Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 22, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba REMEMBRANCE DAY TRIBUTES WILL PUBLISH ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2025 Deadline to submit your Tributes is 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. “ In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row ” – John McCrae email wfpclass@winnipegfreepress.com call 204-697-7100 drop off or mail to: c/o Classified Department, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2X 3B6 TO PLACE YOUR REMEMBRANCE DAY TRIBUTES MESSAGE: REMEMBRANCE DAY Celebrate the memory of a Veteran this Remembrance Day A8 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I WORLD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025 F ROM the outside, what unfolded at the Louvre on Sunday appeared akin to an athletic feat. In seven minutes, a band of thieves scaled a fur- niture elevator, broke through a gallery window, ground through display cases and rode off in broad daylight on motor- bikes with a heap of French crown jew- els. But to Robert Wittman, the former senior investigator and founder of the FBI’s National Art Crime Team, “the real art in an art heist isn’t the stealing, it’s the selling,” he said. “These types of things are so well- known that it’s almost impossible to walk into anywhere and just try to off- load,” he said of the purloined items, which include headpieces, necklaces and earrings worn by French royalty. Wherever the thieves are, they’re probably not resting on their jewels just yet, art crime experts said. Their work has only just begun. What happens to an object after it’s swiped from a museum depends on the nature of the item, and frankly, wheth- er the thieves care about history and art — a scenario some say is unlikely, despite the art-appreciating bandits of Hollywood. Stolen paintings have to remain in- tact since a bit of paint and canvas have little value unless they add up to, say, a recognizable Picasso or Leonardo. But jewelry, such as the nine pieces taken from the Louvre (one of which was re- covered because the burglars dropped it), presents more opportunities for thieves because the gems can be cut into smaller pieces, and metals can be melted down, allowing each object to essentially be sold for parts. Many experts believe that by now, the pieces, which include thousands of dia- monds and other jewels, have already been dismantled. But Wittman was hopeful the thieves could be preserving the trove in hopes the French govern- ment might offer a reward. “One is a terrible tragedy,” he said of breaking down the gems. “The other is something that happens quite often.” “Even criminals … know the value in them is their uniqueness in that they are historical and they have heritage,” he added. That doesn’t mean the items are get- ting first-class treatment, though. “They’re probably in a sack in some- body’s bedroom,” he said, pointing to a case he investigated in Madrid in which US$50 million worth of paintings were stashed behind a refrigerator. Leila Amineddoleh, an adjunct law professor at Fordham University whose practice includes art and cultural herit- age, was less optimistic. “They absolutely do not care about these jewels,” she said. “I doubt any of the thieves were like, ‘Hmm, let me steal this for my wife or girlfriend, this is going to look beautiful on her.’” “No one can wear that tiara in pub- lic,” she said. Amineddoleh said there’s a small possibility the thieves had a buyer lined up to purchase, say, the tiara whole, but “most likely it’s being dismantled.” Owned by the likes of Empress Marie Louise, second wife of Napoleon Bona- parte, and other royals, the jewels could have been worn at a coronation or at meetings with dignitaries, Amined- doleh said. If they have been taken apart, what’s lost is “that historic herit- age value, and that’s irreplaceable.” When items are targeted for material value, said Erin Thompson, an art crime professor at John Jay College of Crim- inal Justice, “they are transformed as quickly as possible to decrease the risk of detection.” Jewels, which need to be cut, present an added layer of logistics. The thieves have to find “a crooked lapidary,” Thompson said, who will recut the stones to make them unrecognizable. “If you’re really organized, maybe you line that up in advance,” she said. “If you’re not so organized, maybe you are now frantically Googling.” Usually, those behind a burglary will ensure the object leaves the perpetra- tors’ hands, so they aren’t caught with them. This can present obstacles, too. In 2012, thieves in Britain left Chinese antiquities at a previously agreed-upon site — but couldn’t locate them later. With jewels and metals, the differ- ence between their value as raw ma- terials and as historical objects is huge, Thompson said, but they’re still “worth a pretty penny.” When it comes to jewels, “it’s a legal market that has grey edges,” she said, pointing to pledges jewellers make to not work with conflict diamonds through what’s called a Kimberley cer- tificate — documents, she says, that are often faked. Tim Carpenter, who worked on art crime at the FBI for 17 years, includ- ing as head of the Art Crime Team, said there’s a good chance the jewels have crossed international borders and ex- pects the thieves have go-to buyers. “Like any other commodity, you’ve got really ethical dealers, and then you’ve got some that aren’t quite so eth- ical,” he said. “That’s what these organ- ized crime groups rely on.” It’s unlikely the gems will be returned in full, experts says. But if they are, they’re likely to see even more atten- tion: The saga of the Mona Lisa’s theft is often credited with making her an icon. In recent years, Carpenter says he’s seen a “shift in tactics” where crime groups have started targeting art less and turning to precious metals, gold and jewelry instead, since it has a sep- arate market value by weight. But Carpenter bristles at questions about how much the jewels are worth. “As cultural heritage items, they’re priceless,” he said. “… Until you can figure out how to rewind the clock a few hundred years, meet the artists that created these jewels in the first place and have them remade — they’re priceless.” — The Washington Post KELSEY ABLES NEW YORK — New York City po- lice on Tuesday released images of a woman wanted for question- ing after an infant girl with her umbilical cord still attached was abandoned at a busy midtown Manhattan subway station. The baby was left Monday in a passageway at the 34th Street- Penn Station subway stop during the crowded morning rush hour. The subway stop is attached to the broader Penn Station com- plex — the country’s busiest rail hub, which sits underneath the Madison Square Garden arena. Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying the woman, who is seen on a two- second security camera video clip on a city sidewalk carrying something that appears to be wrapped in a bundle and holding it like someone would hold a baby. Police are calling it a case of en- dangering the welfare of a child. The infant was found unattend- ed and wrapped in a blanket, po- lice said. She was taken to a hos- pital for an evaluation and listed in stable condition. A team from the city’s Admin- istration for Children’s Services was “deployed to ensure the on- going well-being of the baby,” a spokesperson said in a statement. Police said they received re- ports that an unidentified person left the baby in the station and fled. Officials cordoned off a section of the passageway and a staircase with yellow tape after- ward. “I’m calling it the ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’” Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Tran- sit, told reporters, alluding to the classic Christmas movie. New York has a law, enacted in 2000, that allows a parent to re- linquish a newborn up to 30 days old at a hospital, or staffed police or fire station without fear of be- ing prosecuted. Under the state’s Safe Haven law, the parent must promptly notify an appropriate person of the infant’s location. — The Associated Press Search on for woman who left baby in NYC subway Jewels likely ‘being dismantled’ Real art of Louvre heist will be in the selling, expert says THIBAULT CAMUS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Police search a basket lift used by thieves Sunday at the Louvre museum in Paris. The ‘priceless’ jewels are likely being taken apart for sale. ;