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Friday, September 28, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, John Hogan exposed as Brigadier Gordon Kerr's Top Informant !!



Derry INLA uncover 'British agent'

The 'Journal' can reveal that one of the INLA's most senior members in Derry has been working as a British agent for more than 20 years.
A source close to the INLA says it recently discovered the man has been passing information to both MI5 and police Special Branch since 1985.

It’s thought that the man, believed to be from the Greater Shantallow area of the city, was a central figure in the organisation throughout the 1980s and 1990s. As such, it’s understood he would have been aware of all INLA operations in the city.

The INLA source revealed that the man was a key member of the organisation until the late 1990s and, since then, had continued to be involved with the IRSP - the organisation’s political wing - and served at a high level in the party.

The source told the ‘Journal’: “We have just discovered an informer within the organisation. He has been passing information to the British security forces since 1985 and getting paid for it. He met with his MI5 and Special Branch handlers regularly, as often as every two weeks, to pass on information. He was in a central position within the INLA in the 1980s and would have known details of every operation taking place in the Derry area.

“He was a big figure within the INLA. In fact, he would have been a very central figure in the INLA up until eight or nine years ago. Since then he worked largely with the IRSP. We believe that, during this time, he continued to pass on low level intelligence on the activities of the IRSP. He was working for his handlers right up to when he was uncovered,” the source said.

Being ‘debriefed’

It’s suggested that the man is currently being “debriefed” by the INLA in Derry.

The source added: “He is being very co-operative. He is giving a full account of the information he passed to his handlers.The debriefing could be a long process because he was passing information for such a long time and meeting his handlers so regularly.”

According to the INLA source, the man is not under any threat from the organisation. “He has nothing to fear from the INLA. He is co-operatiing with the republican socialist movement and there is no threat against him,” the source said.

A spokesperson for the IRSP condemned the recruitment of informers and encouraged anyone in a similar position to come forward.

“As a political party, we condemn any efforts by a foreign government to infiltrate our party. We would also encourage anyone else who may find themselves in a similar position of working for British intelligence to come forward and they will get a sympathetic ear from us.”



Art Hostage comments:

Looks like John Hogan has some explaining to do !!
A'h, that's why Dessie O'Hare and Declan Duffy are getting so much flack, they are guilty of not succumbing to the charms of Brigadier Gordon Kerr and his Merry Murderous band, not ever becoming Brit military intelligence spies, sticking to their Irish Republican ideals, OK, with a bit of criminal enterprise thrown in.


A strange paradox, Dessie O'Hare, Declan Duffy, Declan McGlinchey etc have never, ever, been Touts, never, ever, co-operated with the Brit's, what do they get for this, a Contract taken out on their lives, thank god no-one has taken up this contract hit.


Whatever one may think about Dessie and the two Declans, they have worked for the Irish Republican cause unstintingly, and yes lined their own pockets, love them or hate them, they are either "Stand up guys" or politically naive, art hostage thinks the former.


As Brigadier Gordon Kerr's secret informant, John Hogan was asked by Brigadier Gordon Kerr to try and secure the stolen Gardner art for Dick Ellis, who is an old friend of Brigadier Gordon Kerr.


Seems like that route has now been closed, so perhaps the sting operations to secure the stolen Gardner art will finally stop.

Maybe some honesty and truthfulness will be forthcoming.

Watch out for Mr McGinley and Mr Sheridan's double cross game being exposed.

Brothers of charity, my arse, Brothers of Opportunity more like !!

Ask yourself why was the Gardner Museum robbed?

Answer this then you will realise the INLA connection.

The American connection:




It is no wonder the Gardner art has not been recovered, authorities will not allow any reward money to be forwarded to these guys.



Ironically, authorities would gladly allow reward money to be paid to Irish Gangsters, if they promise to spend it on high living and not political purposes.

Update:

John Hogan has been allowed to leave Ireland in disgrace due to the sincere Olive branch extended to him by the Honourable Mr Willie Gallagher, who I must add, has acted with a political maturity normally befitting a statesman.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Malachy McAllister Moves to Canada Until Gardner Art is Returned !!




Mum begs: let my son stay in US


Monday, September 24, 2007

By Stephen Breen

The mother of a former republican prisoner facing deportation from America has expressed fears for her son's future.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph from her south Belfast home last night, Ellen McAllister told how she pleaded with the US government to allow her son, Malachy, and two of his children, Sean and Nicola, to remain in New Jersey.

The father-of-four fled his Ormeau Road home in 1998 after a Red Hand Commando gang came within inches of killing his family.

Mrs McAllister issued her plea after the Irish American Unity Conference lobby group claimed the family's deportation was "imminent".

The 77-year-old, who has just returned from a six-week trip to the United States, said the final decision on her son's deportation now rests with senators there.

She claimed her son's family would be "ripped apart" if he was forced to return to Belfast.

Mrs McAllister said: "My son is no threat to anyone. What crimes have my two grandchildren committed?

"I can't believe this is happening and I just hope the politicians allow him to remain in America.

" He hasn't been able to scatter his wife's ashes because he doesn't know where he's going to be in a few weeks time. We hope to know soon one way or the other what's going to happen.

"It will break his heart to bring only two of his children back to Belfast because they will have to start all over again.

"He has been making a positive contribution to America and should be allowed to continue the life that he has led for the last 20 years."

The ex-prisoner told how he had "exhausted" the judicial process in his bid to remain in the United States.

Malachy said: "It's now just a case of waiting to see if the senators can get legislation through which will allow my family to remain in the US.

"This is a humanitarian issue. My kids grew up in America and they don't know anything different. They are being affected by a circumstance which is completely out of their control."

McAllister (50), who has met with former US President Bill Clinton to discuss case, was jailed in the 1980s after being implicated by republican supergrass Harry Kirkpatrick.




Art Hostage comments:

I have the perfect solution, if the U.S. Govt insists on Malachy McAllister leaving the United States, he should be allowed to move just over the border into Canada, why it was Canada from where he entered the United States.

I am sure Prime Minister Harper would be willing to oblige and offer a way out of this unique case.

Once Malachy McAllister is in Canada, then as soon as the stolen Gardner art, Vermeer included, is returned to the Gardner Museum in Boston, Malachy McAllister can return to the United States as a reward for his efforts, and then he can be afforded citizen status.

This plan will suit everyone and prevent Malachy McAllister having to return to Belfast.
I am certain with all the powerful wealthy friends Malachy has gained, not least the Clinton's, funding for this venture will be forthcoming.


From a political perspective, what better way to attract the Irish vote in America, 40 million Americans claim some Irish ancestry, than for Democrats/Republicans to show solidarity with Malachy McAllister as not only a dividend of the Irish Peace Process, but also this Humane act of protecting the McAllister family can be By-partisan and of huge benefit to America as the Land of the Free and a safe haven for those who face persecution if deported.


OK, forget all the flowery rhetoric, the deal is allow Malachy McAllister to settle just inside Canada until he uses his connections to achieve the safe return of the Stolen Gardner Art.


Off the record, we all know the circumstances surrounding the original theft of the Gardner art and the Irish Republican connections.

By allowing Malachy McAllister to remain in the United States, or at the very least, to reside just over the border in Canada, there is much political capital to be made.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Dessie, Declan, Duffy and McGlinchey, Save Malachy and Children, Get the Gardner Art Returned !!




Malachy McAllister, right, with John Corzine Jersey Governor, centre.


US 'may boot ex-INLA man out in 2 weeks'

Sunday, September 23, 2007

By Stephen Breen

A former republican prisoner facing deportation from the United States could be home within two weeks.

Speaking to Sunday Life from his New Jersey home, Malachy McAllister told how US senators will give a decision on his battle to remain in the States before the end of the month.

The father-of-four - who fled Belfast in 1988 after a Red Hand Commando gang came within inches of killing his family - hopes the politicians will support his campaign to stay.

McAllister (50) spoke after the Irish American Unity Conference lobby group claimed his deportation was "imminent".

He said: "I have exhausted the judicial process and it's now just a case of waiting to see if the senators can get legislation through which will allow my family to remain in the United States.

"We have a strong body of support here because people know that this is a humanitarian issue.

"My kids grew up in America and they don't know anything different. They are being affected by a circumstance which is completely out of their control.

"The case has obviously caused a considerable amount of concern to my family and I can only pray there will be a successful outcome to it."

McAllister, who has been backed by US congressmen Joe Crawley and Steve Rothman, is facing expulsion from his adopted country because of a conviction in the 1980s.

He was jailed when he signed a police statement after being implicated by republican supergrass Harry Kirkpatrick.

The weapons used in the attack on his home were later found - along with McAllister's personal details - in a loyalist arms dump.

McAllister's mother Ellen said her son's family would be "ripped apart" if he was forced to return to Belfast. She admitted: "My son and his two kids are no threat to anyone.

" What crimes have my two grandchildren committed?

"If he is such a threat why did they let him tour the White House?"

She added: "He hasn't even been able to scatter his wife's ashes because he doesn't know where he's going to be in a few weeks' time.

"It will break his heart to bring his children back to Belfast because he will have to start all over again.

"He is making a positive contribution to America and should be allowed to continue the life that he has led there for the last 20 years."


Art Hostage comments:

Backstory:







A personal plea to






Declan McGlinchey, and others !

If you guys can arrange for the Gardner art, Vermeer especially, to be handed back via a confession box, I am sure Malachy McAllister will be allowed to stay in the U.S.
Just show proof of life and I can get the wheels in motion, via Anthony Amore, head of security at the Gardner Museum, who will, in turn, lobby for this unique deal whereby the Vermeer and co surface, then Malachy McAllister can stay in the U.S.


Any direct payment of reward money is out of the question, you know the reasons why, law, politics etc, and the only way benefits can be obtained for the recovery of the Gardner art is through things other than direct payment of reward money.

Give it whirl, what a debt of gratitude Malachy McAllister and children will owe you guys, not to mention the nice little payday from General Thomas Slab Murphy, if his sectarian tax demand is withdrawn !!

Anthony Amore is a stand up guy and "really" can be trusted, he can be reached on

Boston 617 278 5114, or e-mail theft@isgm.org

As this will only be a deal agreed to allow the Gardner Art, Vermeer etc to surface "stings" don't apply, just when and where to collect the Gardner Art will suffice.

Furthermore, a little bit of expert advice for anyone who has credible information about the Gardner art, Anthony Amore is point man and key to any deals regarding the stolen Gardner art.

Forget all of us, Art Hostage, Dick Ellis, Charlie Hill, Rocky etc trying to reach a deal for the Gardner art, Anthony Amore is the "Real Deal"

Time for "Re-Defining Terrorism" A study of speeches by President Bill Clinton could hold the key to combating the Dark Side in the 21st century.

From Art Theft to Al Qaeda, the Devil finds work for idle hands !!
What's Anthony Amore's number again?

Boston 617 278 5114 or e-mail theft@isgm.org

Friday, September 14, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Jimmy Woulfe Playing Catch Up, Join the Dots For Gardner Art !!


14 September 2007

Bulgarian rifle range price war attracting Irish criminal gangs

By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

A SALES war among a proliferation of rifle ranges in Bulgaria is attracting increasing numbers of Irish criminal gangs for target practice, as reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner.

Six members of a notorious Limerick gang which travelled to the Bulgarian city of Varna were robbed of all their money when they were held at gun point by members of the Bulgarian mafia.

The McCarthy-Dundon gang members were targeted after they produced wads of US dollars when they went to target practice at one of the many firing ranges near the city.

Out partying later that night they were held up and forced to hand over all their cash, watches and mobile phones.

A price war has broken out on the internet among a myriad of firing ranges in Bulgaria making the country a popular destination for Irish gangs wishing to sharpen up their shooting skills while taking in the delights offered by Varna, which is Bulgaria’s main Black Sea resort.

For as little as $15 (€11) a person can fire off up to 100 rounds from a variety of weaponry. Guns on offer for practice include Maverick pump-action 12-calibre shotguns, Taurus handguns and 357 Magnums.

Previously, Limerick gang members preferred to travel to Florida for gun practice sessions. They travelled as tourists on the pretext of visiting Disney World.

Low-cost weekly flights from Shannon to Burgas have made Bulgaria the number one destination for Limerick gang members who want to go to sun destinations on working holidays. Burgas is only 30 minutes drive from Varna.

The bad experience of members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang has caused concern in Limerick gang circles.

Varna is a major centre for the Bulgarian mafia who have forged strong links with the deadly Russian mafia.

Mostly made up of former security force members, they control all serious crime in Varna, a big part of which involves the theft of valuable cars for export.

Art Hostage comments:

H,mm, who do we know has allot of property interests in Burgas, Bulgaria, click links below to join the dots:??

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article518611.ece

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n117777

http://bristle.wordpress.com/2007/07/24/and-in-bulgarian-news/

http://richarddelevan.blogspot.com/2005/02/what-did-phil-flynn-know-and-when-did.html

Anti-social behaviour stems profits and is not tolerated by Irish and Bulgarian/Russian Godfathers alike, be it General Thomas Slab Murphy, Semion Mogilevich or General Lyuben Gocev, Ivan "The Doctor" Todorov and Vasil "The Scull" Bozhkov

Jimmy Woulfe dearly wants to report the Art Hostage story but is hampered by his burden of office.



Now back to the stolen Gardner art, Vermeer and co please !!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Gardner Art Can Bring Peace Between Irish Republicans and Irish Gangsters, Stolen Art For Peace !!

Sorry, no pictures, this is the real deal.

13 September 2007

Dinner and just desserts for gang’s ‘working holiday’

By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

Irish Examiner

IN A more Simpsons than Sopranos moment, members of Limerick’s most feared gang were robbed while on a “working holiday” recently.


If that was not enough to turn the stoniest face of the hardest criminal a deep crimson, it all happened when the Limerick troupe were on a gun-practice holiday with some of the most horrifying hoods from Britain’s “Yardies” gang.

Six key criminal figures in the McCarthy-Dundon gang, having tired of firing lead at barn doors in Limerick, decided to head off to Bulgaria to bang some bullets there.

After days of filling the air with cordite, the gun slingers decided to have a night out boozing and banqueting in Varna.

But the leader of the gang and five sidekicks found themselves surrounded by armed Bulgarian mafia members and robbed of all their money, credit cards and passports.

A source in Limerick said last night: “The lads were over to get in some machinegun practice. There are great facilities over there with no questions asked.”

The six members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang returned to Limerick soon after.

The gang leader narrowly escaped death four years ago when a gunman opened fired with an AK47 assault rifle as he sat outside his home in the Moyross area.

Several members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang were sent to Florida some years ago to improve their shooting skills after they failed to kill a well-known criminal rival, despite hitting him with 14 bullets in the upper body.

At that time the gang members travelled to the US on the pretext of visiting Disney World.

However, they moved on to a shooting range, spending thousands of dollars on target practice using a wide range of weaponry.

Behind The Bulgarian Mafia is The Global Irish Republican Billion Dollar Property Empire, Eminating From South Armagh.
http://richarddelevan.blogspot.com/2005/02/what-did-phil-flynn-know-and-when-did.html

The Irish Independent publishes this blockbuster story by Sam Smyth -- linking one of Bertie Ahern's most trusted advisors to the finance firm at the centre of the Cork arrests and, by implication, to the Northern Bank robbery.

ONE of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's most trusted troubleshooters is linked to a Cork-based finance company at the centre of the investigation into the money seized yesterday by gardai.
Banker Phil Flynn is a director in Chesterton Finance, the money-lending company whose other two directors are being questioned by detectives about yesterday's seizure of cash in Co Cork.
Last night, Mr Flynn was trying to contact Irene Johnstone (53) and Ted Cunningham (56), both directors of Chesterton, who were helping gardai with their
inquiries.
Mr Flynn, the current chairman of the Bank of Scotland (Ireland), said last night he has been a director of Chesterton Finance for six months and he had checked the company out before he became a director.
He said: "I know Chesterton is clean. I had it checked out before I became a director six months ago."
Mr Flynn... said he had been trying to get in touch with Ms Johnstone and Mr Cunningham but could not get a reply from their telephones. He added: "Chesterton is not a big operation, it does short-term lending to people who can't get a loan elsewhere."
He continued: "The company lends against an asset and loans up to half of the asset's value."
Mr Flynn added: "It (Chesterton) is a small company. At any time it has just one to two million out on loan."
Who's Flynn? An ex-vice president of Sinn Fein, a former trade unionist, chairman of the Bank of Scotland in Ireland. Here's another profile, drawn up when he was parachuted in to try and fix decentralisation.

The Taoiseach is known to trust Mr Flynn's advice and he has been asked to deal with a number of very sensitive issues for Bertie Ahern.
Ted Cunningham and Irene Johnstone, who sit on the board of Chesterton Finance with Mr Flynn, are also directors of another company, Finance & Legal Clients Ltd (normal).
Unimaginable buzz at moment - sources close to government say the next 48 hours are going to be a whirlwind. So fasten your seatbelts, kids. We're in for a bumpy weekend.

Charlie Bird - wanker that he is - on Morning Ireland just now refused to credit Sam Smyth or the Indo, and talked about his conversations this morning with Flynn, who confirmed the substance of the Indo story.

Also, it was Flynn's brother whose Dundalk house was raided by the Criminal Assets Bureau on a document hunt, reports Bird.

In fairness, Flynn has never made a secret of his political leanings or contacts. But where does it all lead?

Tags: ireland, Northern Ireland, irish, irishblogs, Sinn Fein, IRA, corruption, Phil Flynn,

UPDATE: Charlie Bird added credit to Indo and Sam Smyth in later bulletin. Apparently even three Charlie Birds weren't enough for Charlie Bird to ignore common courtesy.

UPDATE 2: Irish Examiner profiles fellow Chesterton director Ted Cunningham. With picture.

Ted Cunningham was placed under surveillance by Special Branch detectives after he was witnessed attending a meeting with a pair of Bulgarian arms dealers who travelled to Ireland six months ago.

It is believed he had secured contracts to launder as much as €10m in republican money over a period of time, not just from IRA sources but also possibly the INLA.

Mr Cunningham is listed in the Companies Office as being a director of nine companies: * Chesterton Mortgage Co Ltd. * Insurance Concepts Ltd. * Tullybeg Retirement Village Ltd. Beechlawn Golf Course and Driving Range Ltd. * Highbury Holdings Ltd. * Firmount Developments Ltd. * Midlands Projects Ltd. * Wolfe Tone Holdings Ltd. * Cave Hill Holdings. There is no suggestion of illegality on the part of any of these companies.


General Thomas Slab Murphy to build village in Burgas vicinities, Bulgaria.

24 July 2007 05:10 FOCUS News Agency



Sofia. Two companies run by Aden and Stephen Murphy – alleged relatives of Thomas Murphy (considered head of IRA fighters) have been registered in Burgas,with plans to build up a village area near the seaside town, the Bulgarian 24 Chasa daily writes.

According to lawyers, the two Irishmen are clients of Bulbank, as they have for some time been receiving their mail at the address of the bank’s branch in town. There are reports of letters arriving there, demanding that the two men disclose the origin of money, coming in as transfers from abroad.


‘Bulbank strictly abides by the legal provisions for check-ups in such cases. And if there are any hints of possible breaches, the bank immediately informs the authorities in charge’, the press office of the bank commented.


Relatives of IRA Chief Slab Murphy Register Firms in Bulgaria

23 July 2007, Monday

Relatives of Thomas “Slab” Murphy, the Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, have registered two firms in Bulgaria in January, a journalistic enquiry of the 24 hours daily revealed.

The two men, sharing the Muprhy family name are Steven and Eiden, who are believed to be Slab’s brother’s sons.

Steven and Eiden have registered the firms “A M” and “B D” on January 24 in Bulgaria at the same address, 8 Mara Gidik Street. In addition to the same family name and the same address registration, the two provided the same address in Ireland - a farm in the village of Ballybinaby, Hackballs Cross in the County Louth.

This is the same place where Slab Murphy lives.

Many Irish citizens have come to Bulgaria and registered their own firms in order to purchase real estate, since the country joined the European Union in January.

Murphy was involved with the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA before becoming Chief of Staff of the IRA Army Council. An ex-correspondent for the Daily Telegraph has named him as planning the Warrenpoint Ambush of 1979, in which 18 British soldiers were killed, and was also allegedly implicated in the Mullaghmore bombing the same day.

Accused by the Sunday Times of directing an IRA bombing campaign in Britain, in 1987 Murphy unsuccessfully sued the paper for libel in Dublin.

In October 2005, officers of the British Assets Recovery Agency and the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau carried out raids on a number of businesses in Manchester and Dundalk.

It has been extensively reported in the media that the investigation is aimed at damaging the suspected multi-million pound empire of Murphy, who according to the BBC’s Underworld Rich List, has accumulated up to GBP £40 Million through smuggling oil, cigarettes, grain and pigs; as well as through silent or partial ownership in legitimate businesses, and in property.



Ahern speaks of 'red herring' at Mahon Tribunal

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Mahon Tribunal today that he has waited more than seven years to clear his name over bribe allegations designed to damage him personally and politically.


Reading an opening statement to the anti-corruption inquiry at Dublin Castle, a combative Mr Ahern insisted he never took money for political favours in his 30-year political career.

He also rebutted specific Tribunal claims that almost £30,000 cash lodged in a bank by his former partner in 1994 was actually a sum of 45,000 US dollars.


A packed 200-seat public gallery joined more than 100 journalists in the Tribunal building for today`s public sitting, dubbed one of Mr Ahern`s biggest political tests.

"There is no dollars. There were never any dollars. It is a complete red herring," Mr Ahern told the Tribunal from the witness box.

"No dollars were received by me. No dollars were ever lodged."

Tribunal counsel Des O`Neill SC asked Mr Ahern why he had not made his lengthy statement before today.

Mr Ahern said: "I didn`t finish this statement until late last night."

He added: "I have been tormented about theses issues since May 8 2000. I have waited seven-and-a-half years for this day."

The Taoiseach claimed that media leaks from the Tribunal earlier this year were "calculated to do me enormous personal and political damage."

In the first day of two days of direct evidence, Mr Ahern said: "I did nothing improper. I did no wrong and I wronged nobody."

Mr Ahern`s former partner Celia Larkin insisted at the inquiry yesterday that she lodged almost £30,000 in sterling notes in December 1994 to pay for refurbishment work on a Dublin house the politician was expecting to rent.

The owner of the house, Manchester businessman Michael Wall told the Tribunal on Tuesday that he gave the money in a briefcase to Mr Ahern in his constituency office.

The Mahon Tribunal is investigation allegation of planning corruption surrounding the development of a shopping centre in West Dublin in the 1990s.



Art Hostage comments:

In order to put a stop to this developing situation and in the interests of peace, perhaps the McCarthy/Dundon Clans would be so kind as to use their considerable influence and control to allow the stolen Gardner art, Vermeer and co, to surface, via a confession box, as a an Olive branch to Irish Republicans who control the Billion dollar European property empire.

Once this is achieved, any sectarian tax demand of General Thomas Slab Murphy, indeed all the Murphy family, should be withdrawn forthwith.

The net result will be the stolen Gardner art is re-united with its Maternal, Spiritual home, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, any feud between Limerick clans and Irish Republicans is stopped before it can turn deadly, no reward money is paid to those who currently control the Gardner Art, and even a ceasefire called by dissident Republicans.

Any monetary reward for the McCarthy/Dundon clans can come from a grateful General Thomas Slab Murphy, who, I am sure, will show his appreciation for facilitating the Sectarian Tax demand withdrawal.

O'h and why we are at the peace-making, how about Declan Duffy and Dessie O'Hare being afforded the respect they deserve, enough already with the attempted hiring of a hitman.

When I request Peace, I also mean Piece, spread it around, there is enough for everyone, greed only gets everyone Fucked, Nicked/Arrested, or both.

Not one to miss a window of opportunity, Art Hostage firmly believes if this course of action is taken then all concerned will benefit, rather than an all out war.

Don't forget to join the dots from the streets of Limerick to the Irish Political Godfathers, via South Armagh, Billion dollar property Empire and Bulgaria.

Bertie Ahern is looking forward to a well deserved holiday, where, you guessed it, Bulgaria !!

To be continued......................................

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Dick Ellis, of QUINTONS FARM HOUSE GROVE LANE ASHFIELD STOWMARKET IP146LZ The Truth Behind the Art Hostage Myth !!









Art Hostage would like to take this opportunity to clarify the facts surrounding the audacious recovery of these three stolen artworks, above, by Ex-Head of Scotland Yard's Art Squad, Richard "Dick" Ellis, of   
QUINTONS FARM HOUSE
GROVE LANE
ASHFIELD
STOWMARKET
IP146LZ

below.




The £50,000 reward remains unpaid by the insurers AXA and I can state categorically that Dick Ellis has not, I repeat, has not, received one single penny of the £50,000 reward advertised.

The Moron who gave back all three paintings in one go, and then would not reveal his source when interviewed by London Acton Police, deserved to be locked up for being so thick and moronic.

Any blame for failing to collect the reward money falls squarely at the feet of the Moronic Second hand car dealer who handed back the three artworks, for thinking he could collect a ransom.

Furthermore, Dick Ellis spelt out clearly what would happen after recovery and how it would depend on London Acton Police to decide if a reward should be paid.

From a criminal perspective, given all the facts presented honestly by Dick Ellis, the Moronic Second Hand Car Dealer should have walked away, or at the very least consulted a lawyer to define his legal position and probabilities of collecting the reward legally.

Dick Ellis was just doing his job, the fact it turned out to be like taking candy from a baby is just a bonus.

Any comments about Dick Ellis receiving reward money and living "High on the Hog" were said Tongue in cheek and are not to taken as Gospel.

Dick Ellis was definitely not responsible for the Dinosaurs extinction, nor does Dick Ellis know there whereabouts of Bin Laden.

Any reference to these things are not to be taken seriously, no I mean it, really, Dick Ellis was not responsible for the Dinosaurs extinction !!


For the record, high value stolen art is always being offered back for rewards via Art Hostage and others.

Art Hostage gives an honest legal assessment of each case and then allows Underworld contacts to decide if they want carry through with any hand backs of stolen art.

The fact that Art Hostage has not recovered any stolen art recently is a sad indictment of the current attitude of Police and allows Art Hostage to retain the trust of the Underworld.

Art Hostage does not do "Stings, set up's", as they are short-sighted and counter productive for an honest negotiator.

Art Hostage leaves "stings and set-up's" for Police, it is after all, their job !!


Finally, it is worth considering how Crimestoppers operates.

An informant can give information anonymously and then collect a reward anonymously via a password at a high street bank, see website for details, below



This has proved effective and I wonder why the Police won't allow the Private sector to use the same tactic in recovering certain Iconic stolen works of art ?

I must say however, the way Crimestoppers operates inevitably breaches sections 21, 22, 23, and 27 of the 1968 Theft Act, therefore if this is allowed to go on at Crimestoppers why not use this method in recovering the Vermeer,Da Vinci, Cezanne, White Duck and other Iconic stolen artworks ?
 Dick Ellis, of  
QUINTONS FARM HOUSE
GROVE LANE
ASHFIELD
STOWMARKET
IP146LZ
 


Even as a youngster aged 12, below, Dick Ellis was searching for stolen art, !!


Monday, September 03, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Montreal 35 years and Counting, Stolen Gardner Art Boston 17.5 Years and Counting !!!




35 years after daring theft of paintings, mystery lingers
Bill Bantey

For CanWest News ServicePublished: Sunday, September 02, 2007


MONTREAL -- Were the paintings destroyed? Is the new "owner" sitting on them, afraid to show them off? Could they be in South America?

Thirty-five years ago tomorrow, three armed and hooded bandits broke into the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts through a skylight under repair and made off with 18 paintings and 37 objects of decorative arts and jewelry.


The three armed thieves used a ladder propped against a back wall of the museum to enter through the skylight which was only partially alarmed due to repairs.

Some 20 more paintings were left behind after the thieves accidentally set off a door alarm while leaving the museum.

It was the biggest theft in the museum's 112-year history. The loot, valued at $2 million by the museum, included a Rembrandt oil, Landscape with Cottages, valued at $1 million in 1972.

All but one of the stolen paintings -- a small Jan Breughel The Elder -- remain missing today.

David Giles Carter, director of the museum at the time of the robbery, says the worst possible scenario is that the paintings have been destroyed, perhaps because the pictures were too "hot" to be disposed of on the art market.

He says it's also possible the paintings are hidden somewhere by the new owner, who might be "sitting on them for a lifetime." Sean B. Murphy, then president of the museum, considers it possible the theft was a "robbery on consignment" and the works have found their way to South America.

"Many wonderful things happened at the museum during my presidency, but this was one of the worst," he said recently. "The lessons of the robbery are that a museum needs a first-rate security system and the insurance to go with it."

The museum now has that state-of-the-art system.
Another Breughel The Elder, two Corots, two Millets, a Courbet, a Daumier, a Delacroix and a Gainsborough were among the stolen art.

A second group of paintings, including an El Greco, a Picasso and a Tintoretto, were abandoned by the thieves when one of them inadvertently tripped an alarm near a side door.

Carter actually spoke to one of the thieves, he recalled. He gave the thief the nom de guerre "Port of Montreal" because those words appeared on a brown envelope the museum director received from the robbers containing snapshots of the works to prove they had them in their possession.

But negotiations eventually broke down when the thieves became suspicious -- with reason -- that a trap had been laid for them.

Carter was on holiday when the robbery occurred and returned to find "a scene of wartime desolation" in the gallery.

It was a "low ebb of fortune and morale." "A scene out of a movie" was how the museum's then-assistant registrar and chief of the catalogue Pauline Gravel described it.

The skylight through which the burglars entered was usually connected to the security system, but a construction crew working at the building had dropped a plastic sheet over the alarm, neutralizing it.

A first guard was surprised about 1:30 a.m. He had just made his rounds on the second floor and was preparing to take a tea break when the intruders ordered him to the ground.

He didn't move fast enough and one of the bandits fired his sawed-off shotgun into the ceiling. The two other guards on duty came to investigate and they, too, were overpowered, bound and gagged and made to lie on the floor of what was then known as Arthur Lismer Hall.

By the time one of the guards had freed himself and called police, an hour had passed. The art and the intruders were gone. It was about 3 a.m. The thieves had pulled off the robbery in about 30 minutes and escaped.

The thieves demanded a ransom of 25 per cent of the value of the stolen objects, $500,000, but later lowered the figure to $250,000.

Carter demanded further proof that the robbers still had the goods and asked that they produce one of the paintings. He was directed to a locker in Central Station. There Youngson found the missing painting by Breughel (Landscape With Buildings and Wagon).


Telephone lines were tapped but the calls were never long enough to be traced. A rendezvous was arranged by Carter, who told the thieves an insurance adjuster -- in reality, a police officer -- would bring cash to a meeting in exchange for one of the paintings.

The meeting was aborted, however, when a police patrol car was spotted nearby.





Art Hostage comments:

I wonder how many times these paintings have been offered back to the Montreal Museum via Police, but Police would not santion a deal/buy back ??????????????
I have put out the word to the Underworld, (I know a major underworld figure who has dealt in Canada, knows all the big criminal players) that Art Hostage is keen to hear if Authorities have been offered these pictures over the years but refused.
Also I want to know the current location of these stolen artworks, don't everyone !!
Unfortunately in 1972 current FBI Icon Robert Wittman was a young man and not the Worlds Greatest Art Sleuth as he is today.

Bloody shame, Bob Wittman would have got the Montreal pictures back and not allowed the sting to be exposed.

However, this case should act as a warning to those who seek to try and recover just one or two of the Stolen Gardner paintings.


Although it may be attractive to recover a couple of Gardner paintings during a sting operation, the net result will be driving the rest of the Gardner paintings deep underground where they may remain for another 20 years, replicating the Montreal case.


Art Hostage, on the other hand, would rather see a deal made that allows all the Gardner paintings to surface and then decisions can be made as to how and if there are to be charges, arrests, etc.

Bitter as the pill may be to swallow about paying a reward for the Gardner art, and the fact a deal may stick in the craw, what is the alternative?

Pay out the reward and keep record of where the money goes.


Or, even better, allow the Gardner paintings to surface, reward to be paid, then just apologise for incompetence in not being able to prosecute in the Gardner case and regard it as "The one that got away"

As with the Montreal paintings, the Gardner paintings are being held by organised crime and if a sting operation were to be successful it would only lead to the recovery of minor artworks, leaving the Vermeer etc "deep-sixed" and out of reach for many years to come.

This is a real dilemma for those of us who are desperate for the Vermeer and Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee to be recovered.

I want to make a personal plea to the staff at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

Please, please, please consider the wider picture before you embark on recovering minor stolen paintings from the Gardner Collection.
Would you rather have two pictures back and be deprived of the main ones and the rest???????

Is the lure of a few media headlines in recovering a couple of Stolen Gardner artworks worth risking not recovering the main ones, Vermeer etc for the next 20 years???

However, if the Vermeer and the Rembrandt were to be the initial two offered back by the Underworld, it may be worth getting those back in some kind of sting operation.


Problem is the people who have the Gardner art are not that gullible and I fear a gun battle and the loss of life if they are cornered.
Worse still, the Gardner paintings could be damaged.
Imagine, the Vermeer with bullet holes or ripped to shreds by the bad guys during the struggle.

That thought sends a shudder down my spine.

As I have been stating from the start, treat the Gardner case as a one off, a special case whereby a buy back is authorised, otherwise we will just have to wait in hope, as with the Montreal case 1972, 35 years and counting.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Da Vinci Theft 4 Years on !!


Police renew da Vinci theft plea

Detectives have renewed an appeal for information about the theft of a Leonardo da Vinci painting from a castle exactly four years ago.
Madonna with the Yarnwinder was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle, near Thornhill, in Dumfries and Galloway in 2003.

Detectives said they were still determined to find the painting, which belonged to the Duke of Buccleuch.

However, they admitted that they were no closer to catching the culprits, with no current lines of inquiry.

The artwork, which was painted between 1500 and 1510, had been in the Buccleuch family for almost 200 years.

Valued at about £30m, it depicts the Madonna with the infant Jesus holding a cross-shaped yarnwinder.

The painting was stolen in a raid involving four men. Two of them posed as visitors before overpowering a female staff member.

All four then made their escape in a white Volkswagen Golf, which was found abandoned nearby.

The painting was added to the FBI's list of the 10 most wanted pieces of stolen artwork in 2005.

A substantial award is available for information which leads to the recovery of the work.

Det Ch Insp Michael Dalgleish, of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, said: "Police in the region are still determined to recover the painting and bring those responsible for this crime to justice.

"However, we concede that there are currently no lines of investigation open to us.

"Consequently, we are renewing our appeal for information and are urging anybody who may have knowledge of the crime or whereabouts of the stolen painting to come forward."


Art Hostage comments:


Currently the Da Vinci is being held hostage by elements of Organised Crime.


The Duke of Buccleuch has purchased legal title back from the insurers, earlier this year for an undisclosed sum.


The Da Vinci was insured for the full amount, not for just £3 million as reported in the media.


The Duke of Buccleuch has a residue of £10 million plus to spend trying to recover the Da Vinci.


The Usual suspects of ex-Police art detectives have all been beating a path to the door of the Duke of Buccleuch with false promises of recovery as a lure to fund their expensive junkets.


The Duke of Buccleuch would gladly pay a reward of several million pounds to the person who reunites him with the Da Vinci.


Police however, will not issue a letter of absolute discretion, "Comfort Letter" before recovery and will refuse post-recovery.


Therefore, any payments made by the Duke of Buccleuch will be unlawful.


This unlawful act of payment is being used to lure intermediaries into a false sense of security.


Unfortunately Dick Ellis jumped the gun with his audacious recovery of the Bonnard etc and exposed the truth behind recovering stolen art lawfully.


Every negotiation about the Da Vinci is preceded by referring to the Dick Ellis Bonnard recovery and lawful contracts are being demanded under guidance of a lawyer before any more recoveries are made.


Read the account of how Dick Ellis recovered all three pictures, like taking candy from a baby, below:







Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley current head of the diminishing Scotland Yard Art and Antiques Squad said, and I quote


"I would rather the Da Vinci not be recovered than see any reward money paid, if the Da Vinci is recovered without arrests £50 pound is all I would allow to be paid"



Mark Dalrymple, the Art Loss adjuster, who was assigned to the Da Vinci case when legal title was owned by the insurers, was purposely vague when he offered a reward, £100,000, £200,000, he even said £1 million was available as reward, when he spoke at an Art Crime conference in London.



He did concede his hands were tied and could not, under any circumstances, pay a reward without a letter of absolute discretion, comfort letter. from Police.


Anyone who pays a reward unlawfully, including the Duke of Buccleuch, leaves themselves open to prosecution and blackmail, even if this unlawful payment results in the recovery of the Da Vinci.


Lord Rothschild tried going down the direct avenue to recover his stolen gold boxes, see back-story below:





The Rothschild boxes remain outstanding and Lord Rothschild was told he faced prosecution if he privately recovered his gold boxes and paid a reward.



Perverse as it may seem, the current handlers of the Da Vinci have floated the idea within Underworld circles of stealing another high profile artwork worth millions to hold whilst the Da Vinci deal is arranged.


If the Underworld gets stung on the Da Vinci they still retain the second high value artwork.


If the Da Vinci deal goes as according to the deal, then the second artwork is returned for free.


This constant Cat and Mouse game will only be broken when a reward of several million is signed into a legal agreement between the informant, his lawyer and Police, that enables the informant to provide the necessary information knowing the reward will be paid lawfully and under a binding legal contract.


If offered then I am sure Underworld figures would provide information leading to the recovery of the Da Vinci and even a few arrests for good measure.



However, Police would try and demand the original thieves and all the handlers, rather than some "Patsy" handler, who's excuse will be they were only looking after it for a friend, or did not know how it got there, or someone saying they bought the Da Vinci at a Car Trunk/Boot sale.


So, all the time it is only ex-Police officers who can claim rewards, informants will be reluctant to offer their services.



Ex-Police officers will still try and offer false promises of reward to gullible informants hoping for a break whilst still billing the victims for junkets.


Every so often someone will fall for the ruse and a stolen artwork will surface, the informant will be told to "Move along, nothing more to see here"


The really high profile stolen artworks will remain out of reach, unless political forces allow a special, private, government authorised recovery, like that of the Turners, belonging to the Tate Gallery.
This was clear "buy back" sanctioned by the powers that be.
All investigations into how the Tate recovered their stolen paintings have been suppressed by the establishment and media whores.


Make no mistake, any reward money that is paid will go to someone who has knowledge of the crime and subsequent handling, be that an ex-police officer investigating, an informant using inside information, and of course those handling and their friends.


It is at what level payments can be made and be acceptable is the question.

At the moment it stops at ex-police officers.


I do fear however, that any successful attempt to sting the people holding the Da Vinci may prove fatal and only act as a further incentive to commit further, more violent art crimes against an ever vulnerable wealthy art collecting community.
A dilemma for authorities that helps explain the lukewarm plea for help in recovering the Da Vinci, 4 years on.
The Da Vinci has become a Pawn and the paradox is, by not recovering the Da Vinci in a sting operation, authorities are preventing a backlash.
To be continued................................




Saturday, August 25, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Drones With A Sting in An Irish Oligarchy !!





Artwork stolen Culloden Hotel







A painting by one of Northern Ireland's best-known artists has been stolen from a hotel.



Holywood Harbour, an oil painting by Brian Ballard, left, was discovered missing from the luxury Culloden Hotel in Co Down, on Thursday morning.It is estimated to be worth around £15,000



Police have appealed for anyone offered the painting for sale to contact them.






The theft is believed to have taken place within the past two weeks.




Art Hostage comments



Would it be a dam cheek, if whilst checking out a Hotel to hand back the Stolen Gardner Art, the u,mm's helped themselves to this artwork?


Unlike the Palestinians, who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, these fast moving, quick thinking Drones with a sting, how Plato would describe them, saw a chance to gain another artwork with little risk for their days wages.


The Stolen Vermeer must be given back in a fashion that does not involve an exchange.


Because of legal restraints anyone giving back the Vermeer expecting something in return will be arrested and will not receive any reward.


However, if a deal is reached before the recovery, the Vermeer can be recovered, via a confession box, separately and as a result of an anonymous tip off for location, via Art Hostage if I am to be the "Chosen one."


The Stolen Ballard painting is worth the £15,000 retail but only £5,000 legal trade value, £1,000 as a stolen painting and if offered back for ransom, £2,500.


The stolen Ballard painting exchanged for drugs is about an ounce of high grade Cocaine from a major drug dealer, whose bulk cost is about £800 per ounce, the drugs can sold for £2,500 street price and then the stolen Ballard can be retrieved from the drug dealer.


However, as in many art theft cases, the thieves tend to take some of the drugs and never retrieve the stolen painting.


This means the drug dealer looks to sell the stolen painting on to a Criminal venture capitalist.


The Criminal venture capitalist pays about £1,500 for the stolen Ballard and will look to sell it to some successful builder or new money art collector, who still retains the street culture although they are successful in their honest business life as a tradesman etc.


The Ballard would then become a bragging point for the new money art collector not expecting any of his friends to inform on him.


The stolen Ballard would then stay in the new money art collection until death or divorce and then perhaps would surface.



The price to this new money art collector would be £3,000 showing a 100% return for the criminal venture capitalist so there are huge profits for handling stolen art.


With the Police in re-active mode and the judiciary treating art theft as a soft crime, the stealing of high value art will remain a low risk, high profit criminal enterprise that is not only traumatic for the victims, but also really makes people pissed when public artworks are stolen and removed from public view.



Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Gardner Art For Lighter Sentence ??




Armagh men held in joint op

Two men from Armagh were being questioned about a £350,000 drugs seizure in Co Donegal.


They were detained in Falcarragh in an operation involving police on both sides of the border.

Garda confirmed that 50kg (110lb) of herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of 500,000 euros (nearly £350,000) was recovered in the village`s main street on Monday afternoon.


The two men, aged 47 and 25, were taken into custody for questioning at Letterkenny.

A house in the Ballyness area of Falcarragh, as well as a house in Armagh, were also searched as part of a follow-up operation which also involved Customs officers.



It is believed the drugs came in from Amsterdam through Dublin Airport.

They are thought to have been transported in a container of computer parts.






Art Hostage comments:


It is interesting to note that those who claim to have access to the stolen Vermeer etc from the Gardner Museum in Boston, Mr Sheridan and Mr McGinley, who Charlie Hill has been courting, are connected to this drug bust.


Interesting Charlie Hill has been in Spain negotiating with ex-pat Irish godfathers about the Gardner Art and then this drug route is exposed.


Pursuing stolen art is one thing, drug busting is certainly more dangerous and something that should be avoided if at all possible.


Interesting to note the solicitors acting are:


Sheridan & Co

Main Street, Lr Letterkenny

Donegal

074-9128811



Mcginley & Co

74 Upper Main Street, Letterkenny

Donegal

074-9127059



Interesting to note that the arrested men are from Armagh, stronghold of the South Armagh IRA Brigade, historically lead by by General Thomas Slab Murphy.


With all of this double-dealing going on I hope the Gardner Art will not be damaged during the sting operation.


Why can't authorities offer a lighter sentence for the recovery of the Gardner Art?


At least then the Gardner Art can surface via a confession box, undamaged and not used as a bargaining chip to trap criminals.


It is about time the Gardner art is plucked from the clutches of the underworld before sting operations drive it deeper and out of sight for another decade or so.


Actions speak louder than words, make the deal before it is too late.



Sunday, August 19, 2007

Harry Potter Author To Profit From Crime, Art Crime ???


Report: J.K. Rowling Writing Crime Novel

By DAVID STRINGER

The Associated Press
Sunday, August 19, 2007; 1:01 AM

LONDON -- J.K. Rowling has been spotted at cafes in Scotland working on a detective novel, a British newspaper reported Saturday.

The Sunday Times newspaper quoted Ian Rankin, a fellow author and neighbor of Rowling's, as saying the creator of the "Harry Potter" books is turning to crime fiction.

"My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel," the newspaper, which was available late Saturday, quoted Rankin as telling a reporter at an Edinburgh literary festival.

"It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes," said Rankin, who is known for his own police novels set in the historic Scottish city.

Rowling famously wrote initial drafts of the Potter story in the Scottish city's cafes. Back then, she was a struggling single mother who wrote in cafes to save on the heating bill at home.

Now she's Britain's richest woman _ worth $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine _ and her seven Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide.

In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Rowling said she believed she was unlikely to repeat the success of the Potter series, but confirmed she had plans to work on new books.

"I'll do exactly what I did with Harry _ I'll write what I really want to write," Rowling said.

The office of Rowling's literary agent, Christopher Little, was not immediately available to comment late Saturday.



Art Hostage comments:


I wonder if J.K. Rowling will draw from her own experience at being a target of Country House Art Thieves ??
see below for back-story




Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Picasso's Recovered in Daring Swoop !!


Update: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/07/europe/EU-GEN-France-Picasso-Theft.php








Three Picasso paintings stolen in Paris secured


French agents on Tuesday secured three paintings by Pablo Picasso, which had been stolen in Paris in February, the daily Le Figaro reported.

The perpetrators had been detained, the report said.

The pictures, worth more than 50 million euros (69 million dollars), were stolen from the apartment of Picasso granddaughter Diana Widmaier-Picasso.

The pictures had vanished without a trace and caused the Paris police problems because there were no traces of a break-in. Police suspected that the perpetrator had had intimate knowledge of the apartment.

The recovered paintings were portraits of Picasso's daughter Maya and his second wife Jacqueline.


Art Hostage Comments:

Inside job, credit to law enforcement for smoking these paintings out.

The revolving door of art theft and recovery turns slowly in the recovery direction, a little glimmer of hope perhaps?

Sadly, when professional criminals steal art it is much harder to recover than if a close family person is involved.



Update:




Stolen Picassos recovered

THREE people in possession of three works by Pablo Picasso stolen from the Paris flat of the artist's granddaughter have been caught by French police.

The paintings were stolen as she lay sleeping in February.

Police surveillance teams arrested the three suspects this morning in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. They have been detained awaiting charges as inquiries continue.

The two paintings and a drawing by the Spanish master, worth more than €50 million ($80.5 million), were taken from the flat of Diana Widmaier-Picasso overnight on February 26.

"The works are apparently in good condition," said Ms Widmaier-Picasso's lawyer Olivier Baratelli.

The thieves had made off with the 1961 Portrait of Jacqueline, depicting Picasso's second wife and Maya with Doll, a painting of the artist's daughter from 1938.

The stolen drawing was called Marie-Therese at age 21.

The paintings were on display in the apartment, in the chic Left Bank area of Paris, but security precautions had been taken to protect the works, according to family lawyers.

Maya with Doll is one of Picasso's classic oil paintings in bright shades of green, blue and red and depicting young Maya in pigtails holding a doll and a small wooden horse.

Maya was Ms Widmaier-Picasso's mother, born to Marie-Therese Walter, who was one of Picasso's many female companions.

Art dealers had agreed that the paintings were not sellable, given their masterpiece status, and were bound to reappear eventually.

Picasso's 1905 masterpiece Boy with a Pipe remains the most expensive painting ever sold since it was auctioned in New York for $US104.2 million ($121.51 million) in May 2004.

Picasso died on April 8, 1973 at his home in the southern French town of Mougins. He was 91.





Monday, August 06, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, Outrageous Offer To Return Gardner Art




Art Hostage has learnt that an outrageous offer has been made to non other than the much maligned Charlie Hill.



Whilst Charlie Hill was in Spain recently a contact close to the Irish ex-pat Underworld Godfathers, who hail from near Alicante, made an outrageous offer.



If Charlie Hill could arrange to have Declan Duffy killed or arrested and thrown back in jail, preferably for 30 years, the Irish Underworld Godfathers would facilitate the return of the stolen Gardner Art, including Vermeer's "The Concert"


It seems that Declan Duffy has become a stone in the shoe for the Irish Godfathers, who have failed in recruiting a hit man to whack Mr Duffy.


Charlie Hill is trying to get Mr Sheridan and Mr McGinley to recruit Declan Duffy/Dessie O'Hare and when Declan Duffy/Dessie O'Hare have possession of the stolen Gardner Art they will be arrested and the Gardner Art will be recovered.


Trouble with this plan is a gun battle could ensue and damage could be done to the Gardner art. Also whatever art is outstanding will be destroyed.



Seems the Irish Underworld has no qualms about using Law Enforcement to eliminate its rivals, even breaking the supposed code of silence to set up Declan Duffy and Dessie O'Hare.



Furthermore, the gang who lost the load of Cocaine at Mizen Head have replaced a third of it, 500 kilos since their loss.


It is interesting that the Art Hostage plan of offering things other than the supposed reward money may smoke out the stolen Gardner Art.


However, killing an underworld rival of those who control the Gardner Art is certainly out of the question, unless of course Dick Ellis calls on his contact Brigadier Gordon Kerr !!




Gang members released after questioning by gardai


By Alan O'Keeffe


Monday August 06 2007


NINE members of a gang suspected of involvement in the beating and torturing of a young man held captive in a Dublin house have been released without charge.


A file is now being prepared for the DPP after the victim of the horrific attack was found tied up, gagged and naked in the bathroom of a house in Tallaght raided by armed gardai.


Eight men, including INLA boss Declan Duffy, and one woman were arrested in the swoop on the home.



The victim, found bleeding and in great distress, was taken to Tallaght hospital where he was treated for his injuries.



Gardai believe the 21-year-old victim, a member of a business family, was in danger of suffering further serious harm in the house had the detectives not swooped to rescue him.


The bathroom where the victim was imprisoned was covered in his blood.



Members of the garda Emergency Response Unit went to the house on Friday evening after receiving intelligence that a man had been kidnapped and was being held against his will.



All nine people were arrested within the vicinity of the house.
The nine were aged between 19 and 43.



INLA boss Declan Duffy is believed to have taken control of the criminal organisation in Dublin since his release from prison last February.



Duffy was imprisoned for nine years on charges of false imprisonment and firearms possession following the notorious 'Ballymount Bloodbath' in 1999 which resulted in the death of INLA man Paddy 'Bo' Campbell.



Members of the INLA in Dublin, reportedly involved in the illegal drugs trade, are believed to be involved in a number of attempts to extort cash.








To be continued...............................








Clifford Hobbs, has been arrested in Spain, inside job, a trade off, expect some really nasty underworld gang wars to start.




James Hurley is going to be arrested next as Scotland Yard/S.O.C.A. and Interpol have located him and are just getting the International arrest warrant renewed.


There is a reward of £30,000 for the capture of James Hurley.




A claim for the £50,000 reward for the capture of Clifford Hobbs has already been submitted to London Scotland Yard, however, the informant has already been told it is £25,000 for Clifford Hobbs and £25,000 for the capture of Noel Cunningham.



At a Top Secret meeting earlier this year, at which senior members of Organised Crime met with Top Law Enforcement officials, including Interpol, S.O.C.A. and the FBI, certain disruptive dangerous criminals were discussed.

These criminals had become a embarrassment and "Stone in the Shoe" for Authorities as well as Top members of the Global Organised Crime syndicate, which includes members of the C.I.A.


It was decide that certain criminals would be given up and others would be framed and put behind bars for a long time. They were seen as upsetting the balance of global criminal activity and their presence could affect not only criminal dealings, but also the war on terror, via the Heroin trade.


Art Hostage lobbied for the return of the Gardner Art as a Pork Barrel, a side dish, but it seems to be a low priority.


However, as this conspiracy develops the Gardner Art may surface just when you least expect, or that is what I am told.


Hope springs eternal, I'd settle for the Vermeer as an appetiser, please, pretty please !!


Record crop of Afghan Opium this year 3,000 tons, Taliban's biggest mistake was to try and stop the Opium trade, more than their relationship with Bin Laden, Air America back in business, I only want the Gardner Art, surely this is not too much to ask???




One to watch...................................

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Stolen Art Watch, FBI Corners Market in Unique Stolen Art Recovery !


Press Release

For Immediate ReleaseJuly 30, 2007

Washington D.C.FBI National Press Office(202) 324-3691

FBI Announces Addition to Top Ten Art Crimes List

The FBI today announced an addition to its Top Ten Art Crimes list. A Cavalier was stolen on June 10, 2007, from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The self-portrait, by Dutch Master Frans Van Mieris (1635-1681), was stolen while the gallery was open for public viewing. The piece is in oil on wood panel and measures 16 x 20 centimeters, or approximately 6 ½ x 8 inches.



"The FBI is pleased to be able to work with our Australian law enforcement colleagues in an effort to bring this piece of history back to the Art Gallery of New South Wales," said Bonnie Magness-Gardiner of the FBI's Art Theft Program. "Theft of a significant work of art such as this is not only a crime against an institution but deprives both the local and international community of its cultural heritage."



The FBI initiated the Top Ten Art Crimes list in 2005. Since then, five paintings and one sculpture from four entries have been recovered: A Rembrandt self-portrait and Renoir's Young Parisian from Sweden's National Museum theft; Goya's Children with a Cart from the Toledo Art Museum theft; Munch's The Scream and The Madonna from the Munch Museum theft in Oslo; and the Cellini Salt Cellar from the Kunsthistorisches Museum theft in Vienna.


Also recovered was the Statue of Entemena from the Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts entry. The current list may be found on the Art Theft Program page of the FBI's website listed below.
Persons with any information about this work of art or circumstances concerning this crime are encouraged to contact their local FBI office or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or to submit a tip online at http://www.fbi.gov/.


Art Hostage comments:


Expect some good news soon, courtesy of FBI Icon Robert Wittman, who is on course to recover this artwork before his retirement October 2007.


The press release is just part of the choreography leading up to the recovery and fanfare that will ensue.


It's a done deal, they are closing in, take the deal while it is on the table, something is better than nothing.
Remember this, below ?
Uncanny likeness, the Cavalier and one of the bad guys ???????


Vermeer's The Concert

Vermeer's The Concert