Thomas Doyle Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Defrauding the Purchaser of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s Painting “Portrait of a Girl”

The case of the missing masterpiece more closely resembles a spoof of a whodunit, such as Murder by Death, than real life.

According to a lawsuit filed on August 30 by Kristin Trudgeon, a painting she co-owned, "Portrait of a Girl" by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot worth an estimated $1.35 million, was entrusted to James Carl Haggerty and never returned after he showed it to a prospective buyer.

According to court documents, the prospective buyer, Offer Waterman, and Haggerty, met at the office belonging to the painting's co-owner, Tom Doyle, in order to inspect the painting. Doyle later met Haggerty at Rue 57, a restaurant on the upper east side of Manhattan where Read more here

Official filed paperwork on the case

Stolen Art Information

From The FBI Website: It’s like stealing history. Art and cultural property crime—which includes theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines—is a looming criminal enterprise with estimated losses running as high as $6 billion annually. To recover these precious pieces—and to bring these criminals to justice—the FBI has a dedicated Art Crime Team of 13 special agents, supported by three special trial attorneys for prosecutions. And it runs the National Stolen Art File, a computerized index of reported stolen art and cultural properties for the use of law enforcement agencies across the world. Please note: U.S. persons and organizations requiring access to the National Stolen Art File should contact their closest FBI Field Office; international organizations should contact their closest FBI Legal Attaché Office. FBI Top Ten Art Crimes - Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft - Theft of Caravaggio's Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco - Theft of the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius - The Van Gogh Museum Robbery - Theft of Cezanne's View of Auvers-sur-Oise - Theft of the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals, Panels 3-A and 3-B - Theft from the Museu Chacara do Céu - Theft of Van Mieris's A Cavalier - Theft from E.G. Bührle Collection, Zurich Initiatives & Background - Art Crime Team - National Stolen Art File - Jurisdiction/Legislation Report Stolen Art - Submit a Tip Online - Contact Your Local FBI Office - Contact Your Nearest Overseas Office Protect Your Treasures - Advice from an Art Theft Expert Other Resources - Interpol Stolen Works of Art - Museum Security Network - International Council of Museums - More

Trail for Selling Fake Art

The trial of four people accused of selling fake artworks from the fictional "Werner Jägers collection" began this week in Cologne, promising to bring to light new details of the nefarious operation that ensnared actor and art aficionado Steve Martin and other international collectors. The case, concerning one of the most audacious forgery rings in recent times, revolves around 44 forgeries that the quartet sold as original works by artists including Heinrich Campendonk, Max Pechstein, Fernand Léger, and Max Ernst — to the tune of between $20 million and $50 million.

According to the BBC, German prosecutors plan to call over 160 witnesses over 40 days at trial. Judgment Read more here...

New Jersey Man Arrested in Stolen Picasso Drawing Worth a Quarter of a Million Dollars

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (AP).- The case of a stolen Picasso has been cracked — and police say it was a New Jersey man who walked into the gallery in downtown San Francisco, snatched the drawing and fled in a taxi.

Police arrested Mark Lugo, 31, of Hoboken, N.J., on Wednesday at an apartment in Napa, and found the artwork stripped from its frame. The 1965 pencil-on-paper drawing — titled "Tete de Femme" — was purchased at a spring auction in New York. It's worth about a quarter of a million dollars.

"I've had some sleepless nights," said Rowland Weinstein, who owns the Weinstein Gallery. "I feel very, very lucky and very relieved that the Picasso wasn't harmed and will be returned back safely."

Weinstein said he planned to upgrade the street-level...New Jersey Man Arrested in Stolen Picasso Drawing Worth a Quarter of a Million Dollars