‘Priceless’ Stolen Artwork Returned To Newark – 50 Years Later

NEWARK, NJ — More than half a century ago, mobsters stole a “priceless” work of art from a family’s home in Newark, New Jersey. Now, the valuable painting has finally returned to the Garden State – but the mystery surrounding its disappearance remains.

The FBI’s Salt Lake City field office recently announced that the stolen oil painting, “The Schoolmistress” by John Opie, has been returned to its owner after being swiped in 1969.

It’s a significant piece of art, authorities noted: the 240-year-old work has a sister painting housed in the Tate Britain art gallery in London.

The painting began its strange journey through the criminal underworld when Dr. Earl Leroy Wood purchased it during the Great Depression in the 1930s for $7,500 and brought it back to his home in Newark.

In July 1969, three men – later identified as Gerald Festa, Gerald Donnerstag and Austin Costiglione – tried to steal a coin collection from Wood’s home. Their burglary attempt was foiled when an alarm went off and they fled the scene. The police and then-New Jersey State Senator Anthony Imperiale responded to the attempted burglary, authorities noted.

Their near-brush with the law didn’t deter the trio, who returned a few weeks later and stole the Opie painting, authorities added.

And that’s when things really started to get weird, according to the FBI:

“During Donnerstag’s trial in 1975, Festa testified and confessed to the burglary, saying they had acted under the direction of Senator Imperiale. Festa testified that before the burglary, the three men visited Imperiale’s 'clubhouse' and were told exactly where the painting was in Dr. Wood’s home. Festa testified that Imperiale had the painting. However, the claims against the senator were never sufficiently corroborated and he was never charged.”

So what happened to the painting after it was stolen? The painting’s location between 1969 and the late 1980s remains unknown, but the FBI believes it remained in the hands of organized crime members.

The long-lost painting didn’t surface again until 1989, when someone purchased a home in Hallandale, Florida from convicted mobster, Joseph Covello Sr. Although the buyer wasn’t aware of its history, the Opie painting was included in the sale.

He eventually sold the home and took the painting to his new home in St. George, Utah, where it remained until his death in 2020.

In December 2021, an accounting firm hired to liquidate the deceased man’s property had the painting appraised for auction. And that’s when its true history was discovered – and the feds were called in.

After a two-year investigation in Salt Lake City and a court ruling from a federal judge, authorities finally returned the painting to Dr. Francis Wood, 96 – the son of Earl Leroy Wood – at his home in Newark.

“It was an honor playing a role in recovering a significant piece of art and culture, and reuniting a family with its stolen heritage,” FBI special agent Gary France said.

“In a world where criminal investigations often leave scars, it was a rare joy to be a part of a win-win case: a triumph for history, justice and the Wood family,” he added.

• See Related: Lost Rembrandt Painting Found In Bloomfield Basement
• See Related: Newark TSA Agents Return Lost $40,000 Chinese Painting

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