Two men have been found guilty of the theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, UK, in 2019. A jury found Michael Jones, 39, guilty of burglary, and Fred Doe, 36, guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property. The verdict follows a three-week-long trial at Oxford Crown Court.
Cattelan’s fully functioning 18-carat gold lavatory (America, 2016) was removed from an exhibition of the Italian artist's work at the 18th-century stately home on 14 September 2019 in a heist involving five men, according to the BBC. The toilet was insured for £4.8m.
A third man, James Sheen, 40, had already pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Sheen’s DNA was found both on a sledgehammer left at the scene and in the stolen Isuzu truck used in the raid.
Thames Valley Police said in a statement: “James Sheen put in motion a plan to steal the toilet. He sent Michael Jones to conduct a recce of the palace and its grounds on two occasions in the lead up to the burglary, on 7 and 13 September.”
During the latter trip, Jones bought a Blenheim Palace membership and booked to use the toilet, taking photos of the sculpture, the room it was in and potential entry and exit points for the burglary, adds the statement.
Thames Valley Police said they believed that the toilet was taken to multiple locations, melted down and sold off within hours of the theft. “Between 15 and 28 September, Sheen then made plans to sell the gold; it is believed to have been moved to different locations,” a statement said.
According to the statement, Doe contacted Sheen, offered to find a buyer for the gold and brokered the deal. Through coded messages the two men talked about “cars” and getting offered “26 and a half’” which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said alluded to the men getting £26,500 per kilo for the stolen gold.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC told the court: “The burglary was carefully planned and swiftly carried out. The men… drove through locked wooden gates into the grounds of Blenheim Palace shortly before 5am in two stolen vehicles, an Isuzu truck and a VW Golf. All in all they spent just five minutes in the building.”
Shan Saunders of the CPS said in a statement that it has been a complex case to prosecute, involving a nationwide investigation with many lines of inquiry. “While none of the gold was ever recovered…we are confident this prosecution has played a part in disrupting a wider crime and money-laundering network,” he added.
All three men will be sentenced at a later date. A fourth man, Bora Guccuk, 39, from west London, was found not guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property.
