[CPProt.net] 1.5 Million Basquiat Painting Stolen From JFK Is Recovered

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

1.5 Million Basquiat Painting Stolen From JFK Is Recovered
 
by Bryan Joiner, South Queens Editor May 19, 2005 
 
 
Queens D.A. Richard Brown with "Untitled 1982," by the artist Jean-Michel
Basquiat, which was stolen from Kennedy Airport and recovered in a New
Jersey warehouse.
 
   A painting by the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat valued at $1.5 million was
recovered from a New Jersey warehouse, two weeks after it was stolen from
Kennedy Airport on its way to Rome. 
   Anthony Porcelli Jr., a 35-year-old truck driver from Staten Island, was
arrested and charged Monday with grand larceny in the first degree and
criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly stealing Basquiat's
"Untitled 1982," which was recently sold to a collector.  
   According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, the painting was
stolen on May 4th and reported missing two days later. Video surveillance at
the airport warehouse showed Porcelli loading it into his truck and driving
away. He had provided a copy of his driver's license to security officers to
gain entrance to the warehouse. 
   Police officials told reporters that Porcelli did not not know of the
painting's value and knew next to nothing about modern art. The artwork was
in a 7-foot by 7-foot box labeled simply, "Painting." 
   Authorities tracked the painting to the Cace Trucking Company warehouse
in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where it was allegedly hidden in a corner.
Porcelli, a seven-year employee of Cace Trucking, turned himself in to
police Monday. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 25 years in
prison. 
   The incident was the fourth major theft at Kennedy in two years and the
second of a valuable work of art. In November 2003, two airline cargo
employees stole Lucian Freud's "Painter's Garden," a work also valued at
$1.5 million, by the grandson of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. The
suspects in that case were also caught on surveillance videotape. 
   "Our airports here in Queens County are important worldwide arrival and
departure points for both passengers and air cargo shipments that often
include valued works of art. The safety and security of those passengers and
of that cargo is of paramount concern to us and surveillance by law
enforcement is constant," Brown said. 
   Five baggage handlers were arrested in November and charged with grand
larceny for stealing over $23,000 in electronic equipment. In August, a
group of Transportation Security Administration employees were busted for
stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of passenger goods over a
period of two years, including a $10,000 watch from actor Chevy Chase. 
   During that investigation, police planted items in bags. These items
never arrived at their destinations. Inspectors are required to place
inspection forms in bags if they are hand-searched, but none of the bags had
tags inside. 
   This week's bust was more straightforward and comes at a time of high
visibility for Basquiat, the Brooklyn-born artist who rocketed to fame in
the 1980s only to die of a heroin overdose at age 27. "Catharsis," a 1983
Basquiat painting, recently sold for $1.5 million, and a collection of the
late artist's work is currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum.