9 charged in museum thefts

Nine men from Pennsylvania have been charged in connection with thefts from museums in Franklin and Ogdensburg, Space Farms in Wantage and other institutions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said June 15.

Gold nuggets, worth $400,000, were stolen in 2011 from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg.

Bill Kroth, president of that museum, said the gold nuggets were the most valued items stolen.

“The chances of finding a gold nugget today are very rare. Those gold nuggets had their own inherent value,” he said. “It’s is like having a Cadillac or Elvis Presley’s personal Cadillac.”

Also stolen was a chest donated by Rutgers University. It held the museum’s collection of gold coins from the early 20th century as well as gold crystals and gold specimens.

Kroth said the loss was sad. Gold pieces like the ones stolen are impossible to find in that form now, he noted.

He is holding out hope that some of the museum’s gold will be recovered, although legal papers say that after stealing the items, the accused took the stolen goods to northeastern Pennsylvania and melted them into easily transportable metal discs or bars.

They then sold the raw metal to people in the New York City area for hundreds or thousands of dollars but significantly less than the stolen items would be worth at fair market value, officials said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the nine men were charged in connection with these thefts:

• Three antique firearms, worth a combined $1 million, that were stolen in 2006 and an antique shotgun, worth more than $30,000, that was stolen in 2018 from Space Farms Zoo & Museum in Wantage.

• Various gems, minerals and other items that were stolen in 2017 from the Franklin Mineral Museum in Franklin.

• A painting, “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Cropsey, worth about $500,000, and two antique firearms, worth more than $300,000, that were stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood.

• Fourteen trophies and other awards, worth more than $300,000, that were stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y.

Janet Terhune, executive director of the Harness Racing Museum, said one of the most notable pieces stolen was a Faberge soup tureen given by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to the industrialist and harness driver C.K.G. Billings in 1912.

Four indicted

Nicholas Dombek, 53, of Thornhurst; Damien Boland, 47, of Moscow; Alfred Atsus, 47, of Covington Township; and Joseph Atsus, 48, of Roaring Brook were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment or disposal of objects of cultural heritage, and interstate transportation of stolen property.

They also were charged with substantive counts of theft of major artwork and concealment or disposal of objects of cultural heritage.

Dombek was charged with a substantive count of interstate transportation of stolen property.

Five others were charged by felony informations in the same conspiracy. They are Thomas Trotta, 48, of Moscow; Frank Tassiello, 50, of Scranton; Daryl Rinker, 50, of Thornhurst; Dawn Trotta, 51, of Covington Township; and Ralph Parry, 45, of Covington Township.

U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam said the indictment and informations accuse the nine of conspiring during 20 years to break into multiple museums and other institutions to steal priceless works of art, sports memorabilia and other objects.

Those objects include:

• Nine World Series rings, seven other championship rings and two Most Valuable Player (MVP) plaques awarded to Yogi Berra, worth more than $1 million, that were stolen in 2014 from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in Little Falls.

• The U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan that were stolen in 2012 from the USGA Golf Museum & Library in Liberty Corner.

• Five trophies, worth more than $400,000, that were stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. They include the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy.

• The Hickok Belt and MVP Trophy awarded to Roger Maris that were stolen in 2016 from the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, N.D.

• A Christy Mathewson jersey and two contracts signed by Mathewson that were stolen in 1999 from Keystone College in Factoryville, Pa.

• The paintings “Le Grande Passion” by Andy Warhol and “Springs Winter” by Jackson Pollock that were stolen in 2005 from the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pa.

• Six championship belts, including four awarded to Carmen Basilio and two awarded to Tony Zale, that were stolen in 2015 from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y.

• Eleven trophies, including four awarded to Art Wall Jr., that were stolen in 2011 from the Scranton Country Club, Clarks Summit, Pa.

• An 1903-04 Tiffany Lamp that was stolen in 2010 from the Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton, Pa.

• Various jewelry and other items from multiple antique and jewelry stores in New York, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

Dombek was accused of burning the painting by Cropsey to avoid investigators recovering it for use as evidence against the members of the conspiracy. The whereabouts of many other paintings and stolen objects are unknown.

The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, New Jersey State Police, New York State Police and New Jersey State Park Police; the Franklin, West Milford, Montclair, Montclair State University and Bernards Township police departments; and Sussex County and Essex County prosecutor’s offices.

Also investigating were the Chester (N.Y.), Village of Goshen (N.Y.), Newport (R.I.), Fargo (N.D.), Wyoming (Pa.) Regional, Scranton (Pa.), Saratoga Springs (N.Y.), Canastota (N.Y.), South Abington (Pa.) and Salisbury Township (Pa.) police departments; Orange County (N.Y.), Lackawanna County (Pa.) and the Madison County (N.Y.) District Attorney’s Office; and Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C.,

The maximum penalty under federal law for the conspiracy count is five years in prison and for each of the other offenses is 10 years in prison, a term of supervised release after prison and a fine.