A Dead Thief And Pilfered Picassos Lead To Long-Lost Treasures

LOS ANGELES, CA — Decades after a pair of art thieves were convicted for stealing treasured works of art from Los Angeles collectors, the long-lost trove of pilfered art has been recovered, police announced Wednesday.

The unexpected break in the case came when one of the thieves died, and his heir tried to sell a some purloined Picassos, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The discovery shook the art world, the burglary victims who had given up hope and the two detectives who worked the case back in the 1990s.

"We recovered over 100 items, some that we have verified are stolen, and most which were believed to have been stolen during that time," said LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza of the Commercial Crimes Division. "We would like the media's help and the public's assistance (in) helping us identify the rightful owners so we can return these items to them."

Police are asking potential victims to come forward and claim their masterpieces — provided they can prove rightful ownership. Most of the purloined works, which include two Picassos, a Joan Miró, a Rembrandt and artifacts from Mark Twain, Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Marlon Brando, were stolen from homes in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer J. Chaves.

Other expensive items recovered include numerous antiques, clocks, sculptures and pistols.
The investigation, dubbed "Operation Demetra," began in June after an art dealer in Los Angeles contacted the Los Angeles Police Department to report that someone had provided the business with possible stolen items, including two Picasso paintings, the LAPD reported.

The very two detectives who had originally investigated the burglaries in the 1990s were tapped to start a new investigation that led to the service of search warrants in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the recovery of the items.

No new arrests have been made in the case. Authorities did confirm that the heir who tried to sell the Picassos is related to one of the two men originally convicted for the spring of burglaries.

Now, investigators are working with experts from the unidentified art business and the Getty Museum to identify the pieces, the artists who created them, and their current worth.

All the items can be viewed at www.foundbylapd.smugmug.com under "Operation Demetra."

City News Service contributed to this report.