Stolen Art Watch, Gardner Art Heist, New Head FBI Boston, Dicky De Lauriers, Same Old Same Old !!!

Richard DesLauriers above, new head of Boston FBI already immortalised as Warren T Bamford Clone on (Boston FBI Field Office) toilet wall.

Warren T Bamford above, ex-head of Boston FBI, Stuffed Shirt Elitist.

Boston FBI chief says James "Whitey" Bulger, art heist priorities

BOSTON — The new head of the Boston FBI office says he will have a "laser-like focus" on finding fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and solving the 1990 Gardner Museum art heist.

Richard DesLauriers said the two high-profile cases will be among his highest local priorities.

DesLauriers began work last month as special agent in charge. He is a 23-year veteran of the FBI with extensive experience in counterintelligence.

DesLauriers, a native of Longmeadow, oversees the FBI in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Bulger, a former FBI informant, is wanted in connection with 19 murders.

The largest art theft in history at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner museum remains unsolved 20 years after two thieves disguised as police officers made off with more than a half-billion dollars in art.

Art Hostage Comments:

Get the fuck outta here, this guy is a clone of Warren T Bamford.

"Laser like focus", who the fuck does this guy think he is ?

a Star Wars Jedi !!

You don't solve the Gardner case or capture Whitey Bulger from a manual, corporate speak makes you look like a stuffed shirt.

Do the FBI have a production line of stuffed shirts

We have seen them come and we have seen they go, heads of the Boston FBI always start their tenure with the same old rhetoric about apprehending Whitey Bulger and solving the Gardner case.

First, Whitey Bulger, well make it a $10 million reward, no conditions, just the capture of Whitey Bulger, dead or alive and you may get some takers.

Second, the Gardner case, well Richard DesLauriers, that is out of your control as Assistant U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Brian Kelly holds the key.

If you are really serious about recovering the Gardner art then a total immunity agreement has to be offered, not the shallow false one offered so far. This means anyone coming forward with information that leads to the recovery of the Gardner art does not, I repeat does not have to reveal where they obtained the information, or has to go before any Grand Jury and they will also retain their right to take the fifth amendment if they so desire.

Then and only then will someone step forward with the right information needed to recover the Gardner art.

However, a little pointer, Free of charge. Enquire over at the State Dept about the Iranian connection to stolen art which may give you a little enlightenment, not forgetting the Dissident Irish Republican link to stolen art. This will educate you a little about the global stolen art underworld.

Furthermore, the so-called reward offer by the Gardner Museum was increased all the way back in 1997 to $5million, which is nearly fourteen years ago.

The Gardner Museum reward offer needs to be doubled to $10 million at least to provoke any kind of interest.

To demonstrate the sincerity of Art Hostage.

Art Hostage declares here and now.

Art Hostage seeks not one dime, not a single dime from the Gardner Museum reward offer, even if they increase that reward offer to $10 million or more.

The intentions of Art Hostage is to see the Gardner art deposited in a Catholic church confession box and returned to the museum, and the Gardner Museum forced to pay the reward they have offered and not invoke all the hidden conditions attached to the current reward offer which means the Gardner Museum can wriggle out of paying any reward should the need arise.

If the FBI wants bodies, then best of luck, that hasn't happened for twenty years and counting.

The much maligned William Youngworth was right after all, the immunity must be a blanket immunity accepted in good faith that allows the Gardner Art to surface and the Gardner Museum reward offer is Fools Gold in its current form.

Until these two issues are resolved publicly then no one with any sense is going to step forward with information about the Gardner art.

Sorry for not being a Brown Nosed Yellow Sycophant like all the others, time for some home truths about the Gardner case to be aired.

Forget Proof of life, show Proof of reward and Proof of total immunity.

Welcome to Boston Dicky De-Lauriers, your name sounds like a brand of champagne, so get cork popping !!!!!!

Stolen Art Watch, Van Gogh In De-nial, Cairo Calamity !!

Update over at Art Hostage:
http://arthostage.blogspot.com/2010/08/stolen-art-watch-van-gogh-cairo-culture.html

Thieves steal Van Gogh painting from Cairo museum

CAIRO — The Egyptian minister of culture says a painting by Vincent van Gogh valued at $50 million has been stolen from a Cairo museum.

The poppy flower painting was taken from Cairo's Mr & Mrs Mahmoud Khalil Museum, which is situated in a large villa on the banks of the Nile, a ministry statement said.

see link for history: http://www.egy.com/giza/95-05-06.shtml

The museum is home to one of the Middle East's finest collections of 19th and 20th century art put together by the politician Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil, who died in 1953.

Among works at the museum are pieces by Gauguin, Monet, Manet and Renoir.

Farouk Hosni says police are searching for unknown suspects who lifted the painting from the Mahmoud Khalil Museum on Saturday. The artwork is identified as the Dutch impressionist's "Vase and Flowers" on the museum's website.

Hosni said that authorities at all of Egypt's air and sea ports have been notified and that an investigation is under way at the museum

Art Hostage Comments:

Called the Boomerang Van Gogh, Poppy Flowers had been stolen before, In 1978, the same painting was stolen, but was returned shortly afterwards. It was reputed to be have been recovered in Kuwait after the thieves made a deal and got paid a ransom. One year later, 1979, a duplicate was sold for $43 million in London, sparking a debate in Egypt whether the returned painting was, in fact, a fake.

1979, h'm Islamic revolution in Iran.

Thieves got lucky, well almost, as the most valuable painting in the collection is , Gauguin’s Life and Death, followed closely by the Van Gogh Poppy Flowers, or vase with flowers.

The number two's got the number two so to speak !!!

The Van Gogh has been on tour around the globe, there's a clue already.............

Already news breaking from the Global Underworld the intention is to use the Van Gogh as collateral for arms and weapons, not drugs, not ransom, weapons.

Iran being the ultimate destination of this Van Gogh as deals on stolen art for weapons has a historic Iranian history. Madonna was in Iran and I don't mean a concert !!!

I reckon authorities have 24/48 hours to recover this Van Gogh..........

Check Diplomatic bags, cut out of its frame, rolled up and good to go Diplomatically !!

Check the border with Gaza !!!

Why did thieves leave the most valuable painting , Gauguin’s Life and Death ?

Because Islamic law forbids artwork showing figures, so next best thing and second most valuable painting in the Mr & Mrs Mahmoud Khalil Museum Collection is the Van Gogh, Poppy Flowers, and what comes from Poppies, Heroin.

Back in the 80's there was an influx of Iranian Heroin in western Europe smuggled in tee shirts and clothing, impregnated with the heroin. The Iranian links keep on coming.

Furthermore, Nine paintings of 19th Century Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ibrahim Pasha were stolen from the same museum last year, but found 10 days later dumped outside.

(shhh, but money exchanged hands last year before these paintings were handed back)


Update 8.00pm:

Two Italians have been arrested trying to smuggle a $50m Vincent Van Gogh painting out of Cairo today, officials said this evening.

Minister Farouk Hosni says airport security confiscated the priceless painting from two Italians just hours after the artwork was 'cut from its frame' at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in the Egyptian capital.

Airport security caught a young Italian man with the painting by the Dutch post-Impressionist master and also detained his companion, a young Italian woman.

Saturday's total of visitors had been only 11 at the museum, some Spanish and Russian visitors had been searched, nothing found so the attention focused on the Italians.

Security had tracked down visitors to the museum and the Italian couple had been suspected after an employee spotted them visiting a bathroom then swiftly leaving.

Further Update,10.00pm:

A Van Gogh painting worth an estimated $55 million (35.4 million pounds) was stolen from a Cairo museum on Saturday and after reporting it had been recovered, the state news agency quoted a minister as saying it was still missing.

Citing Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, the MENA news agency reported that security had caught a young Italian man with the painting by the Dutch post-Impressionist master at the airport and also had detained an Italian woman with him.

Later the agency, which said the painting was worth an estimated $55 million, issued another statement from the minister saying "measures were continuing to recover the painting," which according to the Arabic statement was called the "Poppy Flower."

The minister said information that initially had been given about its recovery was "not accurate and was not confirmed until now by the responsible agencies." He made similar comments to a state television channel.

It was not immediately clear how the confusion over the painting's fate arose.

The painting earlier in the day had been taken from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum on the banks of the River Nile.

The state news agency MENA had said security had tracked down visitors to the museum and the Italian couple had been suspected after an employee spotted them visiting a bathroom then swiftly leaving.

Update Sunday:

SECURITY cameras and alarms at the museum in Cairo, Egypt, from where a Van Gogh painting valued at more than $A56 million was stolen had been out of order "for a long time", an official says.

"The cameras had not been working for a long time, and neither had the alarm system," the security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that no image of the painting was therefore available.

"We don't exactly know how long they had been out of order, but it was a long time. The museum officials said they were looking for spare parts (for the security system) but hadn't managed to find them," by the time the theft took place, he said.

Egypt's top prosecutor says security lapses are to blame for the theft of a Vincent van Gogh painting from a Cairo museum.

Prosecutor general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud says none of the alarms and only seven out of 43 surveillance cameras at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum were functioning Saturday when the painting was stolen.

“Each painting in the museum has an alarm. Not a single alarm for any painting is working.” He declined to reveal the timing or the method of the theft.

The Italians had been arrested and later released.

Prosecutor general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud told Egypt's state news agency Sunday that the thieves used a box cutter to remove the painting from its frame. He blamed the theft on the museum's lax security measures, calling them "for the most part feeble and superficial."

He said the museum guards' daily rounds at closing time were inadequate and did not meet minimum security requirements to protect internationally renowned works of art.

Mahmoud also said his office had warned Egypt's museums to implement stricter security controls after nine paintings were stolen last year from another Cairo institute, the Mohammed Ali Museum. Similar security lapses were to blame in that theft.

Fifteen Egyptian officials, including the director of the Khalil museum, Reem Bahir, and the head of the fine arts department at the Ministry of Culture, have been barred from leaving Egypt until the investigation into the painting's theft is complete, Mahmoud said. He did elaborate.

Bahir refused to comment on the prosecutor general's statements, saying only that the investigation was still under way.

The Opera House was victim to thefts last year, but security pressures forced criminals to return the stolen paintings.
(After payment of course)

Art Hostage Comments:

Oops, gone again !!

Have they checked the mail, tubed up Pink Panther style, repeat style.

Please, no laughing, but this proves the Art Hostage title,

"Cairo Calamity"

Adding to the museum’s troubles today, a crowd of news photographers and cameramen attempting to take pictures of the prosecutor stumbled over a statue of Cupid, which shattered on the marble floor of the entrance courtyard, sparking cries of despair from museum staff.

“Another disaster!” shouted one female museum worker, hands on her head in disbelief.

If box cutters were used then the Van Gogh may still be attached to its stretcher and the canvas was not cut from frame as first reported. This will hopefully limit the damage.

Coming soon,

the Art Hostage Iran files on handling stolen art,

.exchanging weapons for holding stolen art.................

It's Showtime !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iKuMVqht4U

Will everyone just, "Take it Easy":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lQpjPC-074

Stolen Art Watch, Boston Relic Recovered, Sweet Jesus , Prayers Answered

Relic stolen from Boston church found in Vt.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12001968164875/religious-relic-stolen-in-boston-recovered-in-vt/

BOSTON -- For weeks, parishioners at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross have been praying for the return of a treasured relic stolen back in July. Their prayers have been answered.

On June 30, a janitor noticed the circular brass case had been pried out of the base of a cross that sat in the sanctuary of the cathedral. In the case was a small piece of wood that Catholics believe is a piece of the cross that Jesus was crucified on.

"Criminals are criminals. They don't care. It can be art. It can be material, money, they don't care. If they want to go for it, they go for it, unfortunately," said Victor Armendariz.

Then, on August 9, Vermont State Police received a domestic disturbance call and found a transient with ties to Boston had the artifact and then called Boston Police. The man told officials he got the relic from another person in Rhode Island.

"I understand that people want to have something that holy for themselves, but it's sometimes hard to look beyond yourself and say you really need to share it with everybody," said Bandita Joarder.

The relic, which is even more priceless because it has a wax seal from the Pope, has been with the cathedral since it was completed in 1875, and is now home again, to the relief of many in the catholic community and beyond.

The Archodiocese of Boston released a statement that said, "God has blessed us with His love and capacity to forgive."

Church officials will hold a special service on Wednesday to welcome the relic back to the cathedral.

Prayers answered, relic is recovered

The man on the phone had a crazy story, something about a religious artifact stolen from a church in Boston. As Vermont State Trooper Steven Cuttita waited for him to come to the barracks, he started Googling.

“It seemed a little far-fetched to me, but I had to check it out anyway,’’ Cuttita said in an interview yesterday.

Six weeks after one of the Archdiocese of Boston’s most precious possessions was stolen from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End, the object — a bit of wood Catholics believe to be a relic of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — turned up in a trailer park in rural Vermont.

It is not clear who took it or how the theft was executed. And the man who turned it in has disappeared.

But the relic is back in the hands of the archdiocese, and local Catholics were jubilant yesterday when they heard about its safe return.

“When I got the news, I burst into tears, and I started to pray in thanksgiving,’’ said Kelly Thatcher, who last month had been the first to report the theft of the relic, writing on her blog “The Lady in the Pew.’’

A service to pray for the relic’s return that had been scheduled for tomorrow has been turned into a celebration of its recovery, the archdiocese said yesterday.

“Our prayers have been answered,’’ the archdiocese said in a statement that also thanked Boston police and the Vermont State Police for their work. “God has blessed us with His love and capacity to forgive. We prayerfully carry on His call for forgiveness for those responsible.’’

Since the fourth century, many churches around the world have professed to have particles of the “True Cross.’’ Though their authenticity is often disputed, the relics are objects that help Catholics connect, through prayer and contemplation, with the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Boston’s relic was a gift to a French missionary priest who later became the first bishop of Boston, and it has been venerated by Boston Catholics since its arrival in the late 18th century.

The relic had been kept in a small case in the base of a crucifix that hung in the cathedral’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which is open much of the day as a place for passersby to stop and pray. A janitor noticed it was missing when he arrived to clean the chapel on July 1.

Since then, the archdiocese and Boston police have fielded numerous false reports from people claiming to have the relic. But the one that came into the State Police barracks on Aug. 9 in Royalton, Vt., — a small town about 25 miles northwest of White River Junction — turned out to be genuine.

A resident of Upper Eatons Trailer Park named Richard Duncan placed the call. He told Cuttita that he was having an argument with an acquaintance, Earl Frost, over some information Frost had, and that Duncan felt police should know. He put Frost on the phone.

Frost, who police said is 34 years old and unemployed, had been staying at Duncan’s home for a few days. He said he had a religious artifact that had been stolen from a church in Boston, but he wanted to turn it over to a priest, not the police. Cuttita persuaded Frost to bring it to the barracks.

While waiting for Frost to arrive, Cuttita pulled up news articles about the relic’s disappearance.

He called the Boston police, who told him that they had received multiple false reports from people who said they had it, according to Cuttita.

“It was uncertain whether the relic Frost was in possession of was, in fact, the relic that was stolen from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston,’’ said a summary of the incident released yesterday by Vermont State Police.

When Frost arrived, he told the police that he had not stolen the relic, but that he got it from “an unidentified third party while in Rhode Island,’’ according to the summary.

Frost also said that, using the pseudonym Bill, he had contacted the Rev. Kevin J. O’Leary, the cathedral’s rector, about returning it.

(The archdiocese confirmed that O’Leary recalled those phone calls.)

But because neither the archdiocese nor Boston police could immediately ascertain the authenticity of the relic, the Vermont State Police did not have enough evidence to charge Frost with anything.

After receiving photographs of the relic, an archdiocesan official traveled to Royalton on Sunday and confirmed that the object Frost had turned in was indeed the missing relic.

But by then, Frost was gone, Cuttita said. Vermont State Police are seeking an arrest warrant against him on a charge of possession of stolen property.

Archdiocesan officials told Vermont authorities the relic’s dollar value is between $2,300 and $3,800, according to the summary.

The officials also said that the church considered the relic to be priceless.

The archdiocese would not disclose the exact location of the relic yesterday, citing security reasons. Officials also said they have not yet determined where it will be kept in the future.

Peggy Ainsworth, a farmer and selectwoman from Royalton, had heard nothing about the relic’s disappearance and rediscovery yesterday until contacted by a reporter.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the world,’’ she said. “This is a fairly quiet little town.’’

Update:

Vt. man who turned in stolen relic arrested

The man wanted in connection with a stolen relic from a Boston church is now in custody in New Hampshire.

Police arrested Earl Frost, 34, at a pharmacy in Hanover, N.H., after they got a tip that he was at the CVS filling a prescription. He was taken into custody without incident and transferred to the Grafton County Sheriff's Department.

Frost was also wanted in New Hampshire for a parole violation. He's being held on that warrant while the Vermont arrest warrant for possession of stolen property is pending.

Frost turned the relic over to Vt. State Police before he went missing.

The relic from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross is said to have been made from the cross Jesus was crucified on. It has been in Boston since the 18th century.

Art Hostage Comments:

A dress rehearsal for the return of the Gardner art.

This is why the reward offer by the Gardner Museum needs to be explained in full and proof of reward needs to be shown.

This is why the immunity offer by Brian Kelly for returning the Gardner art needs to be full immunity, without the need to explain where the person who steps forward to collect the reward got the location of the Gardner art from.

Until then, this is a dress rehearsal for the return of the Gardner art, sadly.

Art Hostage seeks not a single dime of the Gardner Museum $5 million reward offer.

Stolen Art Watch, Sydney Art Heist Friends/Help/Rivals Did It !!!

$2m Sydney art heist: 18 paintings stolen from exclusive suburb

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/2m-sydney-art-heist-18-paintings-stolen-from-exclusive-suburb-20100813-1225j.html?autostart=1

Eighteen paintings that police say are worth up to $2 million have been stolen from a house in an exclusive Sydney suburb.

Police said artwork by Charles Blackman, Tim Storrier and Arthur Streeton were taken from a house in New Beach Road, Darling Point, between Saturday and Tuesday.

Rose Bay crime manager, Detective Inspector John Maricic, said the theft was reported on Tuesday evening when the owners, believed to be a couple, returned home.

There were signs of forced entry and police believed two people were involved, he said. It appeared the thieves knew "what they were after", Detective Inspector Maricic said.

"Certainly the owner is upset," he said.

Some paintings were cut out of their frames while others were taken with their frames, he said.

The paintings had been displayed throughout the house, police said in a statement earlier.

The thieves also made off with two 81-centimetre television sets and telephones.

Randi Linnegar, director of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association, said more needed to be done by federal and local governments, police, art galleries and collectors to track lost artwork.

"There seems to have been a number of thefts and a suggestion of fakes over the last year particularly in the field of visual art.

"Is it saying that art is becoming more in the forefront of desirable things to have that can be resold under the table?"

Veteran art dealer Denis Savill said he did not believe the burglars went to the home just to steal the paintings, as they were "minor works by the artists".

"It's not a serious collection by eastern suburbs' standards.

"Most thieves are not educated people ... It won't be stolen-to-order because there's nothing in there you want."

He said the poor economic climate meant the paintings would not be worth even $1 million if they were sold.

"There's not a huge amount of value in them in the real sense in auction right now. So you couldn't get rid of them quickly.

"If a man was to walk those round an auction room in the next three months, he'll be very sadly disappointed at the return. It won't be anything like the police are quoting."

Police were investigating the possibility the artworks had already been sold, possibly overseas.

Police were appealing for information, especially from anyone in the art world, he said.

They called for anyone who saw any "suspicious behaviour" on the street between Saturday and Tuesday, or had any information about the sale of the paintings, to phone them on Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

"I understand that these pieces are all quite unique and should attract attention if being sold through galleries or to private collectors," Detective Inspector Maricic said.

Originally 17 paintings were reported missing but Detective Inspector Maricic confirmed a painting entitled Voyeur by Martine Emdur was also stolen.

The 18 paintings:

Victoria and Moonlight, Charles Blackman

Dreamer in the Glen, David Boyd

Nasturtiums, Iris and Blue Vase, Criss Canning

Tree of Life, John Coburn

The Crimson Scarf, Janet Cumbrae Stewart

The Girl in White, Robert Dickerson

The Red Gown, Judy Drew

The Red Silk Robe, Judy Drew

Wild Orchids, Pro Hart

Rita of the Seventies, Norman Lindsay

Seated Nude, Norman Lindsay

Gloria, Norman Lindsay

Tug Boat, Williamstown Port, John Perceval

Adieu Australia, Garry Shead

Capricorn Haze, Tim Storrier

Little Blue Bay, Sirius Cove, Sydney, Arthur Streeton

Nude with Blue Drape, Dora Lynell Wilson

Voyeur, Martine Emdur

Update:

PROPERTY developer Peter O'Mara believes the theft of 18 paintings from his Darling Point home had been planned for when he was abroad.

In an exclusive interview, the 57-year-old said it was a mystery how the thieves escaped with the large artworks, valued at around $2 million, without attracting attention.

"It's a gut feeling, but the whole thing had to be set up - I think it's been set up for a while," he said. "Not many people knew the artworks were here. You can't exactly see them from the road."

Mr O'Mara said the paintings, which included works by David Boyd, Pro Hart, Norman Lindsay, John Perceval, Arthur Streeton and John Coburn, represented a lifetime of collecting.

Burglars forced their way inside the waterfront building, Elandra on New Beach Rd, which has a video intercom at the street-level entry and requires a pass to operate the elevator. Mr O'Mara said.

Art Hostage Comments:

Remember the art theft from the NSW Gallery of the Frans van Mieris (1635-81) A Cavalier ?

Well, Art Hostage had a lead that would have led to its recovery. Unfortunately the man in charge of the recovery Michael Maher would not pay any fee or agree to any fee for services rendered, or any reward. At that point Art Hostage walked away.

See backstory:

http://arthostage.blogspot.com/2010/05/stolen-art-watch-cavalier-attitude-by.html

First of all Art Hostage got a lead in 2008 a year after the Cavalier was stolen.

Contacted by Greg and Nicole,(German Swiss), Art Hostage put out feelers to see what was on offer for the recovery of the Cavalier painting.

Art Hostage enquired with Police Officers Jeroen Huisman and also Police Officer Gavin McKean about a fee for the services of Art Hostage.

Art Hostage was told to contact Michael Maher who works as the investigator for the New South Wales Govt Insurance arm and who is tasked with the recovery of the Cavalier.

Art Hostage was told in no uncertain terms by Mike Maher there were no fee's, no reward, Nada, zero.

With those words ringing in his ears, Art Hostage withdrew.

Art Hostage finds it strange Edmund Capon is commenting about the lost Cavalier as the NSW Gallery was paid out in full, $1.4 million and have gone on to purchase further artworks with the insurance money.

The Cavalier is now owned by the NSW Govt Insurance arm and will not be returned to the NSW Gallery if recovered.

This story leaked in the press is designed to smoke out the Cavalier, but of course that is academic as the truth is already posted on Art Hostage from years passed.

Now it seems the Cavalier is back on the radar and Art Hostage warns those who may be suckered into this not to start whinging when they don't get any reward, don't complain when they are arrested handing back the Cavalier.

Just give a location where the Cavalier can be located, PLEASE do not be in the same Post/Zip code, let alone the same room as the Cavalier when it is recovered, if you do, you WILL be arrested.

Still, if money is not your motive contact Michael Maher below:

-

MICHAEL MAHER ASSOCIATES PTY. LIMITED
PH: 9977 1544 FAX: 9977 1983
Sydney Australia

Backstory: http://stolenvermeer.blogspot.com/2009/01/stolen-art-watch-homesick-cavalier.html

Stolen Art Watch, Sweden, Royal Family Victim of Chinese Whispers !!!

STOCKHOLM — A gang of thieves on Friday staged a remarkable break-in near the Swedish royal family’s residence in Stockholm, smashing display cases at a historic 18th-century Chinese-style landmark and getting away with artifacts that police called potentially priceless.

The heist at the ornate Chinese Pavilion, a birthday gift from King Adolf Fredrik to Queen Lovisa Ulrika in 1753, took just six minutes, and occurred just after security guards had made their rounds at 2 a.m., police spokeswoman Diana Sundin said.

“The alarm went off just as the guards had passed by,” she said. Guards immediately returned to the scene, but the burglars had already vanished, she said.

The burglars are believed to have entered the building by smashing the glass on the pavilion’s back door. Once inside, they shattered three display cases, she said, and made off with an unknown number of “old, beautiful Chinese objects.”

“It might not even be possible to put a value on these objects. That’s how bad it is,” she said. She could not say specifically what was stolen, but the pavilion is known for its display of Chinese artifacts including porcelain, China and vases.

The original small wooden Chinese pleasure palace was replaced by a more robust structure in the 1760s and has rich, European rococo interiors along with its collection of chinoiserie. It is located near the royal family’s permanent residence in the Drottningholm Palace park in western Stockholm. Both are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Sundin said there are currently no suspects in the case, but that there are indications that there were at least three people involved in the burglary.

She also said police are investigating a motor bike found abandoned in the nearby waterfront that borders the majestic park.

“Right now, everything points toward them having left via the water,” Sundin said, adding they may have had a boat waiting for them as they fled the scene.

Art Hostage Comments:

Baha and Dieya Kadhum in the frame, modus vivendi............

Here Come The Girls !!

League of organized burglars are operating in Stockholm.

The extent of their ‘business’ is bigger than previously anticipated.

As it seems; there are two groups which are responsible for a clear majority of the break-ins.

The groups normally work in a very professional way.

They make however mistakes; in the home of one of the victims the police found communication equipment and tools for climbing on the outside wall that were left on the scene of the crime.

One of the groups, with roots in South America, seems to have only females in leading positions which is a bit unusual.

This is just the tip of the iceberg

Update:
Breaking news: Meanwhile, a Degas and two Toulouse-Lautrec paintings were stolen from a home in the upmarket Neuilly area in the suburbs of Paris. Thieves broke in as the 80 year-old resident was away on holiday.

A total of five works of art, which include a picture of two of Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, were stolen from the home of an elderly woman of 88 years in Neuilly-sur-Seine, outside Paris.

The woman, who at the time of the looting was on vacation, denounced last August 2 theft of five paintings.

The titles of the works or their market value have gone beyond the media.

The robbers entered the building through the roof and pierced a window with an object that could be a diamond, according to the victim, alerted to the incident by the doorman of the building.

The paintings were not insured and the house of the victim did not have an alarm system.

The paintings are the work of French subtracted Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas and Marie Laurencin.

Encore:

Edgar Degas “Les Choristes (The Chorus)", missing from the Cantini Museum Marseille since last December, time to put in an appearence me thinks.

Perhaps pressure on the guard bore fruit, or BRB made a raid and recovered it during the operation.

A sting operation, a hand back, secret talks have been going on in Paris, so, let the cards fall where they may !!!

Jacques Dallest is a bit of a maverick, has he made the deal and allowed the Degas “Les Choristes (The Chorus)" to surface ???

Stolen Art Watch, Prince Andrew Art Heist Attempt, Queen Mother Desks Targeted, Who and What Next ????

Hugh Buchanan,
‘Desks in the Royal Lodge’, 2000
The Royal Collection

A GANG of sinister intruders smashed their way into the estate where Prince Andrew and Fergie live.

Three or four men, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, demolished gates with a Range Rover.

They drove around the grounds at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berks, for several minutes before being spotted on CCTV and fleeing.

Andrew, 50, and his daughters Princesses Beatrice, 21, and Eugenie, 20, were on holiday in Scotland with the Queen. His ex-wife, the Duchess of York, 50, who lives in another part of the Lodge, was in Spain.

No police were on duty at the time because the royals were away.

The gang passed near the Royal Chapel of All Saints - a small church where the Queen often worships - and even briefly got out on foot to explore the gardens.

When they knew they had been rumbled they sped off and escaped through little-known back roads and tracks.

Investigation

A police source said last night: "They could have been burglars who didn't realise they were breaking into a royal home. Or they could have been terrorists bent on mayhem.

"It looked like a well-planned operation because they were disguised and knew how to escape through back roads."

Beatrice and Eugenie returned from holiday yesterday to find their home - where the Queen Mother used to live - crawling with armed cops.

The source said: "This incident highlights how easy it would be for someone to get in and plant a bomb or to hide. It should never be allowed to happen and a major investigation is under way."

The incident happened on Monday morning at around 5am. The source went on: "If they hadn't been seen, who knows what device they could have planted?"

Prince Andrew has constantly fought against proposed cutbacks to royal security, particularly for his daughters, who are fifth and sixth in line to the throne.

Prince Andrew inherited Royal Lodge after the Queen Mum's death in 2002.

Update:

A 43-year-old man was arrested on “suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft” after three people broke into the grounds of the home of Britain’s Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, police said on Thursday.

(He has since been released on bail until 16 September.)

The intruders entered the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, west of London, in a car on Monday, but did not get into the building and nothing was taken, a police spokeswoman said.

The prince and his daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, were not there at the time. His ex-wife, Sarah, who has remained good friends with the prince and lives in a separate part of Royal Lodge, was also away.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Art Hostage Comments:

This was an attempt to steal high value art and antiques.

Specifically, the Queen Mother desks in the photo above, which is a watercolour by Hugh Buchanan commissioned for the 100th Birthday of Queen Mother in 2000.

Suspect has since been released on bail until 16 September.

"If at first they don't succeed, they will try, try and try again" is the message from the Art Crime Underworld.

What happened next, this below:

http://arthostage.blogspot.com/2010/08/stolen-art-watch-prince-andrew-lucky.html

Update:

I kid you not, the link below is for a festival that promotes art theft, teaches it as well,

http://www.glasswerk.co.uk/news/national/9644/%C2%A35000+Worth+Of+Art+To+Be+Stolen+At+Standon+Calling

"Get the fuck outta here" as they say in New York