[MSN] Santiago thefts befuddling

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Santiago thefts befuddling


It's a rare crime, and some experts at odds over the 'whys'


Alan Morrell
Staff writer 



(November 11, 2006) - The FBI's list of top art crimes includes the theft of
works by artists such as Van Gogh, Rembrandt and da Vinci.

The recent theft of three Ramon Santiago paintings from a Webster shop
likely won't make that list. Those thefts were highly unusual for two
reasons, police and art aficionados said: Art theft itself is uncommon, and
when art is stolen, thieves usually target extremely rare and priceless
works. 

The three Santiago paintings were appraised for a total of $31,500 - not
inexpensive, to be sure, but nowhere near the millions of dollars some art
can fetch. 

The owner of the shop where the theft occurred on Nov. 1 said it was a first
for him.

"Very seldom is artwork stolen," said Thomas McCoy of McCoy's Custom Picture
Framing, at 103 North Ave. in Webster. "Never in the past have I had it
stolen. It's very hard to unload it." 

The paintings were original oils on canvas, McCoy said.

They included a 30-by-40-inch painting titled Leda and the Swan; a 30-by-40
titled Cat, and a 16-by-20 titled Studio Doll. 

The last substantial case of reported art theft locally that police could
remember was in November 2002, and it also involved Santiago artwork. 

Someone broke into a Culver Road home and took six prints and a poster
autographed by Santiago, a local artist who died in 2001. None of that work
- estimated to be worth $9,000 - was recovered. No one was arrested. 

Police in Ontario, Wayne and Orleans counties and State Police have been
investigating at least 10 recent thefts from antique shops and museums,
including the Ontario County Historical Society, said Canandaigua Police
Detective Vincent Delforte. The stolen items included craftware, such as
pottery, and historical documents, including some related to the Civil War,
but not paintings, Delforte said. 

He said one man suspected of being involved in the string of thefts is
locked up on other charges. Delforte didn't release the man's name, saying
the investigation is ongoing. He said police don't think those cases are
related to the theft of the Santiago paintings. 

Art crime team

Nonetheless, the owner of one business that sells art said the Nov. 1 thefts
alarmed him enough to change procedures. "I took all the price tags off
everything," said Jim Ross of the Antique Mall of Rochester, at 400 W.
Commercial St. in East Rochester. His business specializes in high-end
artwork, including some paintings. 

The Antique Mall was burglarized about six months ago, Ross said. Thieves
made off with jewelry and watches, but no paintings.

Other art dealers said they were not worried about the Santiago-painting
thefts. Louis Perticone of Artisan Works, 565 Blossom Road, said he was more
concerned that police had not contacted him to discuss the Santiago
paintings. 

"I'm the person who buys artwork," he said. "Why have I not been shown
anything on a 'hot sheet' from police?"

Because of the rarity of art theft, local police agencies do not have
separate bureaus with specialists in that area. The FBI sometimes will
investigate because stolen art frequently crosses state or national lines,
said Robert A. Jones, FBI resident agent for the Rochester area. 

"A lot of these (pieces of art) are stolen from, or headed to Europe," he
said. "These things have to be resold very carefully, even on the black
market." 

The FBI created an Art Crime Team two years ago with agents who have
expertise in art theft. The team has 12 members who work out of offices in
larger markets such as New York City, Los Angeles and Miami. The agents
aren't dedicated solely to art cases, but are contacted when their
assistance is needed. 

That team was organized because of increased looting from Iraqi museums,
Jones said. The FBI also has created a National Stolen Art File, a
computerized index used by law enforcement agencies of reported stolen art
and cultural properties. 

Jones said the FBI has been in contact with Webster police on the Santiago
paintings case. The paintings could be posted on the FBI's National Stolen
Art File, he said. 

The Art Crime Team recovered more than 100 items worth more than $50 million
during its first year of operation, according to the FBI Web site. Those
items include works by Picasso, Matisse and other artists stolen from a
Florida family, and a Rembrandt that had been stolen from the Swedish
National Museum in Stockholm. 

Local following

While Santiago's work is not as well-known as those masters, Santiago still
has a strong local following, art experts said. 

Bill Simons, an art appraiser in Irondequoit, said he appraised a Santiago
painting recently for $18,000.

"But the only strong market for Santiago is here (in the Rochester area),"
said Simons, owner of Bill Simons Humble Gallery. "I can't see a lot of
sense behind this crime. I can't see where you could black-market something
like (Santiago's work) to Europe. I don't think they even know about
Santiago." 

However, McCoy said that many well-to-do Rochesterians have Santiago work,
and his recognition extends beyond this region.

"Everybody who knows anything about art knows about Ramon Santiago," he
said. "The upper echelon of Rochester buys, sells and deals Santiago work." 

Santiago was identified by his portraits of sultry, mysterious women and
clowns before developing a loose-flowing brush style in the 1990s for his
still lifes. His oil paintings have been exhibited around the world. 

AMORRELL at DemocratandChronicle.com