Modus Operandi (4 page)

There are three main reasons art and jewelry thefts occur: to get the money from fencing stolen art; a collector personally safekeeps art as it increases in value; or, for political, or possibly sociopolitical reasons —sometimes considered terrorism. Just before the 1994 Winter Olympics in

Ail, Antique mid Jewel Thieves/ 19

Keep In Mind ...

It seems no matter how hard the police work, thefts of art, jewelry and antiques continue. Before the 1950s, art, jewelry and precious antiques did not appreciate in value as rapidly as they have within the last thirty-five to forty years. Keep this in mind if your art and jewelry theft story is set in a historical period. Although mankind has continually produced works of art for over 40,000 years, art did not become generally perceived as a commodity, or as a means of economic exchange, until 150 to 200 years ago. A novel that is set in historical times will, of course, have its period antiques and artwork that are valuable. However, the appreciation value will not be as great as it has been in the last thirty-five to forty years.

Norway, Edvard Munch's
The Scream
was stolen by abortion protesters in an attempt to negotiate political policy through terrorism.

One of the most famous politically motivated art thefts of the twentieth century occurred at the Louvre in 1911 when an Italian house painter stole the
Mona Lisa
from the wall where it hung.
The Mona Lisa
disappeared for approximately two years. When the thief finally gave himself up, he claimed that he had only stolen it for political reasons, and that he had intended to take the painting back to Florence, Italy, where da Vinci had painted it, and where he felt it rightfully belonged.

Types of Art Theft

The past thirty-five to forty years have seen an unprecedented boom in organized art robbery running parallel to an equally unprecedented boom in the legitimate art market. To a degree, the thieves help the legitimate dealers, whether the latter know it or not, because the art market depends on a pool of homeless works of art fed at one end by the sale of objects, drained at the other by the forming of new collections. In the last fifty years that pool has been

increasingly agitated. The turnover of works of art through auction rooms and dealers has accelerated year by year. At the same time, the quantity of available works of art by dead artists is reduced: either through accidents or through acquisition of this or that Rembrandt by a museum.

It would sensationalize the problem to suggest that the art market, especially during the 1970s, was heavily dependent on recirculating stolen objects. The proportion is higher in the field of simple works of art such as silverware, furniture, drawings, rare prints, engravings, porcelain and antiquities, than in the area of signed paintings by acknowledged, famous artists. Not only are there more of the former around, but their histories are infinitely harder to check and the records of their existence, if there are any, are more difficult to obtain.

Archaeological Antiquities

Thousands of objects are smuggled yearly from countries rich in antiquities to countries rich in economy. This is a particular problem for archaeological artifacts. Many millions of dollars worth of art are steadily being stolen from archaeological sites. Once an object is removed from its original site, the archaeologist has lost a valuable clue to interpreting a culture. The enormous profitability of acquiring or smuggling antiquities has led to the depletion of cultural treasures in many countries.

Popular Culture

Thieves don't always need high art to make a killing. Let's take for example, the recent rise in the popularity of dinosaurs. Let's face it —dinosaurs are hot! No need to remind you of one of the biggest box office hits of late,
Jurassic Park.
Along with
Jurassic Park
, came millions of dollars in T-shirts, sweatshirts, memorabilia, movies, prints and novel sales. When you discuss art and jewelry thefts, you must include other historically significant and desirable commodities. And what do you think were some of the hottest items stolen during the dinosaur revolution of the last five years? Archaeological findings and prehistoric memorabilia; actual artifacts and dinosaur bones, fossilized dinosaur eggs, imprints of dinosaur footprints, anything to do with dinosaurs. It was a hot commodity, and the prices skyrocketed.

Organized Crime

Organized criminal elements are turning their attention to the art world. Organized crime has always been quick to exploit the trends originally set by legitimate businesses such as alcohol vendors. In this case, the master criminal becomes aware of the enormous profit potential of art and begins to educate and prepare himself for this particular field. Additionally, just as financial consultants have established mutual funds and invested solely in works of art, so the criminal is now beginning to appreciate the investment value of art. In fact, even when recoveries are made, the frequent absence of one or two of the best pieces suggests stockpiling by the criminal element.

Crime bosses and small-time crooks began to buy museum catalogs and art magazines and look very hard at the old and new masters. Compared to burglary or bank robbery, art thefts are easy and pay well for little risk. Many museums, prior to the 1960s, had never heard of security alarms, let alone used them. Insurance companies and owners who wanted the unique treasures returned safely would not argue about rewards or ransoms.

So the crime bosses began to convert their henchmen into art thieves. When they found the extortion racket worked, they invented others: dealing stolen religious objects, altering them and filtering them into an antique market; new techniques in art smuggling; and selling novel art forms such as Hong Kong Ming. An equally inspiring tale of boldness was when a criminal sold Salvatore Dali one of his own stolen paintings. Remember that criminals play on human frailty and sorrow, and the fact that every man believes himself to be something of a discoverer and cannot resist the lure of easy money. The attempt by a person to make quick and easy money is one of the greatest human instincts.

Forgeries

A unique example of cultural and artistic work exists in parts of Africa. Much African art is carved in traditional styles, artificially aged, and then sold under false pretenses. These forgeries are so well executed, only the most competent experts are able to detect them. East African carvers visit museums to study the aging process and style of art objects. In Nigeria, West Africa, carvers generally have better access to museums than in the East, and are able to familiarize themselves with the art market.

Art Theft to Order

Remember that the art and antique thief does not have to be the person who physically removes the item from the home, business or museum. The actual thief, in terms of the police investigation, would not only be the person who physically removed the item, but the person who set the wheels in motion.

For example: We have Mr. Jones, a collector of fine art and antiques. He's collected nearly all the signed original works of Salvatore Dali created during a certain time period when Dali, let's say, was at a certain level of impressionism in his painting. Mr. Jones does not have one painting and desires that one very much.

We must remember that artists have periods in their lives, much like musicians, when their art takes on a certain style somewhat different from years before and the years that follow. So this collector, Mr. Jones, simply must have the one missing painting. He hires a private detective firm to find the rightful owner of the painting. But, the rightful owner is determined not to sell. If he still wants the painting, Mr. Jones must decide to do one of two things:

Scenario 1
: He may decide to have another person (a broker) approach the owner on his behalf for the sale of the painting. Of course, this is risky because, if the painting is stolen shortly after the person turns down the offer, the owner would only have to alert the local authorities as to who contacted him. However, should the broker approach the rightful owner and not represent exactly who he is trying to buy it for, then it cannot be traced as easily. Another downfall to this type of bid is that the owner will probably sell it to Mr. Jones at top dollar.

Scenario 2:
Now let's proceed to the more common way of acquiring the desired painting. Mr. Jones will use the services of a quasi-legal private investigator to determine the rightful owner and location of the desired painting. From that point he contacts a fence who he knows will deal in stolen art and antiques. Of course, these fences are sub-specialists to regular fences and are extremely difficult to find unless you know how. In these incidents the art, antique and jewelry fence will not be your corner pawnbroker, but may in fact be another legitimate dealer or an avid collector of these works.

After reaching out to the professional art fence, it is the fence's turn to go into action as a broker. The fence contracts to someone else for the physical theft. In this particular instance the object is stolen to order.

In It for the Money

Mr. Jones wanted the missing Dali for personal pleasure. Now, the professional art thief has a completely different set of rules. Although any work of art in theory can be stolen, its usefulness to a thief depends on a complex web of interplaying factors. What is the demand on the free market for the item? How anonymous is the work of art or how can its identity be removed without destroying its value? Is it likely to be cataloged or recorded? Two principles determine the criminal's final choice: If it is not desirable it will not sell; if it is well known it can be traced.

The Role of the Fence in Art Theft

In the case of art, jewelry and antique thefts, the fence plays a crucial and pivotal role in the theft process. A fence, of course, is a person who will actually receive the property from the thief, and then either use it for his own benefit, or turn around and sell it to someone interested in the commodity, who in turn may resell it. You can imagine how

difficult it is to get rid of something that is significant historically and politically, especially immediately after the crime has been committed. That is why in most of the cases where there is a major art or jewelry theft, everything has already been laid in place for the ultimate disposal of that stolen item.

For example, let's assume there is a family who is very wealthy and has collected several Salvador Dali paintings. The home is burglarized, but the wheels were set in motion weeks to months before for the ultimate disposal of those paintings. The theft of them will make the local and, sometimes, national newspapers, but by that time, the items will have already been deposited with their new owner. In this manner, the fence is acting more in the capacity of a broker, much like one for stocks or bonds. The art and jewelry thief must use the fence to dispose of the item in advance, because of its uniqueness and difficulty of disposing it through routine channels.

Follow along the progression of a theft to its ultimate disposal. Let's take the case of a very famous stamp collector. He has the stamp series issued in 1919 honoring airplanes in the United States. One stamp was accidently minted upside down and 1,000 pieces were issued. Even though many people recognized this to be collectible back in 1919, let's presume that 100 to 150 of the stamps were used and postmarked by the Post Office.

So now we have 850 uncirculated stamps grabbed up by collectors back in 1919. Be aware of the fact that every person who collected the stamp back in 1919 has most likely either kept it, sold it or had it stolen since the date it was struck. People who collect stamps and have antique and extremely valuable collections usually know who has the missing items they need for their collection. People involved in art and antique collecting buy several items that they can use as leverage to obtain the item that they really want. Most collectors would never dream of stealing from other collectors; part of the fun for them is the bargaining and trading. But, there are people who are so engrossed in completing their collection that they will do anything to obtain the missing piece or pieces.