[CPProt.net] Convicted art - Myles J. Connor Jr. - thief busted in Natick watch heist

[Museum Security Network / Cultural Property Protection Net (Ton Cremers)]

Convicted art thief busted in Natick watch heist

The Associated Press

He once claimed he could help recover $300 million worth of stolen art.

Thursday night, Myles J. Connor Jr. was sitting in jail charged with taking
part in a jewelry store heist that netted $900 worth of watches.

Connor, a convicted art thief with a lengthy criminal record, is charged
with larceny over $250, being an accessory after the fact, receiving stolen
property, conspiracy to commit robbery, and with being a habitual offender,
for his role in a Wednesday robbery at H. Brandt Jewelers in Natick, police
said.

A man walked into the jeweler's shop in downtown Natick late Wednesday
afternoon and asked to see some watches, police Sgt. Mark St. Hilaire said.
The man grabbed four watches worth a total of $900 and ran outside to a car
driven by Connor.

Connor, 62, of Blackstone, and the other man, identified as John King, 36,
of Boston, were pulled over just a few minutes later by a veteran officer
partnered with a rookie in training on his first day on the job.

King is charged with unarmed robbery, possession of a class B drug, larceny
over $250 and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Connor lives with King's sister, police said.

Both men were arraigned Thursday morning and are being held in lieu of cash
bail at the Middlesex County jail.

Connor and another man, William P. Youngworth III, once claimed they could
help retrieve the 13 masterpieces stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum in Boston on March 18, 1990.

In return, however, Youngworth wanted immunity from prosecution, a $5
million reward and Connor's immediate release from prison. Both men were
behind bars at the time of the theft, which included works by Rembrandt,
Vermeer, Manet and Degas valued at $300 million. The crime remains unsolved.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/