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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Spent last week meting out justice to criminals everywhere.
Joselito Vega faces charges in NY, accused of stealing $100,000+ in artwork
One piece was a Picasso

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -

An Easton man is accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of artwork including one by Pablo Picasso.

Charges against Joselito Vega were announced Monday by Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice.

Vega, 42, of the 100 block of Scott Street in Easton, stole paintings from a home where he was hired to work, said the prosecutors, adding that he then used his ex-sister-in-law's identity, without her knowledge, to sell one of the paintings at an auction through Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, Calif.

It started in March 2011. Vega was working for Zimmer Painting Inc. and was assigned a job at the Schulhof Estate in Kings Point, N.Y., officials said. The Schulhof Collection is a well-known private art collection of post-war and contemporary European and American art, which includes more than 300 works of art.

About a year later, the Schulhof Estate completed an inventory of its works and realized three were missing, officials said. Gone were Le Fauteuil II (the Armchair II) by Jean DuBuffet, a French artist. The work is estimated to be worth approximately $50,000. The other missing paintings were Tuftonboro by Frank Stella and Flower by Norman Lewis.

The Kings County district attorney’s office began investigating what it called "Operation to Catch a Thief."

Prosecutors said they found the Dubuffet had been given to Clars Auction Gallery and sold for $8,500 to a buyer in Monaco on Sept. 11, 2011.

Vega had used his ex-sister-in-law's identity for the transactions with the auction gallery, official said. He then tricked his ex-sister-in-law into creating a bank account in her name so he could cash a check. Officials said he told her he did not want the money in his bank account because he worried he'd lose his social security benefits.

"The defendant tried to launder the proceeds from the stolen art in Brooklyn. Investigators were able to track down one of the works in an Oakland art gallery. It obviously raises a red flag when you are selling a $50,000 painting for less than $10,000. I want to commend our investigators for their work, and thank the Nassau County DA's office, San Francisco DA's office, Easton, Pa. Police Department and the Oakland, Calif. Police Department for their efforts in this investigation," said District Attorney Hynes.

At the end of last month, Vega was hired for another job at the Schulhof Estate. Detectives set up a sting operation to catch him stealing art, the prosecutors said. Vega, they said, was caught on camera taking three more paintings. This time, one of the pieces of art was Three Graces II, an etching by Pablo Picasso, officials said. He also allegedly stole another Jean Dubuffet work -- “Chien”. He is also accused of taking a Yaacov Agam work called “Presence de Rythmes”.

Police searched Vega's Easton home, after acquiring a search warrant. Computers and other records were seized.

"The Schulhof Estate spent decades gathering and protecting hundreds of pieces of artwork, yet where others saw incredible beauty in these paintings, Joselito Vega only saw the opportunity to make a quick buck," Rice said. "He violated the trust of his employer and a former family member and he must now face the consequences of his actions."

Vega was indicted in the Brooklyn case on charges of money laundering, identity theft and grand larceny. He faces up to 11 years in the Brooklyn case. In Nassau County, Vega faces a pair of grand larceny charges and could face up to five to 15 years in prison. The sentences could be imposed to run consecutively.

Vega was arrested by detectives from the Kings County district attorney’s office. In total, the six paintings that Vega is alleged to have stolen are worth over $100,000.
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional- ... index.html

So what'd you all do last week? :batman:

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Here is a video of the string operation the detectives used to catch him in the act.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYvwoIj3ktY

Its long and boring but it shows him sifting through some very valuable paintings and trying to determine their worth.

Overall, art theft isn't as sexy or as thrilling as movies like the Thomas Crown Affair would have you believe.

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Jury Duty is Over!!!!

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Wizard world NYC Experience as fun. Not nearly as packed or as hectic as NYCC but still very enjoyable. Will post a full report later but the highlights: got to take a photo with Stan Lee! I can cross that off the bucket list

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XIII
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Location: Lyon, France

Post by XIII »

Well done!! Did you take Ishmail?

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wolf_2099
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Post by wolf_2099 »

Mr Wallstreet wrote:Wizard world NYC Experience as fun. Not nearly as packed or as hectic as NYCC but still very enjoyable. Will post a full report later but the highlights: got to take a photo with Stan Lee! I can cross that off the bucket list
YAY!

Do you have Auto's and photos now from the Man?
"French is like anal, exotic but oh so unnecessary."

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

XIII, I absolutely did not take Ismael with me. A year old child in the middle of a con is no fun. I'll maybe take him when he's 5 or so.

Wulf, yup I've got photos & an autograph from him so I'm set. However, I might try and get another pic with him at a future date. The line to get pics with Stan Lee was set outside in the muggy heat. By the time I got inside, I was feeling awful & sweaty and when the photographer took the photo, the flash (very brightly) was reflected off the left lens of my glasses and caused me to blink my right eye. The end result looks like I'm hypnotizing you while falling asleep. I'll post the picture (as well as other pics) soon

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XIII
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Post by XIII »

Also, you were not smiling in the pic.

(ps: was kidding about taking Ismael)

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Tragic Angelus
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Post by Tragic Angelus »

Of course he wasn't smiling. He never does.

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wolf_2099
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Post by wolf_2099 »

Happy Birthday!

(I know I am a day late, but I worked 16 hours ago and missed the train on this one.)
"French is like anal, exotic but oh so unnecessary."

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Thank you very much good sir! I hope work is going well!

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jedispyder
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Location: Cincy

Post by jedispyder »

Did you do anything special for it?

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Not really. I was at work that day. After work, I met friends for dinner. Then I took the family (the entire family) out for dinner the next day

It was an okay b-day but what sucked was when I got home and found the bathroom in the basement had...malfunctioned for lack of a better term. The pipes in the wall began leaking so I had to shut off the water to the basement.

I called in a contractor to take a look and he told me the wall needs to be ripped out and the pipes for the shower need to be replaced. Yay for fucking renovations!

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wolf_2099
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Post by wolf_2099 »

Well... time for a better shower?

That's very shitty. Insurance cover anything?
"French is like anal, exotic but oh so unnecessary."

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Insurance won't cover it. The damage wasn't caused by any external forces. leaky pipes are considered run of the mill renovations that arent typically covered by insurance. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get it repaired for several months due to some other is stuff I'm having work done on.

In other news, Stan Lee is returning to NYCC so ill have another chance to either get a new picture taken with him and/or an autograph. I'm definitely leaning towards getting an autograph (hopefully personalized) but I'm not sure whether I want another photo. The last photo I got with him didn't come out so great. I posted it as a PDF so let me know what you think but I'm becoming more and more okay with it. Thoughts on if I should get another photo?

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wolf_2099
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Post by wolf_2099 »

Hey, Farhan.
What are the chances of you going to this?

http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=15066
"French is like anal, exotic but oh so unnecessary."

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Now that I know about it, my chances of going are excellent. Sorry for the delayed response, I've been away from BX (unintentionally) for a while.

How can I help you with your Warren Ellis quest?

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wolf_2099
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Post by wolf_2099 »

I've never had anything signed by him, and he's my favorite.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'd have enough time to mail you something to get signed. (I have like 20 books already signed that he wrote, I really need him to do a NA convention.)

I was thinking I could order a couple from a US site that would make it to you in time?
I'd really like to get Crecy, a Strange Kiss or Nextwave 1 signed. (And about 10 other comics, but that would be excessive.)
"French is like anal, exotic but oh so unnecessary."

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

Sure go ahead. Hopefully they'll get here in time. Do you want him to just sign them or have them personalized?

Also, In the event that they dont arrive in time, what do you want to do?

I'll DM my address to you on facebook

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Mr Wallstreet
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Post by Mr Wallstreet »

The Warren Ellis signing was a success.

I got all of Wulf's books signed and personalized with the exception of one , or perhaps 2 books that Ellis signed but didn't personalize.

And for myself I got JLA/Planetary & Batman/Planetary signed and personalized. The limit was strictly 4 books per person but I shoved the whole stack at Ellis and he signed them despite the Forbidden Planet employee trying to put a stop to it. Funny moment: While signing the books, Ellis said "This Cameron fellow is a right bastard for making sign his bloody name so many times". :)

Ok, Im sleepy, had a full day of movies & comics. Off to bed. Ill post full details tomorrow or something

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