Joseph Atsus, a 51-year-old Pennsylvania man, was sentenced on Tuesday to 48 months in jail, a time period of supervised launch, and $1 million in restitution for a number of expenses associated to his participation in a infamous museum theft ring, the Division of Justice introduced earlier this week.
Atsus was a part of a eight-person ring that stole tens of millions in artwork and memorabilia between 1999 and 2019 from 20 museums, establishments, and shops throughout six states and Washington, D.C.
Among the many Most worthy items stolen have been Andy Warhol’s silkscreen work Le Grande Ardour (1984) and Jackson Pollock’s oil portray Springs Winter (1949) from the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2005. As well as, the group stole vintage firearms, gold nuggets, and 9 World Collection rings, seven championship and different rings, and two MVP plaques, all belonging to New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra, from the Yogi Berra Museum & Studying Heart positioned in Little Falls, New Jersey.
Atsus is the sixth member of the ring to be sentenced. Co-conspirator Nicholas Dombek, 55, was sentenced final month to 108 months imprisonment, whereas Damien Boland, 50, is awaiting sentencing. 4 others pled responsible and have been sentenced final yr, with sentences starting from six months to 96 months imprisonment.
The whereabouts of most of the stolen works in unknown. In not less than one case, Dombek burned a portray valued at $125,000 to keep away from it being recovered as proof and used within the case. The Berra rings, based on the prosecution, have been melted down and bought for simply $12,000.
Whereas prosecutors have been in search of eight years for Atsus, his ex-wife and mom pleaded for a extra lenient sentence as a consequence of his 11-year-old autistic son’s excessive wants.
“They’ve [poured] their lives into [the son’s] care. It requires each little bit of vitality,” Oralia Iniguez, Atsus’s mom, advised the courtroom.
U.S. District Decide Malachy E. Mannion was moved by the plea; he explicitly advised Atsus that he diminished his sentence for the sake of his youngster. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for him,” the choose mentioned, based on WVIA, a Scranton public media group.
