A man who was part of a crime ring which stole paintings by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock as well as artifacts and memorabilities across two decades was recently sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
Thomas Trotta was given the prison sentence on March 13. His sentence also included a requirement to repay $2.8 million in restitution.
Trotta was the fourth person sentenced as part of a multi-state investigation into thefts over two decades at 20 museums, institutions, and stores across six states and in Washington, D.C. The stolen items included Warhol’s silkscreen work Le Grande Passion (1984) and Pollock’s oil painting Springs Winter (1949) from the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2005.
Springs Winter had been loaned to the Everhart Museum by a private collector, while Le Grande Passion was part of the museum’s collection. The Warhol silkscreen was originally commissioned for an ad campaign for Grand Passion cognac.
The Associated Press reported the Pollock painting had an estimated value of nearly $12 million in 2023, and Trotta admitted to the theft of both artworks. A museum official told The Associated Press that neither work had been recovered.
Trotta’s lawyer, Joe D’Andrea, told the Associated Press that his client was “the main burglar, he was the one that went into the institutions and burglarized them.”
In addition to the artworks, prosecutors said Trotta also admitted to the thefts of commemorative rings and MVP sports plaques with an estimated value of $500,000 from the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey.
Investigation into the various burglaries also implicated Trotta in the theft of a Tiffany lamp, as well as boxing, horse racing, baseball, and golf items. The theft ring also stole Jasper Cropsey’s painting Upper Hudson (1871), estimated to be worth $100,000 or more, from Ringwood Manner in New Jersey in 2011. The painting was later burned by a member of the crime ring.
An attorney for defendant Nicholas Dombek, a person convicted as part of the crime ring who still awaits sentencing, called Trotta’s 8-year sentence “a big break” in exchange for testifying against Dombek and two others.
“The coin of the realm when you cooperate is you get a break,” attorney Gino Bartolai told the Associated Press.
Dombek’s conviction on multiple charges was announced last month by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
