Yogi Berra arrested for stealing World Series ring

new york –Federal officials charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of paintings, sports memorabilia and other valuables, including nine Yogi Berra World Series rings, Andy Warhol silkscreens and Jackson Pollock paintings announced the indictment against the group of nine.

The thefts occurred at 20 different museums and facilities in Pennsylvania over 20 years. new jersey, new york U.S. Attorneys for the Central District of Pennsylvania and North Dakota announced Thursday.

U.S. Attorney Gerald M. Callum said at a press conference that investigators believed some of the sports memorabilia had melted down, including nine of Berra’s 10 World Series rings.

It is unclear which items will be returned to their owners or to the museum, but authorities said some of the valuables had been recovered.

Karam said eight of the nine people named as part of the thieves’ gang turned in on Thursday. At least five had already signed preliminary plea deals on charges including major art theft and conspiracy to dispose of major cultural sites, according to court records. The suspects are in their late 40s and early 50s and live in Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, a phone message was left for the attorney named on behalf of the eight suspects in court documents.

Callum said the ninth suspect, 53-year-old Nicholas Dombeck, is believed to be a fugitive.

According to the indictment, the thieves brought memorabilia and valuables, melted gold items into portable discs, and sold them for hundreds of thousands of dollars, much less than the value of many items. It is said that it was done.

Court documents also allege that Dombeck burned and destroyed a painting by Jasper Cropsey to prevent the stolen art, titled “Upper Hudson,” from being used as evidence against him. ing.

Some of the robberies occurred nearly 20 years ago, including the 2005 Scranton Everhart Museum robbery that shattered a glass door in the back of the building. They are Jackson Pollock’s 1949 oil painting Springs Winter (estimated $11.6 million at the time) and Andy Warhol’s Le Grande Passion (estimated $15,000 at the time). stole the silkscreen of

Callum offered few details on how investigators, from the FBI to local police, unraveled the case, saying only that recently discovered evidence sheds light on the organization’s activities.

“About three years ago, the local police agency found a forensic link at one of the theft sites, which provided forensic evidence related to some of these thefts,” he said.

Here are the details of the stolen items:

• New York Giants pitcher and Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson’s baseball jersey and two contracts he signed were on display at Keystone University.
• 9 World Series rings belonging to Yogi Berra, 7 other rings, and 2 MVP plates (including rings believed to have been melted and destroyed).
• A solid gold, jeweled Hickok belt and an MVP plate from the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, North Dakota. Maris won two MVP awards, including when he passed Babe Ruth’s 61-season home run record in 1961. Yankees.
• The Hickok Belt and US Amateur Trophy awarded to Ben Hogan by the USGA Golf Museum and Library. A nine-time major champion, Hogan is one of the greatest and most influential golfers in the history of the sport.
• Twelve trophies awarded to golfing great Art Wall, Jr., on display at a country club in Scranton, Pennsylvania, are believed to have melted and destroyed.
• Trophy worth $300,000 from the National Harness Racing Museum in Goshen, New York.
• An 1836 Colt Patterson revolver and two other guns from the Space Farm Zoo and Museum in Wantage, New Jersey.

Other burglary prosecutors say the charges are related to the allegations announced Thursday at facilities including the Boxing Hall of Fame, the Sterling Hills Mining Museum and Ringwood Manor. Other stolen items included gold nuggets, jewelry, paintings, firearms, historical items, and sports prizes.