After almost five years of investigations, British Justice has issued a sentence in the unusual case of the robbery of the solid gold toilet designed by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Two men, Michael Jones and Frederick Snes, were declared guilty for their participation in the theft of sculpture entitled ‘America’, stolen in 2019 of the Blenheim Palace, a historical residence of the 18th century in southern England.
The toilet, fully functional and manufactured in 18 carat gold, had an estimated value of 4.8 million pounds (5.7 million euros). As determined by the Oxford Court, the piece was disassembled and sold as molten gold After theft.
Michael Jones, 39, worked as a mason and was considered the “right arm” of James Sheen, identified as the group’s leader and who declared himself guilty in April 2024. For his part, Frederick Sines, aka “Fred Doe”, was found guilty of having facilitated the sale of gold obtained after the robbery.
The court, however, exculpated Bora Guccuk, a 41 -year -old gold merchant who was involved in the transaction, but alleged to ignore the origin of the precious metal.
Film worthy
The events occurred on the night of September 13 to 14, 2019, when a group of thieves broke into the Blenheim Palace and stole the toilet, causing important damage and causing a flood. The Security cameras They captured five suspects, but only two were identified and processed.
The ‘America’ sculpture had been the centerpiece of an exhibition dedicated to Maurizio Cattelan in the Palace, which is Unesco World Heritage and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. Previously, this peculiar toilet had been at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where it was used by about 100,000 people Between 2016 and 2017.
With the guilt declaration of Jones and Sines, the case of the stolen gold tool comes to an end. The sentences that those responsible will face will be known in May, thus closing one of the most extravagant robberies of recent years.
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