New information has emerged from the investigation into a sprawling art and collectibles heist that eluded authorities for more than two decades. Earlier this month, after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced it had charged nine people with conspiracy to steal artwork, memorabilia and antiques from 20 museums and institutions different, it was discovered that missing pieces of Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock may have avoided the fiery fate of other items stolen from the treasure.
Thieves had taken to melting down or burning evidence to avoid arrest. Yet prosecutors told officials at the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania – whose works by Warhol and Pollock were stolen in 2005 – that a defendant said he saw the missing Warhol serigraph. The Great Passion (1984) over the past three years. According The Times Tribune Scranton newspaper, the veracity of this claim has not been confirmed.
Four of the nine people involved in the thefts were charged on June 15 by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit theft of major works of art, concealment or disposal of cultural heritage objects, and interstate transportation of stolen property. The suspects had primarily targeted small museums in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and North Dakota between 1999 and 2019. The stolen items range from Pollock’s not authenticated 1949 painting spring water to $1 million worth of Yogi Berra memorabilia from the baseball legend’s eponymous museum in Little Falls, New Jersey. The thieves also fled from various institutions with $400,000 in gold nuggets, $1 million in antique firearms and more than 30 golf and horse racing trophies.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the gang burned Upper Hudson, a painting by Jasper Cropsey, to avoid detection. Other items like championship rings were melted down into metal bars to be sold in New York. As such, the chances of recovering the stolen items are low, according to authorities.
“After all these years, we are heartened by the identification, capture and (hopefully) prosecution of the nine defendants,” said Charles Barber, acting director of the Everhart Museum. art news. “The Everhart is dedicated to the preservation and protection of precious works of art and history. These thieves proved to be the antithesis of this philosophy by their wanton destruction.
