sarmantzopoulos, a circulating distance of three kilometres from his residence so that he can hold down a job and care of his elderly and sick parents. Previously, during the trial phase, he had been on complete house arrest.

On 9 January 2012, George S set off the security alarm at the Greek museum by opening a door 6 or 7 times, until the guard believed that the alarm system was malfunctioning and disabled the system. Then, at 4:30 a.m., he entered the museum through an separate unlocked balcony door and swiftly stripped four artworks from their frames, knocking others off the wall in doing so. 

Originally he selected: 

Head of a Woman, 1934 by Pablo Picasso
Stammer Windmill with Summer House, 1905 by Piet Mondrian 
Landscape with a Farm by Piet Mondrian 
St Diego de Alcala in Ecstasy with the Holy Trinity and the Symbols of Passion by Guglielmo Caccia, who was known as il Moncalvo.

But after using a knife to cut the artworks out of their frames, he dropped Landscape with a Farm by Mondrian and left it behind.  He successfully made it out of the museum with the other three artworks in just 7 minutes.   

The case brought widespread attention in Greece due to the high value of the stolen works of art.  The museum estimated the value of the Picasso at 2 million euros, the Mondrian at €200,000 and the Moncalvo drawing at €1,000.  Public outcry at the time of the burglary was so great that the National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum subsequently closed for an 8-year-long, $70-million (€59 million) revitalisation, which included security and risk management upgrades as well as  doubling the museum’s size.

In July 2021 two of the paintings — Picasso’s Head of a Woman and Mondrian's Stammer Windmill with Summer House— were recovered shortly after George S. AKA Artfreak, was arrested as a suspect.  

Undone by an ex, who had informed private investigator Arthur Brand that her significant other had confessed to the museum theft, George S also purportedly told the woman that at one point the stolen Picasso and Mondrian had been stored behind a brown wall in an apartment in Keratea, a town in East Attica, Greece.  

Arrested and taken into custody, George S. quickly confessed to investigators that he was responsible for the 9 January 2012 theft.

George also went on to lead law enforcement detectives to a deep, narrow gorge in an area near the seaside resort town of Porto Rafti, east of Athens.  There he handed a plastic-wrapped briefcase which held the stolen Mondrian and Picasso inside over to officers.  The third artwork stolen in the heist — the pen-and-ink sketch by Renaissance artist Guglielmo Caccia has not not recovered. 

According to In.gr, one of several Greek news sites covering the sentencing, comments attributed to the convicted museum thief relating to this theft were leaked across Greek media, which the suspect’s lawyer, Sakis Kehagioglu, confirmed to be accurate.

George S admitted that "The theft was so simple and stupid that no one could imagine that this would happen from an ordinary citizen. The museum had one guard when he should have had five."  He also claimed that he acted alone and had scoped out the museum and its vulnerabilities for six months prior to committing the actual theft.  He lastly claimed to have no accomplices and to have selected artworks at random with no particular painting in mind.  

But is it as simple as that.  Does a bumbling thief truly spend six months in preparation for a heist? 




November 13, 2020

Friday, November 13, 2020 - ,,,,, No comments

Exhibiting Absence: Introducing Samsung’s Missing Masterpieces

Bringing the wider public's attention to works of art that have been stolen or lost has been a long-standing goal of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art.  But when Samsung reached out to us earlier this Autumn to curate a group of missing masterpieces, to be exhibited on The Frame TV, we combed through more than a hundred of the world’s most iconic and intriguing lost and stolen artworks before narrowing our selection down to a choice and meaningful handful.  

Some of these paintings, despite wide press coverage, have been missing for years, others were stolen in extraordinary heists. Sometimes the works were stolen in more banal circumstances and the fact that they may never be seen again makes their loss all the more poignant.   One painting was the art world's first victim of the Covid Pandemic, stolen on the artist’s birthday.   Others are artworks we selected because we know they are cherished locally, but lessor known to communities outside the artists' home countries.  In whittling down our selection, we knew our list would not have been complete, had we not addressed the subject of precious works of art which are lost to the world's eyes forever, artistic casualties lost to mankind's wars. 


Harnessing Samsung's power of technology to connect people in the search to find lost art from the comfort of their living rooms was a key goal of the Missing Masterpieces exhibition.  Scheduled to run from 12 November until 10 February, during the holiday season, our combined objective is to keep the global community searching for these missing masterpieces while scrolling through films and programs.  It only takes one valid clue to change the course of an investigation and return a fabulous work of art to its rightful owner placing it back on the wall, in its proper setting. 

Museums normally tell stories through the objects they have in their collections.  Samsung's initiative will allow everyone to step into ARCA's empty museum, to engage and reflect, to see and to learn, not looking at the art we have, but rather, exploring the precious art we haven’t, in the hopes that they might be found.

To learn more about The Frame TV which functions both as a TV and a multi-media art platform blending into home décor please visit the Missing Masterpieces website here.

If you have tips on where any of these artworks might be you can share them on social media using #MissingMasterpieces, or please write to us at: 

missingmasterpieces@artcrimeresearch.org

All leads will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement authority.

April 24, 2019

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - ,,,,,,, No comments

4 of 6 individuals, believed to be tied to a Pink Panther operating cell, head to trail in the jewel heist at the Doge's Palace in Venice.


Following up on the museum jewel heist which occurred during the "Treasures of Mughals and Maharajas" exhibition at the Doge's Palace in Venice in January 2018.   

On January 3, 2018 jewelry worth an estimated €2m (£1.7m) was stolen from a display case at the museum palace of the Doge of Venice during a brazen, broad daylight, robbery which occurred shortly after ten in the morning on the last day of the exhibition. Taken during the theft were a pair of pear-shaped 30.2-carat diamond earrings in a platinum setting along with an equally weighty 10 carat, grade D diamond and ruby pendant brooch.  Both items belonged to His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, who is the first cousin of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.  

According to a report first published on Twitter by Mediaset Journalist Clemente Mimun, the Italian authorities had long suspected that the thieves behind the museum theft might have had inside help and were likely part of a criminal network made up of associates from the former Yugoslavia, sometimes referred to as "the Pink Panthers".  This network, working in small yet coordinated cells, are believed to be responsible for some 200+ robberies spanning 35 countries over the last two decades.  Some thefts, like that at the Doge's palace, have been discreet, 60-second affairs.  Others have been armed robberies or have involved automobiles being rammed into glass storefronts.  In total the thieves are believed to have made off with an estimated €500 million in jewels and gemstones, much of which has never been recovered.

But everyone knows that good police work sometimes requires patience. 

Following months of investigations by the mobile squad of the Venice Police Headquarters and the  Central Operational Service of the Central Anti-crime Directorate of the State Police, working alongside prosecutor Raffaele Incardona, six suspects were ultimately identified by the Italian authorities. Between November 7 and November 8, 2018 five of these men, including four Croatians and one Serb, were taken into custody in Croatia in a coordinated action involving Police Directorates in Zagreb and Istra based upon European arrest warrants issued for the suspect's related to their alleged involvement in the Venice museum theft. 

Five of those named by Italian authorities are believed to have visited the Doge's Palace in Venice on two test-run occasions prior to the actual theft.  Their first visit occurred on December 30, 2018 and their second on the day before the robbery.   Each time the team apparently tried to steal jewelry from the exhibition without success or were practicing in advance of the final event. 

Vinko Tomic
The brains behind the heist is purported to be 60-year-old Vinko Tomic, who goes by several other names, including Vinko Osmakčić and Juro Markelic.  No stranger to crime Tomic has already been connected with other million dollar hits.  Tomic has been implicated in the thefts of $1m worth of diamond watches in Honolulu, the heist of the $1m Millennium Necklace in Las Vegas, the filching of three rings, collectively worth £2m in London, and other high value jewel heists in Hong Kong, Monaco and Switzerland.  

When appearing in court in connection with one prior offense, Tomic made a statement to the presiding judge that he was a war veteran originally from the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina who was wounded in battle in 1995 and who fled, first to Croatia and later to Germany.  There,  unable to find work, he stated he eventually turned to a life of crime, though he managed to provide for his family and put his brother through school. 

For Italian law enforcement their biggest break in the case came as a result of a slip up on the part of the gang's leader.  According to chief prosecutor Bruno Cherchi, the Venice police chief Danilo Gagliardi, and Alessandro Giuliano, director of the Central Operational Service of the Central Anti-crime Directorate of the State Police, who spoke at a press conference on the investigation, officers identified a Facebook photo of Tomic wearing an identical ring to the one he was wearing when captured on CCTV footage at the Doge's Palace in Venice. 

Tomic's alleged accomplices to the Venice jewel theft are listed here:

Zvonko Grgić
Zvonko Grgić (age 43) whose now static Facebook profile lists him as an armed security contractor available for global security around the world. 

Želimir Grbavac
Želimir Grbavac, (age 48), who, according to Croatian news sources appears to have lived a discreet existence, operating an electrician business. 

Vladimir Đurkin (age 48), also Croatian.

and two Serbs, Dragan Mladenović (age 54) and Goran Perović (age 48).

Tomic, Grgić, and Grbavac were arrested on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 in Zagreb, while Đurkin was brought in for questioning in Istria. Mladenović was initially apprehended near the Serb-Croatian border and detained in Croatian police custody, only to escape while in police custody via a bathroom window on November 8, 2018.  How this happened while he was in police custody has been subject to controversy. 

On the basis of their European arrest warrants, three of the Croatians, Tomic, Grgić, and Grbavac were quickly transferred to Italy to stand trial. 

A month and a half after their arrest in Croatia, on December 23, 2018 Tomic, Grgić, and Grbavac made their initial appearance in Italian court before preliminary investigations judge David Calabria and maintained their right to remain silent.  Vinko Tomic was represented by lawyers Guido Simonetti and Simone Zancani.  Zvonko Grgić was represented by lawyer Marina Ottaviani and Želimir Grbavac was represented by lawyer Mariarosa Cozza.  

Fighting his extradition, Vladimir Đurkin was finally transferred to the Italian authorities on February 8, 2019.  The presiding judge has ruled that all four defendants will remain in custody at the prison of Santa Maria Maggiore in Venice pending the outcome of their upcoming trial. 

Serbian Dragan Mladenović and the final identified accomplice, Goran Perović, are believed to be in Serbia where they are untouchable by a European Arrest Warrant, a Convention which governs extradition requests between the 28 member states that make up the European Union (EU).  With no agreement between Italy and Serbia on judicial cooperation, there seems little chance that these two remaining accomplices will be extradited to Italy to stand trial.

And His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani's jewels? 

International insurers Lloyd's of London has indemnified the Al Thani Foundation, as the owner of the stolen brooch and earrings and has paid out a claim of 8 million and 250 thousand dollars making the firm the owners of the jewellery, should they be recovered.  As a result, the insurers will likely become a civil party in the future trial of the alleged perpetrators.

Unfortunately the "Treasures of Mughals and Maharajas" have never been found. 

By:  Lynda Albertson

September 6, 2018

Thursday, September 06, 2018 - ,,,,,,, No comments

Museum Theft Update: Doge’s Palace - Venice, Italy

Exhibition Hall, Sala dello Scrutinio, Doge's Palace, Venice
Image Credit: Palazzo Ducale
Eight months into the investigation, Italian news sites have begun reporting more details on the band of thieves believed to be behind the theft of part of the jewellery collection of Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani. The jewels were stolen from an alcove just off of the Sala della Scrutinio at the Palazzo Ducale during a brazen, broad daylight, robbery from the "Treasures of Mughals and Maharajas" exhibition on January 3rd.

Reconstructing the events surrounding the 10 am theft on the final day of the exhibition authorities have apparently discussed their hypothesis with one or more members of the Italian press. 
According to a report first published on Twitter by Mediaset Journalist Clemente Mimun, it is believed that the thieves may be members of a Croatian and Serbian criminal network which specialized in high-value thefts, known to have committed other offences in Italy and other countries.  No information is given in Mediaset's formal article several hours after Mimun's tweet, nor in La Repubblica's subsequent article as to why authorities believe the squad is made up of Serb and Croat nationals or indicating what information aside from general speculation would lead to this assumption.


During the January 3, 2018 incident, two thieves, one serving as lookout, wearing a buttoned sweater and a fisherman's beanie, and a second serving as principal actor, took a remarkable 20 seconds to open, then pocket a pair of teardrop diamond earrings and a heavy brooch made up of diamonds, rubies, gold, and platinum.


Given that the display case and its alarm failed to activate or activate in a timely manner when the glass case was breached, it is reasonable to assume that the pair of thieves might have had insider help.  Perhaps from someone, either connected to the museum with knowledge of or access to the exhibitions alarm systems, as they were expressly installed for this specific exhibit and in normal circumstances would have been expected to sound an alarm as soon as the display case was opened which would allow time for the perimeter to have been sealed.

Gone in a Bling

In the CCTV camera footage a clean-shaven man wearing a hooded puffer jacket and casual pants, sporting a traditional coppola style flat cap, can be seen at first viewing the jewels in several display cases at a leisurely pace, along with five other individuals, one of whom is believed to have served as a lookout.


Once the room clears of potential witnesses, the thief, working quickly and discreetly, but in full view of the CCTV camera, opens the glass door on the case and pockets the jewellery in the pocket of his jacket.  Afterwards, the pair calmly blend back in with the rest of the museum's patrons, and casually exit the Doge's Palace before security has time to apprehend them. 

Given that the security for this event was specifically requested and installed as a condition of the exhibition of the Sheik's jewels, it is reasonable to believe that the culprits were practised experts, perhaps those who also had advance knowledge of the Doge's security routine, and the timing it would take for security to react to their breach.

Whether or not Mediaset was referring to a network of jewel thieves known as "The Pink Panthers", an elusive gang of jewel thieves which is believed to have members from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is unclear. This sometimes violent network of jewel thieves are believed to be responsible for more than 200 high-value robberies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  For fifteen years this network of Balkan jewel thieves has committed audacious heists, sometimes by violent means as depicted in the real-life surveillance footage shown in the documentary “Smash and Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers.” 


As in the Venice heist Pink Panther thefts usually involve prior preparation and advanced skill, often casting nondescript individuals to case locations of potential robberies prior to their execution.  In one particularly dramatic theft on May 19, 2003 at Graff on New Bond Street in London a member of the group was able to make off with more than thirty million dollars’ worth of diamonds at in less than three minutes.

Whether or not the Doge's Palace Museum theft is related to the Pink Panthers is unclear, but should they be, they will likely benefit from the inventive perpetrators' uncanny ability to fence traceable high-end goods. In the past law enforcement authorities have indicated that the Panther network consisted of between twenty and thirty experienced thieves at any given time, with facilitators in various cities providing logistical assistance.   Often, stolen diamonds end up in Antwerp as well as among the collections of indifferent clients in wealthy countries like Italy, France, Russia and Switzerland.



Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)