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Images of
stolen paintings from Rotterdam Kunst Museum are presented
at a press
conference in Bucharest, August 8, 2013 (AFP, Daniel Mihailescu)
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BUCHAREST —
The trial of six Romanians charged with a dramatic theft from a Dutch museum is
set to open in Bucharest Tuesday, amid fears the stolen masterpieces by Monet,
Picasso and Gauguin may have been destroyed.
Five of the
accused, including the alleged mastermind of the heist Radu Dogaru, are
expected to be present at the hearing.
A sixth
suspect is still on the run and will be tried in absentia.
Dogaru has
admitted his guilt, according to his lawyers but investigators are still trying
to determine what happened to the paintings.
Dogaru's
mother Olga earlier this year told prosecutors she had torched the paintings in
her stove in the sleepy village of Carcaliu in a bid to destroy evidence and
protect her son.
Last month
she retracted her statement.
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Old nails
used to fix paintings onto frames
is shown during a press conference in
Bucharest on August 8, 2013. (AFP,
Daniel Mihailescu)
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The museum
could not say whether these were from the paintings stolen in Rotterdam.
However, four of the stolen artworks were oil paintings.
It took
less than three minutes for the thieves to take seven masterpieces by some of
the world's most famous artists from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, one of
the world's largest ports, in the pre-dawn heist on October 16, 2012.
Among the
paintings stolen and carried away in burlap sacks were Picasso's "Tete
d'Arlequin", Monet's "Waterloo Bridge" and "Femme Devant
une Fenetre Ouverte, dite La Fiancee" by Paul Gauguin.
The total
value of the haul, dubbed the "theft of the century" in the
Netherlands, was 18 million euros ($24 million) according to prosecutors, while
art experts at the time of the heist had claimed the paintings were worth up to
100 million euros.
"The
theft was carried out according to a meticulous plan," prosecutors say in
the indictment.
A Romanian
art expert said Monday she gave the police crucial information which led to the
arrest of three suspects, including Radu Dogaru.
In an interview
with Romanian daily Adevarul and Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, Mariana Dragu of
Romania's National Art Museum said that in November 2012 she had been asked by
a friend to appraise two paintings which he intended to buy.
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An
investigator searches the Rotterdam
Kunsthal museum for clues after a
break-in
on October 16, 2012 (ANP/AFP/
File, Robin Utrecht)
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Dragu said
she did not immediately make the connection with the Kunsthal theft but when
she did, she immediately called the prosecutor's office.
The Dutch
police "could not believe" that the stolen paintings were in Romania,
but Dragu had taken a picture which proved it, she said.
Two months
later, three suspects were arrested in Romania, two of whom had been identified
by Dutch police thanks to surveillance cameras.
The three
suspects were Dogaru, 29, Eugen Darie and Mihai Alexandru Bitu.
Dogaru was
already known to police, and is under investigation for murder and human trafficking.
If found
guilty of "theft with exceptionally serious consequences", he incurs
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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A man walks
through the Kunsthal
museum in Rotterdam on October 17,
2012 (ANP/AFP/File,
Robin Utrecht)
|
With little
knowledge of art but eager to steal valuable old pieces, the group settled on
the Kunsthal by chance.
After
searching for museums on their GPS, the group initially found themselves at
Rotterdam's Natural History Museum, but soon realised its exhibits could not be
resold.
They then
chanced upon a poster advertising an exhibition of 150 masterpieces from the
private Triton Foundation at the Kunsthal.
Despite
their value, none of the paintings was equipped with an alarm, Dutch
authorities said.
The stolen
paintings were transported to Romania by road, then hidden in Dogaru's village,
Carcaliu.
The group
tried to sell the paintings, but without success. A former model, Petre
Condrat, accused of being an intermediary, is charged with concealment.
Olga Dogaru
will also stand trial on Tuesday for aiding and abetting a theft. A separate
investigation into the possible destruction of the artworks is pending.
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