Art Theft Archive Newsletter

Ch'ien Lung jade (see "Alert to Store-Front Dealers," Feb 1979) is stolen and recovered in New York and two men are charged. The men appear to be members of a gang responsible for 33 recent Manhattan art thefts

Several trials end with little information on who else was involved and whether a specialized network is responsible for the recent surge in art thefts. Those sentenced include: George LiVecchi (Picasso, Flowers in a Vase, University of Rochester Memorial Art Gallery); John Crenshaw. one of four conspirators in two thefts from the St. Louis Art Museum; Ronald Monsouris (three Monets from the Santa Barbara Museum); Neil Hart (two Charles Russell paintings from the C.M. Russell Museum and other works from Western American collections). John Gandolfo and Jeffrey Shore, two thieves are still at large.

Bernard Welch, Jr., escaped from prison in upstate New York in 1974 and is still at large. An alert details his modus operandi.