Art Thefts, Big Rewards Pt.1
Art theft is a niche market with a potential for large returns
Who is stealing Rembrandt, Vermeer, and the work of other great artists?
What is one of the greatest crimes occurring in the world today? Terrorism, corruption, money laundering? Would you believe...art theft?
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, art theft, "fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines" costs about $6 billion every year. That means that art theft is big business.
There's even a Top Ten art thefts of all time list. One of the biggest took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts in March of 1990. Two men disguised as police knocked on the security entrance door of the museum at 1:24 a.m. The unarmed thieves were able to overpower the guards who they tied up with duct tape and handcuffs. The thieves then had unlimited access to one of the greatest art collections in the entire world and they chose their prizes wisely.
In the aftermath of the unprecedented theft what was missing was three Rembrandts, five Degas drawings, a bronze eagle from a Napoleonic flag, a Manet painting, a Vermeer painting, a Govaert Flinck painting, and a Chinese bronze beaker.
The estimated value of this one night's haul? $300 million dollars. Considering there are less than 30 known existent Vermeers, this figure may even be a bit low. The FBI is taking this event so seriously that they are offering a reward of $5 million dollars for the person that gives them the clue or tip that leads to the return of these works of art. They have also assembled an Art Crimes Team to handle the ongoing investigations into this underground big business. The FBI has partnered with other law enforcement entities around the world such as Interpol.
So the big question might be: Who are the art theives? Where have they taken the art? Is the art hidden away in storage or is it on secret display in a high-powered mobster's estate? The publicity of this theft makes it impossible to ever sell this stolen work to a reputable dealer. And will these great works of art ever resurface? I do know that I have a secret fantasy of discovering a long lost masterpiece at every flea market and thrift store I visit. You just never know!
