Stolen in California, a multi-million dollar collection of paintings returned to the owner

Police returned a multi-million dollar collection of paintings stolen in southern California from the home of financier Jeffrey Gundlach. 13 paintings, including works by Jasper Johns (Jasper Johns) and Pete Mondrian (Piet Mondrian), were stolen between September 12 and 14.

Gundlach, who was in New York at the time, announced that he would pay a reward of $ 1.7 million to anyone who pointed out the whereabouts of the paintings. The crime was solved quite quickly. Already on September 26, police arrested Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles, a certain Jeffrey Nieto (Jeffrey Nieto). Under him, a significant part of the stolen collection was discovered. His accomplice, Wilmer Cadiz, was taken into custody at his home in the small town of San Gabriel. During the search, four more works of art were discovered. The last canvas was found in Los Angeles, the name of the offender is not called, as he expressed a desire to cooperate with the investigation.

A criminal case has been instituted under the article “burglary”.

Gundlach, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Capital DoubleLine, in his statement thanked the Santa Monica Police Department for their prompt work. “This is a great day for the world of art and all those who seek order and justice in our society,” Gundlach said. Gundlach’s lawyers did not report whether the promised remuneration was paid.

The total value of stolen paintings amounted to 39 million dollars. In addition to the paintings, the criminals stole a Porsche Carrera 4S car (not yet found), several luxury watches, a gun and several bottles of collection wine, worth up to $ 100,000 each.

Anna Sidorova