[CPProt.net] "The Connoisseur Art Thief"

[Charles V. Sabba]

Re: "The Connoisseur Art Thief"


  The Connoisseur Art Thief
  by Charles Vincent Sabba Jr

   
  On 18 March 1990, at 01.24 hrs., two thieves dressed as Boston Police officers banged on the side door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. They told the two young security guards that they were investigating a caller complaint of a disturbance and were permitted to enter. The guards were bound and gagged and the thieves stole $500 million worth of art, including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Degas and Manet. Fifteen years later this case is still unsolved and the paintings are still at large. The FBI has worked very hard over the years following numerous leads and questioning multiple suspects. Among this long list of suspects, two notorious New England art thieves stood out, Myles Connor and William P. Youngworth III. Their names were synonymous with art theft in New England and investigators didn't waste any time contacting them.  
      The two boldy stated that they could orchestrate the return of the art, but they demanded a promise of immunity as well as the $5 million reward that was being offered for the works return. The authorities refused to make deals due to several problems they faced- for one thing, there was a suspected Irish Republican Army link and US law enforcement is forbidden to deal with terrorists. Second problem, it was feared that if the thieves who stole the paintings received a large monetary reward, valuable paintings would get stolen in museums all across America. An impasse that has remained to this day. William Youngworth,  who still claims he can assist in the art works return, is telling his story in a soon to be released book written by the author Eric Welle.
      "The first time I met Billy, he was talking with a neighbor about the little league game he and his son had just come from," Eric Welle told me. "He helps coach the team and was still wearing the uniform. Not quite the man I envisioned when I sojourned out to Massachusetts to interview him. Despite the unseemly first impression, he has never ceased to suprise me since. One minute, he'll be talking about refurbishing an antique oak desk and the next, a job he and some friends pulled long ago. Billy's generous, thoughtful and humorous- always teasing and playing jokes. He's extremely clever and a veritable fountain of facts and minutiae regarding antiques and oriental rugs, as well as fine art. But it's his loyalty and code of honor that struck me most during my visits with him."
       Welle continued: "The book I am writing is called Dirty Pictures for two reasons. One: the paintings taken from the Gardner museum were, at one time, hailed as the "dirtiest ever seen" by a renowned curator; two: the paintings spoiled and ruined a lot of lives- the majority of the people involved with the crime are dead or in jail. The book will be as much about Billy as it will be the crime and the paintings. It's something 99% of us can't even fathom, much less imagine."
       When discussing the Gardner heist, everyone talks about the value of the art, the reward, the details of the crime, the politics, and the museum administration's failures, to name a few. No one talks about the most important element in the story- the art! Many art thieves study art as much as art history students, and in some cases, more then the detectives who are assigned to investigate their crimes. Many investigators admit that they never were knowledgeable about art prior to receiving their stolen art assignments. In contrast, guys like Myles Connor are voracious readers of art journals, books and magazines. Time magazine once wrote that they believed he could run Sotheby's auction house. In the underworld there is an element of psychological positioning for superiority- simply stated as "one up/one down". How can an investigator who has no prior training in art outwit a criminal who is a self taught expert, who is "one up" on the law.
      While William states that the masterminds of the heist had talent, the crew who actually committed the Gardner heist were philistines, passing up more valuable works such as Titian's Rape of Europa for lesser works like drawings by Degas, and hacking two Rembrandt's from their frames, one of which he claims is probably damaged beyond repair. When paintings are cut from their frames and have to be repaired, it poses a huge problem for the villains. A restorer has to be brought in on the job to reframe the paintings and repair any damage that occurred; this is a dangerous restoration job, because the criminals might just decide to silence him after his work is complete.
      I have known William for some time now. In one of our first conversations I was confronted with his humorous nature that Welle described, when he stated:" I have no beef because a dude's a cop. Hey, cops and robbers. Same union just different locals." 
  CVS: Do you agree with me that art thieves are better educated in art and art history then law enforcement ?
  WY: That is very perceptive of you regarding the education art thieves possess. Yes, you are 100% correct.  
  CVS: Does that include the Gardner?
  WY: As to the Gardner, first off what happened was not the way it was supposed to happen. It was desperate. The crew's leader was with me in 1986 and we cut a deal. I later got busted (arrested) for something stupid and the Gardner job got put on hold. It (the job) happened because it had to. The crew did the best they could but screwed up royally. I wouldn't say any of the items taken held any flame to my heart. Albeit, the coolest is the Vermeer. No matter what it may be, the play on light is powerful. 
  CVS: So what kind of art do you like? There is an artist from Paris named Sophie Calle , one of my personal favorites, who did a piece in 1991 called Last Seen. She photographed the empty frames in the Gardner and framed the photos. Then she interviewd museum staff and recorded their memories of the stolen works. These memories are written on the text panels that are the same dimensions as the missing objects.  
  WY: That is very interesting about that artist. My personal tastes lay in American Impressionism. I like Cole and Churchill's works of the sunrises of Cadillac Mountain, Maine.; Fitz Hue Lane's Sunset of Gloucester harbor; Turner's maritimes. I like Hudson River School works and probably Winslow Homer's seascapes.
  CVS: What about Italy?
  WY: If I were to have to pick an Italian artist I would say # 1 is Michelangelo Caravaggio. He gave the world chiaroscuro. Then Titian. In my humble opinion The Rape of Europa was his greatest.  
  CVS: And Rembrandt?
  WY: Rembrandt, well sure. But I am so skeptical of anything attributed to him. I know that Portrait of Elizabeth Van Rijn was his. That was pretty amazing to hold in your hands. If I were to pick another off (steal) it would be Van Gogh's self portrait conveniently situated at Harvard's Fogg. I have studied stealing that one more than anything else. I know I could do it three handed ( with three accomplices). You need three inside and outside. It gets tossed into a backpack while en route out, it gets shuttle passed to a good rice rocket pilot (a fast Japanese motorcycle rider). The natural barriers of the situation and the buildings that surround the scene would make a vehicle chase impossible.
  CVS: There is an article in the July 2005 issue of the Smithsonian. Lets talk about it. In the article, the Director of the Gardner Museum, Anne Hawley, stated that the people with info on the art heist can bypass the Feds (FBI) and go directly to her. Hawley promises she will keep names anonymous. Do you think she can be trusted? 
  WY: Well, in making this statement she knows that such a thing actually happening would be so remote that offering a reward for proof of intelligent life on Mars is more plausible. I know Anne, I have sat in the same room with her and looked into her eyes on many occasions. Let's just say that something like that happened. What is she going to do about it? Ask you to come in and pay you out of petty cash? I am sure that anyone believing that Anne is an entity operating on her own would be promptly arrested. The Gardner officials are quite compliant to the will of law enforcement here. Conveniently so!
  CVS:In the article, the respected British art sleuth, Charles Hill, claims all roads lead to Eire. Hill believes the people holding the artworks are real tough guys in the west of Ireland and they don't know what to do with them. He claims James "Whitey" Bulger transported the paintings to Ireland after he fled the U.S. In your opinion, is there any truth to the 'wild Irish art-loving colonial boy' theory?
  WY: Mr. Hill's theories are simply the most ridiculous tripe I have ever seen. They are simply quite entertaining, but at the end of the day are simply hybrid fiction.
  CVS: Charles Hill also claims the theft of the Napoleonic flag staff eagle was a tribute of sorts to the French general who tried to link up with Irish rebels against Britain. What about that eagle getting lifted? Is it a big stretch that Napolean received a little street respect in Boston?
  WY: This flag staff object and the rationales that have been given to us in the meaning of its theft are just plain laughable. As a matter of fact, when I was so naive to believe the Gardner's 'good faith' I was very candid with them that the boys simply did not take that or the beaker. Upon my stating that the chairman of their board jumped out of his chair and addressed Anne Hawley saying "see I told you so." Apparently they have been less than forthcoming with what they know. I guess its at the direction of the FBI and there goes their ability to take any action without the Fed's approval and participation. But let's look at this as outsiders for the moment. In the middle of a midnight heist, where the noise of the wind could in reality be a SWAT team on the other side of the door, you take the time to pose a riddle attributed to a general from the early 19th century? Give me a break! 
  CVS: What about the Bulger connection? Everyone is focused on Whitey Bulger as if he was the only Irish underworld boss in Massachusetts. Why isn't Joe Murray's connection to all this discussed more? He alledgedly told an FBI agent that he could get his hands on some stolen artworks.
  WY: Mr. Hill's fascination with Whitey comes out of the basic fact that he simply does not know him or anything about him. If it were not for his brother's position (then President of the Massachusetts Senate) Whitey would have been found in a shallow grave. His life was dependent on this issue alone. In contrast, Joe Murray could make one phone call to Ireland and someone would show up the next day and shoot you in the back of the head. Whitey knew this and remained quite paranoid. He isolated himself for a decade before the end came. Before his being an FBI informant became publicly known, we realized it after Joe McDonald got picked off in Grand Central Station coming back to meet him (Joe Mac was a Winter Hill Gang hitman who was wanted by the Feds; Joe Mac called Bulger and told him that he was on a train to Boston and Bulger informed an FBI Agent named Connolly. Joe Mac was grabbed off of the train on September 15, 1982). Joe Murray stood out as much as one's grandfather would. That is how he remained a successful fugitive for as long as he did. With the small exception being one's granddad usually doesn't have two silenced Mac 10's in his carry-all bag.
  CVS: Now for the $500 million dollar question: If a cop like me wanted to recover the Gardner loot, what does he have to do?
  WY: I will tell you the broker who moved the stuff was a German national. To get the stuff back now, you would need a passport. You would have to go to each and every buyer over seas and offer a profit. Why don't you ask the Gardner exactly how does one collect this reward that is offered, who exactly will pay it and how. When you offer a reward are those not part of the contract? They have a "subject to" laced diluted contract that was uncollectable for me."
      
  Unfortunately for art lovers, the impasse continues.
  www.michelvanrijn.nl/artnews/artnws.htm

       


------------------------------------------------------------------------------



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://duvel.te.verweg.com/pipermail/cpprot/attachments/20051225/a35bc13d/attachment.htm