British justice has declared two men guilty, Michael Jones and James Sheen, for stealing in 2019 a gold toilet Of 18 carats, as reported by the Prosecutor’s Office of England and Wales (CPS) in a statement. The work of art, entitled Americawas stolen from the Blenheim Palace, the historic 18th century residence of the Churchill family, in southern England.
The toilet, fully functional and with a weight of 98 kiloshad an estimated value of 4.8 million pounds (5.7 million euros). As determined by the Oxford Crown Court, the work was divided by parts and sold as molten gold After theft.
James Sheen, considered the intellectual author, had admitted crimes earlier this year, including a robbery charge and another for conspiracy to transfer criminal property. The second defendant, Michael Jones, went to the palace twice before theft, although he denied that they were “Recognition visits“, although he took images of the window they later used to access.
A third man, Fred Doe36 years old, has been convicted of conspiracy for facilitating the sale of gold obtained after theft. The accused room, Bora Guccuk41, he was acquitted of the conversion and transfer of said gold.
According to the CPPs, Sheen and his accomplices led Two stolen vehicles And they used “mallets and levers” to enter and take out the toilet, before loading it in the back of one of the cars and leave in less than 5 minutes. “It was a bold robbery, which was carefully planned and executed, but those responsible were not careful enough and left a trace of forensic evidence, security cameras and telephone data material,” said Shan Saunders, from the Prosecutor’s Office.
“Although gold never recovered, we trust that this judicial action has contributed to dismantling a broader network of crime and money laundering,” Saunders added. The Penalty that those responsible will face will be known in May.
A film theft
The Váter was stolen at dawn on September 14, 2019. It is a work by the Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. The toilet, in addition, was connected to the pipes and could even be used by the public when it was stolen by these criminals, which caused a series of damages in the facilities that forced its closure temporarily. The four involved were formally accused in 2023.
The golden satirical sculpture was first shown in the Guggenheim in New York in 2016, where it could also be used by visitors. Then, the museum was offered to the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
The mansion where Blenheim Palace was located, is from the 18th century and in it The descendants still reside of the former conservative leader Winston Churchill. It is also a World Heritage and has become one of the tourist attractions of the United Kingdom.
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