Some things to consider before committing a museum theft

The glamorous image of art theft often conjures up villainous Bond masterminds concocting complex schemes. Laure Bequiau, the lead prosecutor in the recent Louvre case involving the theft of historical jewels worth more than $100 million, suggested in a lawsuit… interview on French news channel BFMTV this week that the job could be the work of organized crime or commissioned by a major "Shepherd."

But attorney Christopher Marinello, founder and CEO of… International art revivala group based in London and Venice that specializes in tracking down stolen works of art, rejects the latest Hollywood scenario. "There have been questions about some kind of slippery character, “Dr. No,” ordering these thefts from afar from his personal collection in his underwater lair," Marinello said. "But in 39 years of working on art recovery cases, I have never seen a custom theft case."

In fact, art theft can be far from profitable. No reputable buyer will touch known stolen items, which typically sell for a fraction of their true value on the black market. "If you steal a Picasso painting, you keep it Picasso." Marinello said. "It should remain in one piece."

However, Marinello said there is a much bigger upside to the theft of diamond tiaras and emerald necklaces because they can be broken up and sold as individual gemstones. "This can be done as simple as sewing the stones inside a jacket, driving out of France and going to a place like Tel Aviv or Antwerp where they have jewelry centers and experts who re-cut large stones into smaller stones." Marinello said. "After that, she escaped from the crime of contract."

Relatively light penalties increase the temptation. Stealing a major work of art from an American museum carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years Federal law And a possible fine Similar penalties In France. Many museums are also easy targets.

"For well-known pieces of art, since their value is low on the black market, there is little incentive for criminals to go after those pieces." He said Frederick Chena professor of economics at Wake Forest University who co-authored the book paper On the economics of art theft. "Consequently, there is less incentive for museums to invest in security."

Museums are less likely to protect artifacts that don’t lead to increased ticket sales, Chen said. "From the thieves’ point of view, you already know that the museum will not have security that will be as strong as, say, a Tiffany’s store." Chen said.

Miles Connor, 82-year-old war veteran Art thief Who stole a Rembrandt from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1975 among other crimes and spent a long time in prison, agrees that museums are vulnerable. "Most museums do not have armed guards;" He said. "So, if you are armed and determined, you can acquire almost any painting from almost any museum. You can also do this with jewelry."

But Connor says it’s a bad idea to dismantle valuable jewelry, such as museum pieces. "If you take it apart, you’re destroying the value of the items and you’re kind of downgraded yourself." He said.

Connor said there was a better way to spend the money. "When I stole paintings from museums, it was always with the intention of returning the painting and receiving a reward." Connor said he was paid $50,000 — about $300,000 in today’s money — for returning the Rembrandt.

He added that he hoped the Louvre thieves would follow the rules of the game he followed "I’m sure the reward will be great."

The French government has not yet announced any reward – although some experts, including… Anthony Amorehead of security and chief investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, himself a goal Stealing art, openly Named So.

Copyright 2025, NPR