DNA left on a painting cover has helped investigators recover two stolen Renoirs and uncover plans for another heist, according to a French prosecutor NANTERRE, France -- DNA left on a protective painting cover helped investigators recover two stolen Renoirs and uncover what they suspected were preparations for another art heist, a French prosecutor said Monday. Four men were given preliminary charges in the investigation into the Sept. 8 theft from the small Renoir Museum in the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera. The charges include organized theft and criminal association, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said.
One painting, “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano,” suffered a tear. The other, “Young Woman at the Well,” had slight damage to its frame, Bessone said. He estimated their combined value at 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million).
The thieves used an electric saw to cut through a fence, entered the museum through the ground floor and cut clips securing the frames of four paintings. An alarm sounded and police officers arrived four minutes later, a swift response that “apparently caused the perpetrators to panic,” Bessone said. "As they fled, they were unable to take all four paintings and abandoned two of them, which were later found in a protective sleeve,” he said.
The DNA found on the abandoned cover matched that of a 29-year-old already under investigation in a drug trafficking case in which police were tracking his vehicle, Bessone said. Vehicle-tracking data showed that the suspect, accompanied by a 41-year-old man, went to the home of a third man shortly after the theft, Bessone said. Police surveillance also showed that the 29-year-old on Oct. 3 visited the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence — home to a large modern art collection.
The suspect then met with a fourth man known to police from art theft and forgery cases in 2001 and 2003. Bessone said the arrests were prompted by the “very strong suspicion that another heist was imminent.” The two men suspected of carrying out the museum theft have been given preliminary charges of “theft committed by an organized gang” and “criminal association,” among other counts. They were sent to prison pending further investigation.
The have denied wrongdoing, Bessone said. The third suspect acknowledged receiving the paintings at his home and hiding them behind a wall built beneath a staircase after the theft. Investigators recovered the Renoirs from the hiding place, Bessone said.
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