Displaying items by tag: radu dogaru

Four Romanians behind a spectacular art heist in the Netherlands were ordered Monday to pay 18 million euros, with the fate of the stolen masterpieces by Picasso, Monet, Gauguin and Lucien Freud still a mystery.

Seven paintings that were temporarily on display at the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam were stolen in 2012 in a raid that lasted only three minutes, in what the Dutch media called "the theft of the century."

A court in the Romanian capital ordered the heist's mastermind Radu Dogaru, his mother Olga, Eugen Darie and Adrian Procop to reimburse the paintings' insurers.

Radu Dogaru, the ringleader of a gang that stole $24 million worth of art from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum, has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison by a Romanian court. Fellow gang member, Eugen Darie, received an identical sentence. The trial will continue on December 3 of four other defendants, including Dogaru’s mother, who is accused of destroying three of the stolen masterpieces.

Dogaru and Darie pleaded guilty to stealing seven paintings from the Kunsthal Museum including works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Meyer de Haan, and Lucian Freud. The works were on loan from the Triton Foundation to celebrate the Kunsthal Museum’s 20th anniversary. None of the paintings have been recovered.  

Romanian prosecutors are seeking a maximum sentence for Radu Dogaru, the man who admitted to stealing seven masterpieces from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum on October 16, 2012. If Dogaru receives the maximum sentence for “aggravated theft,” he will spend 20 year in prison. The thief’s lawyer, Catalin Dancu, is hoping that Dogaru receives a “balanced sentence” of no more than 7 years. The verdict will be announced on November 26, 2013.  

Six Romanians, including Dogaru, are on trial over the theft, which left the world stunned earlier this year. Among the paintings stolen were masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Claude Monet. The trove, which is estimate to be worth $24 million, has not be returned.

Many fear that Dogaru’s mother burned the paintings in order to protect her son. She initially admitted to destroying the works but later retracted her statement. Experts from Romania’s National History Museum retrieved ash from Dogaru’s stove that included the remains of three oil paintings and nails from frames used before the end of the 19th century. A separate investigation into the possible destruction of the artwork is ongoing.  

Radu Dogaru, the Romanian man who admitted to stealing $24 million worth of art from the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam, threatened to sue the institution for making the robbery too easy. Dogaru is one of six Romanians on trial for last year’s heist, which shook the art world.

On Tuesday, October 22, Dogaru told the court, “I could not imagine that a museum would exhibit such valuable works with so little security.“ Dogaru’s lawyer, Catalin Dancu, claims that the Kunsthal could be found guilty of negligence since their security system failed, allowing the thieves to make off with the artworks.

Last October, Dogaru and his accomplices made off with Pablo Picasso’s Tete d’Arlequin, Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, London and Charing Cross Bridge, London, Henri Matisse’s La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune, Paul Gauguin’s Femme devant une fenetre ouverte, dite la Fiancee, Meyer de Haan’s Autoportrait, and Lucian Freud’s Woman with Eyes Closed. Following the heist, rumors began to circulate that Dogaru’s mother, Olga, had incinerated the stolen paintings in her stove in an attempt to protect her son. Olga Dogaru later retracted her statement although fragments of oil paintings were found in the ashes in her stove. On Tuesday, Dogaru told the court that, “the paintings were certainly not destroyed. I don’t know where they are but I believe they have been sold.” A separate investigation into the possible destruction of the artwork is underway.

Doguru’s next hearing is due on November 19. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

After a Bucharest court opened a trial today in the Dutch heist that saw $24 million worth of art stolen from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum, the accused ringleader refused to reveal where the missing paintings are hidden. Radu Dogaru, who was denied a trial in a Dutch court, admitted to stealing the paintings with two accomplices. Back in August, Dogaru offered to return five of the seven stolen paintings if he was granted a trial in the Netherlands rather than Romania where punishments for robbery are more severe. Dogaru’s lawyer, Catalin Dancu, said, “My client has made a 180-degree turn and is now saying: if the Dutch authorities don’t want to take me, nobody will ever see those paintings again.”

Last October, Dogaru and his accomplices made off with Pablo Picasso’s Tete d’Arlequin, Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, London and Charing Cross Bridge, London, Henri Matisse’s La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune, Paul Gauguin’s Femme devant une fenetre ouverte, dite la Fiancee, Meyer de Haan’s Autoportrait, and Lucian Freud’s Woman with Eyes Closed. Following the heist, rumors began to circulate that Dogaru’s mother, Olga, had incinerated the stolen paintings in her stove in an attempt to protect her son. Olga Dogaru later retracted her statement although fragments of oil paintings were found in the ashes in her stove.

Dogaru is currently asking for a simplified legal procedure in Romania, where he could be given a 14-year prison sentence. Insurer Aon Plc paid nearly the full worth of the works to the Triton Foundation, which owned the artworks at the time of the theft. The paintings were on loan to the Kunsthal Museum to celebrate the Dutch institution’s 20^th anniversary.

Olga Dogaru, a Romanian woman who told investigators that she burned seven modern art masterpieces to protect her son, denied her claim in court on Monday, July 22, 2013. Dogaru’s son, Radu, was one of six suspects involved in the Kunsthal Museum heist, the biggest art-related robbery to take place in the Netherlands in years.

During the hearing, Dogaru alleged that she “made up” the story about incinerating $130 million worth of art in a desperate attempt to guard her son, who had admitted to stealing the paintings last October. If she is found guilty of “destruction with very serious consequences” Dogaru could serve up to 30 to years in prison under Romanian law. Last week, news circulated that forensic investigators had found trace evidence in the ash in Dogaru’s stove.

The heist took place on October 16, 2013 and proceeded to shake the art world. The six suspects made off with Pablo Picasso’s Tete d’Arlequin, Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, London and Charing Cross Bridge, London, Henri Matisse’s La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune, Paul Gauguin’s Femme devant une fenetre ouverte, dite la Fiancee, Meyer de Haan’s Autoportrait, and Lucian Freud’s Woman with Eyes Closed in less than 90 seconds. The works were on loan from the Triton Foundation to celebrate the Kunsthal Museum’s 20^th anniversary.

The suspects will stand trial next month.    

Six Romanians will stand trial over the heist that took place at Rotterdam’s Kunsthal Museum this past October. Seven major paintings by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Henri Matisse were stolen during the robbery – the largest in years for the Netherlands.

The lifted works include Picasso’s Tete d’Arlequin, Matisse’s La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune and Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, London and Charing Cross Bridge, London, which were on loan from the Triton Collection and on view as part of an exhibition celebrating the museum’s 20^th anniversary. The paintings, which have not been recovered, are valued at more than $130 million. In May, investigators were analyzing ashes found in the home of one of the suspect’s mothers, raising fears that the works may have been incinerated.

Radu Dogaru and Adrian Procop are accused of masterminding the theft. Dogaru and several other suspects have been in custody since January 2013, while Procop remains at large. A date for the trial has not been set.