By Mike Russo
Art can be an expression of the human spirit, and for some, a sense of security and freedom. Little do they know about the tragedies and dangers surrounding some of the most priceless artifacts in human history.
But former F.B.I. agent Thomas McShane knows.
McShane, a Valley Stream resident, has been working to hunt down art thieves throughout the world since 1968. Through investigations, covert operations and clever disguises, McShane has worked to recover some of the world's most famous artwork, including paintings by Picasso, Rembrandt and Vermeer. He tells the story of the last twenty five years of his life in his newly released book, "Stolen Masterpiece Tracker: The Dangerous Life of the F.B.I.'s #1 Art Sleuth."
The book covers McShane's exploits during his F.B.I. career, which began after he graduated from Fordham Law School in 1968. During his first day on the job, two fellow agents were killed by a bank robber. McShane was involved in the massive manhunt and was present when the robber was arrested. He was still a rookie when F.B.I. art expert and mentor Don Mason took him under his wing. The two were partners in the Bureau from 1972 until 1976, when Mason retired.
"I was like his chauffeur at the beginning," said McShane about Mason.
Not for long, as McShane became the senior art investigator and the F.B.I's first ever undercover art agent. Since then, he has dedicated his life to getting the pieces back where they belong.
According to McShane, art theft is the number four criminal activity in the United States, surpassed only by illegal arms smuggling, drug smuggling and money laundering. It is a six billion dollar a year industry and can only stand to get worse, in McShane's opinion. According to McShane, the criminals come in all shapes and sizes and in all stages of mental health.
"You've got your professional gangs, the psychopaths, the opportunists," he said. "You've got the opportunist who sees a chance and does things he wouldn't normally do."
McShane recalled a case in which a painting by Rembrandt was stolen in the middle of the day by an art student who saw an opportunity - the painting had not been secured to the wall after a recent inventory. He simply took it off its hooks, slipped it into his raincoat and walked out of the gallery. The painting, named "Le Rabbin," which means simply the Rabbi in French, was circulated throughout the world and not recovered for close to eight years.
Apparently, the piece changed hands more than McShane changed disguises, eventually coming to the notorious, allegedly mafia-affiliated Johnny Rio. Rio, despite his intentions to never work another day in his life, was unable to sell the piece in all the years he had it. It wasn't until 1977 that a disgruntled Rio sold it to Robert Steele, an absent-minded professor type and art expert also known as undercover agent Thomas McShane, who had psyched out Rio by claiming that his painting was nicked, scratched and not worth the five million.
Rio got only $23,000 for it, and the so-called Curse of the Rabbi had played out. Unfortunately, McShane said the F.B.I. was working a bigger case involving Rio so they couldn't arrest him at that time, but he was eventually picked up. In May 1979, the Rabbi returned home to the Bonnat Museum in France.
Nothing comes close, however, to the case McShane was called to in 1990 at the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. The museum had been robbed of $300 million worth of art in a matter of 81 minutes by two men posing as police officers. The three men that worked overnight security were told to never let anyone in.
"So what do they do?" McShane said. "The guys knock and they open the door!"
According to McShane, the Gardner Museum was on the F.B.I's short list of museums that were at a high risk of theft. Despite the warning, there were no video cameras and the motion detectors in place at the museum were designed to alert only the security guards, who unfortunately had been handcuffed by the robbers. Today, 17 years later, every piece that was stolen is still missing. McShane estimates the total worth of those pieces is now around $1.5 billion.
"I just hope [the artwork] is still in the States and that the book will generate some leads and get us the breaks we need," McShane said. "We've gotten paintings back after 50 and 60 years. There's always a possibility they will be returned."
The investigations are complicated by a number of factors, McShane said. In the F.B.I., priorities are always changing and with terrorism the bureau's main focus today, there isn't sufficient manpower to commit to the art cases.
In fact, after McShane officially retired in 1994, there were only four or five agents left in the art bureau. The agents typically work cases when the value is above $50,000. Anything under that is left to the local authorities. Other countries dedicate entire squads to investigate stolen art. In Italy, they have a force of about 150 men and Scotland Yard operates with about 20 to 30.
Other factors that get in the way are those driven by greed. McShane said there are times when a painting will be stolen and then ransomed back to the insurance company as sort of an under-the-table transaction. On another occasion, McShane's fellow agent betrayed him, going after the money instead of busting the thief.
Finally, art thieves can steal millions of dollars worth of art and risk only a year or two in prison, McShane said. In many cases - due to the six year statute-of-limitations rule - the criminals cannot be tried even if they are caught. The real crime, says McShane, is the loss and/or destruction of the artwork, often found burned, buried, rolled, ripped or cracked.
"They have no awareness of what they're doing!" he exclaims, visibly exasperated. "They're illiterate, ignorant criminals!"
Despite the stress, risks and dangers of his work, McShane wouldn't have it any other way.
"It was the greatest job in the world!" he said. "I never should have retired."
McShane is retired, though he would say semi-retired, but he remains involved with former agents, unable to give up on the work that consumed his life for over a quarter century.
Comments about this story? Mschnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
