The Stolen Masterpiece Tracker: Memoirs of the FBI's Leading Undercover Art Sleuth 1569803145, 9781569803141

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The Danserey Life of the FBI's #1 Art Sleuth

Thomas. McShane ;

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ISBN 1-56980-314-5

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True Crime

Legendary FBI undercover agent Thomas of the world’s foremost McShane—one billion-dollar art theft the on es authoriti business—teams with best-selling author Dary Matera to provide a thrilling ride through the secretive, cloak-and-dagger underworld of stolen art and artifacts. For

twenty-five

Special

years,

Agent

McShane masked his colorful alter egos in detailed disguises to chase down $300 million worth of stolen paintings and other invaluable artworks.

the

historic

Once

recaptured,

masterpieces

to

he

returned

a glittering,

international array of museums, governments, and millionaire collectors. From Rembrandts lifted off the walls of the Leon Bonnat Museum in Bayonne, France,

to a 14th Century Serra snatched from an ancient Roman

Catholic Church in Andorra,

Spain, Thomas McShane relentlessly tracked the treasures until they were returned to their rightful owners. Along the way, McShane matched wits with a devil’s brew of deadly mobsters, devious conmen, and criminal masterminds—

usually in dangerous, face-to-face encounters. His expertise and determination prompted FBI Director William H.: Webster to name McShane as the Senior Investigator of the FBI's expanding Art Squad. ———

STOLEN MASTERPIECE IRACKER

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The Dangerous Life ofthe FBI's #1 Art Sleuth

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BARRICADE Booxs Fort Lee, New JERSEY

Published by Barricade Books Inc. 185 Bridge Plaza North Suite 308-A Fort Lee, NJ 07024

www.barricadebooks.com

Copyright © 2006 by Thomas McShane with Dary Matera All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McShane, Thomas, & Matera, Dary., 1946

Stolen Masterpiece Tracker: Memoirs of the FBI’s Leading Undercover Art Sleuth/, Thomas McShane with, Dary Matera

p.cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-56980-3 14-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) McShane, Thomas. 2. Art thefts—Investigation. I. Matera, Dar, 1955—II. Title. N8795.5.M47M47 2006 363.25092—dc22

[B] First Printing

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

VII

AuTHOR’s NOTE

IX

INTRODUCTION

XI

THE CuRSE OF REMBRANDT'’S RABBI PART ONE N

THE CuRSE OF REMBRANDT'S RABBI Part Two: SHUFFLING OFF TO BUFFALO

15

A RUBENS PICKUP IN PEEKSKILL AND POUGHKEEPSIE BECOMES THE PRECURSOR TO ABSCAM

34

Picasso’s $100 MILLION PURPLE REIGN

50

THE RussiANs ARE COMING FOR TINTORETTO

59

Picasso CHECKS INTO THE MoTEL Monet

69

RUBENS SPRING BREAKOUT IN FoRT LAUDERDALE

81

A Bic Doc, GRANDMA MosgEs, AND WN OA CON VAN GOGH AT THE GAS STATION THE Boston MusEuM MASSACRE

10

96 116

THE PEEVED PEPPERDINE PROFESSOR DogESN’T HIT THE JACKPOT

132

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

THE GUNSLINGERS TAKE THE GUNSLINGER

145

CoME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, REMINGTON, RUSSELL, AND WYETH

157

ANpb Away THEY Go

168

THE CASE OF THE VANISHING VIRGIN

187

Ben-Hur HITs THE SWEDISH EMBASSY

206

BOUGUEREAU AT THE BORGHI

223

JoHN GoTTi’s HENCHMEN STRIKE OUT WITH PICAsso’s MISTRESS

234

No BosTOn TEA ParTy AT ISABELLA’S

249

EPILOGUE

267

INDEX

277

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

| ee Tommy, Don’T forget your bullets!” This wasn’t Ma Barker, but my dear Mom, Molly McShane. This book would not have been possible without her love and encouragement throughout the years. Thanks, Mom, for everything. Also, many thanks to my dear Aunt Nora and Uncle Frank for their support and encouragement. A special expression of gratitude must be mentioned for the love and support of my wonderful children, Tommy Jeff, Danielle and Marianne, who had to grow up with a Dad who had a number of identities, personas and many unexplained absences.

A huge thanks goes to my mentor, dear friend and former partner, Don Mason who opened the doors of the Art World and taught me the ropes of the undercover game. His passing was a great loss. This memoir would not have been possible without the superb writing,

artistry and story telling skills of my co-author, Dary Matera. Dary breathed life into the many complicated and tangled undercover scenarios making

them as clear, pristine and vibrant as a Mary Cassat portrait.

viii °

STOLEN MASTERPIECE [TRACKER

The author had the opportunity to meet the publisher of Barricade

Books, Lyle Stuart. This man was a giant in the publishing world and his passing on June 24, 2006 was a great loss to all those who knew and loved

him. His belief in this project, his attentive support and guidance, along with that of his wife and partner, Carole Stuart, contributed greatly to the creation of this book. Also, top-flight support was the norm from my literary agent, Stedman Mays. From beginning to end, his tireless efforts on behalf of this book were gargantuan. I would like to thank some of the wonderful people who assisted me in

gathering information and contributed many little odds and ends to complete this book: my children, Tommy Jeff, Danielle Byrne and Marianne; sister-in-law, Debbie McShane and her wonderful daughters Rachael Amanda McShane; my nephew and godchild, Michael McShane, and nieces Mariellen, Alanna and Meghan McShane. Finally, these recoveries were made possible by the firm resolve

my and my and

many sacrifices of a great group of men and women of the FBI. They have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and in doing so, have preserved many great works of art for future generations.

AUTHOR'S

NOTE

VIEWING THE ART

The Internet provides the best opportunity to view historic paintings in all their colorful splendor. One of the best places to find virtually all of the works mentioned in the forthcoming pages is The Art Resource at: www.artres.com/c/htm/Home.aspx

Type in search like this: Pollock, Jackson, “Name of Painting.”

Additional web pages that provide a similar service can be found at: www.artrenewal.org/index.html

www.wega.hu/ www.artres.com/c/htm/Home.aspx

www.globalgallery.com To view the art stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990, (Chapter 18), go to the FBI's web page at:

www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/northamerica/us/isabella/isabella.htm There is a $5 million reward for information leading to their recovery.

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