Lawrence man charged in fake painting scam

      A Lawrence man who is a reputed member of the Gambino Organized Crime Family was one of three suspects arrested last week in a $32 million phony art scheme involving forged paintings purported to be works by Pablo Picasso and other artists.
      The Lawrence man, identified as Dominick ("Little Dom") Curra, 56, of Spring Street, was arrested on Friday, September 29, after an investigation by the United States Attorney's Office and the FBI. The two other suspects were identified as Kevin McMahon, 35, of Howard Beach and Robert Walsh, also 35, of Fort Lee, N. J.
      They were rounded up in a scheme involving artwork purported to have been painted by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Fernando Botero, as well as a stolen painting falsely attributed by the defendants to Peter Paul Rubens, according to federal authorities. Mr. Curra and Mr. McMahon are associates of Charles Carneglia, who is a soldier in the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra, authorities said.
      According to the federal complaint, the three defendants tried to sell the four forged paintings and one stolen painting. Officials said the trio first attempted to sell the forged paintings to a government cooperating witness for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The government brought in an art expert to examine four of the paintings-two purported Picassos, a purported Chagall and a purported Botero-and determined that the paintings were "obvious forgeries and almost worthless," officials said.
      After the cooperating witness told the trio that several of the paintings were forgeries and the witness would not buy them, officials said, the defendants plotted with the witness to market the forgeries as authentic artworks after re-framing them to make them look more authentic and displaying them at an upscale Manhattan art gallery for sale to consumers.
      Throughout the scheme, the defendants maintained that the fifth painting was a stolen, authentic Rubens painting worth about $30 million. Federal authorities have determined that the purported Rubens was actually from the "School of Rubens" and is worth about $2,000, officials said. The "School of Rubens" painting was stolen from an art gallery about 30 years ago, authorities said.
      The defendants "intentionally conspired to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud consumers" between March and June, 2000, officials said.
       In March, Mr. Walsh called the cooperating witness and asked him if he was interested in buying stolen artwork or if he knew anyone who would be interested in the paintings, according to the complaint. A computer disk containing five images of the artwork was provided to the witness, the complaint alleges. On March 31, two during tape-recorded conversation the witness spoke with Mr. Walsh, who implied the paintings were worth millions and the Rubens work had been insured by Lloyds of London, had been owned by a "real gangster" and would not be available for two weeks. Mr. Walsh allegedly said the four other paintings "are worth between five and seven [million] retail."
      On April 3, Mr. Walsh delivered a purported Picasso to the witness; the painting contained the signature "Picasso" on the lower left corner. An expert later examined the painting and determined it to be a "blatant forgery."
      In one taped conversation between Mr. Curra and the witness, the defendant said in reference to the Rubens, "I can guarantee you that's the original one." He also said there was a $5 million reward for the painting and that it belonged to a friend of his.
      Mr. Curra and Mr. Walsh were arraigned on September 29, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollack, at the U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn. Mr. McMahon was arraigned early this week. Each was charged with a single count of conspiring to defraud consumers. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison, officials said.
      The complaint does not say from where the forgeries were obtained.
      Mr. Carneglia and Mr. McMahon are currently under federal indictment on extortion charges.