Gang Found Guilty of Stealing Golden Toilet
Italian Artist Cattelan's Work Targeted
Gold Valued at About 5.1 Billion KRW at Time of Theft
The installation artwork "America" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan installed in the restroom of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in September 2016, before it was stolen. AP=Yonhap News Photo
A gang that stole and sold a 'golden toilet' worth 4.75 million pounds (approximately 9 billion KRW) from the birthplace of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is set to face legal punishment more than five years after the crime. Although the skyrocketing price of gold has sharply increased the value of the stolen item, the whereabouts of the loot remain unknown.
According to foreign media including AP and Reuters on the 18th (local time), a jury at the Oxford Crown Court in the UK found Michael Jones (39) and Frederick Do (36) guilty of conspiring to steal the 'golden toilet.' They are charged with robbery and aiding the transfer of stolen goods, respectively.
Jones was investigated for participating in the theft of the art piece 'Golden Toilet' by Italian installation artist Maurizio Cattelan, which was exhibited at Blenheim Palace in the UK on September 14, 2019. Blenheim Palace, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famous as the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, a hero of World War II.
According to the prosecution, Jones acted under the orders of James Sean (40), the mastermind and main perpetrator who had already been arrested and convicted. On the day of the incident, Jones and at least two other accomplices broke a window at Blenheim Palace in the early morning, removed the golden toilet installed in the room right next to where Churchill was born, loaded it into a stolen vehicle, and fled. The crime, which involved the use of a large hammer and crowbar, took less than five minutes.
The prosecution described the crime as "a bold raid that was meticulously planned and executed in advance," but also noted that "the perpetrators were careless. They left evidence in the form of forensic data, CCTV footage, and mobile phone records." They added, "The main perpetrator Sean and his gang cut up the stolen golden toilet, melted it down, and sold it to jewelers to convert it into cash." They expressed confidence, saying, "Although none of the stolen gold has been recovered, this prosecution has contributed to dismantling a broader criminal and money laundering network."
The sentencing trial for them is scheduled for May in Do's case, while the trial dates for Jones and the main perpetrator Sean have not yet been set. Do is accused of not directly participating in the theft but later conspiring with Sean to move the stolen golden toilet.
Meanwhile, the 'golden toilet' is Cattelan's representative work, strongly satirical and mocking excessive wealth. He created the piece to criticize wealth disparity and described it as "art for the 1% for the 99%."
Cattelan named the piece 'America,' made from 98 kg of 18K gold, and first exhibited it at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016. The piece also gained attention when the Guggenheim Museum proposed installing it at the White House as a substitute when President Donald Trump wanted to borrow a Van Gogh painting owned by the museum in 2018. According to the prosecution, the gold was valued at 2.8 million pounds (about 5.08 billion KRW) at the time of the theft. Since then, the price of gold has soared, sharply increasing its value.
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