- A ring of art thieves has been foiled after 20 years of museum robberies spanning six states.
- The group stole paintings and collectors items, and may have burned some of the art to avoid capture.
The search continues for artwork and sports memorabilia stolen from art and sports museums over the course of 20 years, despite guilty pleas from three men involved in the heists.
Several of the stolen works, including the painting "Upper Hudson" by Jasper Cropsey, are believed to have been burned to prevent seizure by authorities, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
But others — among them, nine World Series rings awarded to Yogi Berra, four antique firearms worth a combined $1 million, a Tiffany lamp, and a Fabrege punch bowl — may still be recoverable after being stolen and sold by the group of thieves over the years.
Additional items stolen by the group, according to the DOJ, include $400,000 worth of gold nuggets, six championship belts taken from the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the screenprint "Le Grande Passion" by Andy Warhol, and painting "Springs Winter" by Jackson Pollock.
On Friday, The Scranton Times-Tribune reported, three of the nine people charged by the Department of Justice with their involvement in the thefts pleaded guilty to a combination of federal charges including conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property.
The Times-Tribune reported that Chris Caputo, attorney for defendant Daryl Rinker who was among those who pleaded guilty after purchasing several stolen antique firearms, said that his client was "very sorry" for his actions. The other two men who pleaded guilty were involved in the crime ring as drivers but have declined to comment publicly, Associated Press reported.
The maximum penalty for the conspiracy counts is five years in prison, and for each of the other offenses is ten years' imprisonment. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The thefts took place across six states over the course of more than two decades, targeting small museums between the years of 1999 and 2019, according to court documents reviewed by Insider. Several of the items have been recovered in the course of an investigation by the FBI, ArtNews reported, but while investigators continue searching, their odds of finding of finding the missing artifacts is slim.
Authorities said Nicholas Dombek, who is accused of burning the Cropsey painting valued at $500,000 and is the only person charged who did not turned himself in, still remains at large, ArtNews reported.