They are not fugeddaboutit.
A “priceless” painting stolen by a New Jersey politician and Mafia member more than 50 years ago has been returned to its owner.
The artwork, taken in 1969 with the help of former New Jersey state Senator Anthony Imperiale and a mob, was returned to Dr. Francis Wood, 96, of Newark, whose father originally bought the piece, on January 11.
Police said a trio of thieves, all involved in organized crime, tried to break into Francis’ parents’ home in 1969 in an attempt to steal a collection of coins, but were stopped by a burglar alarm.
When police and Imperiale, then a Newark City Council member, responded to the scene, an employee at the home told council members about the “priceless” painting, titled “The Schoolmistress.”
The work, which depicts a teacher sitting at a desk surrounded by students, dates back to 1784 and was created by artist John Opie, whose paintings have sold at auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, one for nearly $1 million.
A painting taken in 1969 with the help of a member of the New Jersey Senate and a mob was returned to Dr. Francis Wood of Newark, whose father bought the work. AP
A month later, Imperiale, who died in 1999, allegedly ordered the three original thieves — Gerald Festa, Gerald Donnerstag and Austin Costiglione — to retrieve the artwork, which Wood’s father had bought in the 1930s for $7,500, according to the Salt Lake Tribune .
Imperiale’s plans were leaked by Festa six years later, in the 1975 trial of an accomplice.
Festa said Imperiale ordered him, Donnerstag and Costiglione to commit the crime. He also testified that Imperiale – who was elected to the New Jersey Assembly in 1971 and the state senate in 1973 and also ran for mayor of Newark in 1974 – had the painting, but the politician was never charged.
Artist John Opie painted “The Schoolmistress,” which dates back to 1784 and depicts a teacher sitting at a desk surrounded by students. AP
The piece was then rolled in St. George, Utah, after a resident bought a house in Florida in 1989 from Joseph Covello Sr. — robbers linked to the Gambino family — and the painting was included as part of the sale, according to the FBI.
When the man died in 2020, an accounting firm liquidating the estate had the painting appraised and it was determined to be a stolen painting.
New Jersey State Senator Anthony Imperiale, who died in 1999, allegedly ordered thieves involved in organized crime to take the artwork for Woods’ home. RELATED NEWSPAPERS
“This is art, it’s history,” said FBI Special Agent Gary France, who worked on the case.
“It traveled all over the UK, when it was first painted, and was owned by several families in the UK. And then it traveled overseas to the United States and was sold during the Great Depression and then stolen by mobsters and recovered by the FBI decades later.
“It’s pretty amazing.”
No charges have been filed by the FBI since the painting was found, as all those believed to have been involved in its theft are dead, French said.
With Postal wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
