I know you’re saying this as a joke, but art theft and related crime has been on the rise since the pandemic. And there has been quite a lot of art recovered from dying old mobsters and conmen.
More Than 50 Years After Theft, Stolen John Opie Painting Recovered and Returned to Rightful Owner
The FBI was contacted in December 2021 by a Washington County, Utah, accounting firm acting as a trustee for a client who died in 2020. [An old mobster] The client had hired the firm to liquidate his residences and personal property. While appraising the painting for auction, it was discovered to likely be an original Opie stolen in 1969 from a private residence of the Wood family in New Jersey.
From a case in February of this year:
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Dombek, Boland, and Joseph Atsus were part of a larger nine-person conspiracy which lasted over 20 years and whose goal was to break into multiple museums and other institutions and steal priceless works of art, sports memorabilia, and other objects.
Haven’t you watched any movies? They’ll just go to a shady underground fence that can move anything.
I know you’re saying this as a joke, but art theft and related crime has been on the rise since the pandemic. And there has been quite a lot of art recovered from dying old mobsters and conmen.
Here’s the current FBI case list, and it’s WILD:
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-crime/art-crime-news
From a case in February of this year: