Latest news with #TheGuggenheimMuseum
1News
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
Men who stole $10m golden toilet sentenced to prison terms
Two burglars who plotted the heist of a $6.4 million (NZ$10.6 million) golden toilet, a fully-functional 18-karat piece of contemporary art that was ripped from the plumbing of an English mansion, were sentenced today to more than two years in a British prison. The satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled 'America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had only been on display for a couple days when five burglars swiped it from Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born — in September 2019. The purloined potty was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. 'This bold and brazen heist took no more than 5 1/2 minutes to complete,' Judge Ian Pringle said in Oxford Crown Court. 'America has never been seen again.' James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property, was sentenced to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. Toilet once offered to Trump ADVERTISEMENT The toilet weighed just over 98 kilograms and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the bullion at the time was 2.8 million pounds (NZ$5.8 million), but it was insured for 4.7 million pounds (more than NZ$9.9 million). The piece by Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million (NZ$10.3 million) at auction in New York, poked fun at excessive wealth. It had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum in New York. When US President Donald Trump asked the museum to loan him a Van Gogh painting during his first term in office, the Guggenheim cheekily offered the toilet instead. The White House did not accept the offer. The toilet had just gone on display when Jones visited the museum twice, booking a viewing the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience 'splendid' during his testimony. Cameras capture swift smash-and-grab The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore across well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. ADVERTISEMENT Surveillance footage showed one of the men, whose face was hidden in a black mask, walking from the palace with a golden toilet seat in his hand. Two other men appeared to lift something golden into the trunk of a waiting car and the suspension sagged under the weight. Sheen's DNA was found on a sledgehammer left behind at the scene of the crime indicating he was among the burglars. Investigators also found hundreds of gold fragments on a pair of sweatpants at his home, which had come from cutting up the spoils of the caper. Sheen had sent a relative a photo of 520,000 pounds (NZ$1.1 million) in cash, which a prosecutor said was for the sale of about a fifth of the gold. None of the gold or money has ever been recovered and no one else was charged with the theft. Detective Superintendent Bruce Riddell of the Thames Valley Police said the investigation is ongoing and could include recovering luxury goods that were purchased with proceeds from the crime. He said investigators are confident they know at least two of the other culprits but don't have the evidence yet to charge them. Another convict, Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, who tried to help Sheen find a buyer for the gold was spared a jail term when Pringle sentenced him last month to a suspended sentence for conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Pringle said the thieves had taken advantage of him. Law catches up with long-time criminals ADVERTISEMENT Both Sheen and Jones had lengthy criminal records, prosecutor Julian Christopher said. At the time of the burglary, Sheen was on parole for a firearms conviction that involved a running gun battle with another car that injured passengers in a third vehicle. He was arrested for additional crimes while on release and has since been sentenced to serve more than 19 years in prison. Jones had a record dating back to the age of 13 that included burglary, several car thefts and robbery. Almost six years ago, on the eve of the heist, Jones did his reconnaissance work testing out the toilet. It was a Friday the 13th (local time), a day many consider unlucky. For several years it appeared that fortune had favoured the burglars. They avoided charges for more than four years and several thieves have not been brought to justice. But Sheen and Jones ultimately paid a price for their roles — on Friday the 13th (local time).
Arab Times
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab Times
Men who stole $6 million golden toilet sentenced to prison terms
LONDON, June 14, (AP): Two burglars who plotted the heist of a $6.4 million golden toilet, a fully-functional 18-karat piece of contemporary art that was ripped from the plumbing of an English mansion, were sentenced Friday to more than two years in a British prison. The satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled "America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had only been on display for a couple of days when five burglars swiped it from Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born - in September 2019. The purloined potty was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than 5 1/2 minutes to complete,' Judge Ian Pringle said in Oxford Crown Court. "America has never been seen again.' James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property, was sentenced to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the bullion at the time was 2.8 million pounds ($3.5 million), but it was insured for 4.7 million pounds (more than $6 million). The piece by Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York, poked fun at excessive wealth. It had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum in New York. When U.S. President Donald Trump asked the museum to loan him a Van Gogh painting during his first term in office, the Guggenheim cheekily offered the toilet instead. The White House did not accept the offer. The toilet had just gone on display when Jones visited the museum twice, booking a viewing the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock, and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience "splendid' during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore across well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Surveillance footage showed one of the men, whose face was hidden in a black mask, walking from the palace with a golden toilet seat in his hand. Two other men appeared to lift something golden into the trunk of a waiting car, and the suspension sagged under the weight. Sheen's DNA was found on a sledgehammer left behind at the scene of the crime indicating he was among the burglars. Investigators also found hundreds of gold fragments on a pair of sweatpants at his home, which had come from cutting up the spoils of the caper. Sheen had sent a relative a photo of 520,000 pounds in cash, which a prosecutor said was for the sale of about a fifth of the gold. None of the gold or money has ever been recovered and no one else was charged with the theft. Detective Superintendent Bruce Riddell of the Thames Valley Police said the investigation is ongoing and could include recovering luxury goods that were purchased with proceeds from the crime. He said investigators are confident they know at least two of the other culprits but don't have the evidence yet to charge them. Another convict, Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, who tried to help Sheen find a buyer for the gold was spared a jail term when Pringle sentenced him last month to a suspended sentence for conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Pringle said the thieves had taken advantage of him. Both Sheen and Jones had lengthy criminal records, prosecutor Julian Christopher said. At the time of the burglary, Sheen was on parole for a firearms conviction that involved a running gun battle with another car that injured passengers in a third vehicle. He was arrested for additional crimes while on release and has since been sentenced to serve more than 19 years in prison. Jones had a record dating back to the age of 13 that included burglary, several car thefts, and robbery. Almost six years ago, on the eve of the heist, Jones did his reconnaissance work testing out the toilet. It was a Friday the 13th, a day many consider unlucky. For several years it appeared that fortune had favored the burglars. They avoided charges for more than four years, and several thieves have not been brought to justice. But Sheen and Jones ultimately paid a price for their roles - on Friday the 13th.
DW
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- DW
UK: Two jailed over gold toilet theft from Blenheim Palace – DW – 06/14/2025
Two men have received jail sentences for their roles in the 2019 theft of an 18-karat gold toilet from the mansion. The $5.5 million artwork, which satirized consumerism, was once offered on loan to Donald Trump. An Oxford court on Friday handed jail sentences to two members of a gang that in 2019 stole a £4.75 million ($6.4 million, €5.5 million) art work in the form of a gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of famous British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The toilet, entitled "America" and created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan as a commentary on ostentatious consumerism, had been on display for a just few days at the stately home when a five-strong gang smashed its way into the palace, ripping out the fully functioning appliance. The toilet, which was split up or melted down and sold on, soon after it was stolen and has never been recovered, weighed approximately 98 kilograms (216 pounds) and was made from gold worth about €3.3 million. How long do you go to prison for stealing a golden toilet? One of the men, James Sheen, 40, received a four-year sentence that will run consecutively to the 19 years and 4-month sentence he is currently serving for attacks on cash machines, a museum burglary and fraud. He is believed to have wielded the sledgehammer used to remove the toilet from its fastenings. The other, Michael Jones, 39, received a 27-month sentence, with the judge saying he could not be sure he was part of the gang that carried out the burglary, though he was found guilty of having carried out reconnaissance at the stately home preceding the crime. That reconnaissance included trying out the facility a day before the theft, an experience he described to the court as "splendid." Other members of the gang have already been sentenced for their roles in the theft. Golden toilet once offered to Donald Trump The toilet had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum in New York, and had been offered to US President Donald Trump as a loan during his first term of office, an offer the White House declined, having rather requested a Van Gogh painting. One of Cattelan's other works, a banana duct-taped to a wall, was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York. Blenheim Palace, which was built in the 18th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, Thousands of visitors come each year to visit it and the valuable art and furniture that it houses. Edited by: Alex Berry
The Advertiser
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Men jailed for stealing golden toilet from UK mansion
Two men who stole a golden toilet from an English mansion have been sentenced to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born - when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early-morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed 98kg and was worth more than its weight in gold, being insured for more than $US6 million ($A9.2 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled America, by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $US6.2 million at auction in New York. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime on Friday. "America has never been seen again." The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to US President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience "splendid" during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Two men who stole a golden toilet from an English mansion have been sentenced to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born - when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early-morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed 98kg and was worth more than its weight in gold, being insured for more than $US6 million ($A9.2 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled America, by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $US6.2 million at auction in New York. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime on Friday. "America has never been seen again." The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to US President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience "splendid" during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Two men who stole a golden toilet from an English mansion have been sentenced to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born - when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early-morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed 98kg and was worth more than its weight in gold, being insured for more than $US6 million ($A9.2 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled America, by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $US6.2 million at auction in New York. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime on Friday. "America has never been seen again." The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to US President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience "splendid" during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Two men who stole a golden toilet from an English mansion have been sentenced to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born - when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early-morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed 98kg and was worth more than its weight in gold, being insured for more than $US6 million ($A9.2 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled America, by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $US6.2 million at auction in New York. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime on Friday. "America has never been seen again." The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to US President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience "splendid" during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year.
Perth Now
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Men jailed for stealing golden toilet from UK mansion
Two men who stole a golden toilet from an English mansion have been sentenced to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born - when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early-morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed 98kg and was worth more than its weight in gold, being insured for more than $US6 million ($A9.2 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled America, by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $US6.2 million at auction in New York. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime on Friday. "America has never been seen again." The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to US President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience "splendid" during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year.
