{"id":432688,"date":"2022-04-16T18:53:13","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T15:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ordinary-new-mexico-couple-pulled-off-150-million-art-heist\/"},"modified":"2022-04-16T18:53:13","modified_gmt":"2022-04-16T15:53:13","slug":"ordinary-new-mexico-couple-pulled-off-150-million-art-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ordinary-new-mexico-couple-pulled-off-150-million-art-heist\/","title":{"rendered":"#Ordinary New Mexico couple pulled off $150 million art heist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26eaef765ea\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26eaef765ea\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ordinary-new-mexico-couple-pulled-off-150-million-art-heist\/#%E2%80%9COrdinary_New_Mexico_couple_pulled_off_150_million_art_heist%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Ordinary New Mexico couple pulled off $150 million art heist&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9COrdinary_New_Mexico_couple_pulled_off_150_million_art_heist%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Ordinary New Mexico couple pulled off $150 million art heist&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Jerry and Rita Alter were viewed by friends and family as harmless eccentrics.<\/p>\n<p>Known for loving exotic <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>, they celebrated their journeys with self-indulgent slide shows. Jerry was a jazz musician, a commercially unsuccessful artist, an unpublished author and a retired New York City public school teacher. Rita made a career as a speech pathologist. Cheesy statuary, including pyramids made from brightly colored tiles, cluttered their backyard in the small town of Cliff, NM, while Jerry\u2019s paintings and the couple\u2019s souvenirs filled the modest home\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n<p>But the Alters had a secret: They were accomplished art thieves. <\/p>\n<p>That fact came to light in 2017, after Rita passed away at age 81 \u2014\u00a0Jerry had died in 2012 at the same age \u2014 when a local antiques merchant stumbled across a $150 million Willem de Kooning artwork hanging in the deceased couple\u2019s master bedroom. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-08.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The stolen de Kooning was found hanging behind Jerry and Rita Alter\u2019s bedroom door.\" class=\"wp-image-21921245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-08.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-08.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-08.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The stolen de Kooning was found hanging behind Jerry and Rita Alter\u2019s bedroom door.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"No one suspected Jerry, a retired school teacher, and Rita, a speech pathologist, of being thieves.\" class=\"wp-image-21921249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>No one suspected Jerry, a retired school teacher, and Rita, a speech pathologist, of being thieves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 1955 painting, \u201cWoman-Ochre,\u201d had been stolen from University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1985 \u2014\u00a0by Jerry and Rita, it turned out.<\/p>\n<p>As unraveled in a new documentary \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/video\/the-thief-collector-sxsw-documentary-trailer-director-allison-otto-video\/\">The Thief Collector<\/a>,\u201d its whereabouts were an art-world mystery until the Alters\u2019 nephew, Ron Roseman, the executor of their estate, asked a local antiques dealer to go through the house in search of valuables that might be sellable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was nothing great \u2014 except for one thing,\u201d David Van Auker, co-owner of Manzanita Ridge Furniture Antiques in Silver City, NM,, told The Post. <\/p>\n<p>Van Auker would know. He found the painting. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/manzanita-ridge-antique-owners-01.jpeg?w=1024\" alt=\"Buck Burns, Rick Johnson and David Van Auker are the owners of Manzanita Ridge Antique Shop, in Silver City, NM, where the painting's provenance was discovered.\" class=\"wp-image-21921233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/manzanita-ridge-antique-owners-01.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/manzanita-ridge-antique-owners-01.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/manzanita-ridge-antique-owners-01.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Buck Burns, Rick Johnson and David Van Auker are the owners of Manzanita Ridge Antique Shop, in Silver City, NM, where the painting\u2019s provenance was discovered.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">CHRIST CHAVEZ\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jerry\u2019s blindingly bright abstract pieces \u201cwere so bad,\u201d Van Auker recalled, he left them behind and took a lamp, a vase and the De Kooning without yet realizing what it was. \u201c[My business parter] and I own a vacation rental in the mountains. I thought the painting would be good to put there. We wouldn\u2019t even hang it in our own home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The piece, which turned out to be \u201cWoman-Ochre,\u201d might have been relegated to a corner of the vacation property had a sharp-eyed artist, James Cuetara, not h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened into the shop. He recognized it as a masterpiece and im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely offered $200,000. <\/p>\n<p>Assuming the customer was joking, Van Auker said, \u201cSold!\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-10.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Willem de Kooning's &quot;Woman-Ochre&quot;  is valued at $150,000,000.\" class=\"wp-image-21921325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-10.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-10.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-10.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-10.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Willem de Kooning\u2019s \u201cWoman-Ochre\u201d  is valued at $150,000,000.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Patrick Breen\/The Republic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But the man was serious. \u201cAn offer of $400 or $450 would have taken it,\u201d said Van Auker. \u201cBut James was honest right from the get-go. He said he thought it was real and we should investigate it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Van Auker took to Google and quickly spotted an article in the Arizona Republic about the painting\u2019s theft. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe day after Thanksgiving, in 1985, a man and woman entered this small museum right when it opened,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allisonotto.com\/\">Allison Otto<\/a>, director of \u201cThe Thief Collector,\u201d which is currently seeking distribution, told The Post. \u201cThe woman distracted [an employee] while the man went into a gallery, sliced the painting out, folded it up and put it under his jacket. They then vanished into the desert with one of the 20<sup>th<\/sup> century\u2019s most valuable paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-03.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"It's unknown why Jerry and Rita took the painting \u2014 and why the kept it.\" class=\"wp-image-21921247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>It\u2019s unknown why Jerry and Rita took the painting \u2014\u00a0and why the kept it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The man and woman, of course, were Rita and Jerry. What made the crime perfect was that the Alters operated differently from typical criminals: They had no interest in selling the painting. So it never landed at an auction house or even slipped into a black market where it could have been traced to them. No fingerprints were left behind. The theft was assumed to be a contract job, with the work stolen for a specific collector who had a particular need. <\/p>\n<p>Stealing for themselves, the Alters were a rare type of art thief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey feel that since they care about it, they are entitled to have these pieces; those are the most dangerous [thieves] and the hardest to capture,\u201d Bob Wittman, founder of the FBI art crime team, says in the movie. \u201cThey steal these materials, hide them, keep them for their eyes only. And those things go away for many years before they come back.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/University-of-Arizona-Museum-of-Art-01.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The de Kooning was lifted from the University of Arizona's Museum of Art.\" class=\"wp-image-21921232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/University-of-Arizona-Museum-of-Art-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/University-of-Arizona-Museum-of-Art-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/University-of-Arizona-Museum-of-Art-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The de Kooning was lifted from the University of Arizona\u2019s Museum of Art.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Google maps<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And that is precisely what the Alters did. Because of their discretion, they were the art thieves next door that even close friends and relatives did not suspect. The trail went cold and the case closed in 1987 due to lack of evidence. <\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, \u201cWoman-Ochre\u201d remained on the FBI\u2019s Top 10 crime list. <\/p>\n<p>Everything changed in 2017. A call went out to the museum. Curator Olivia Miller called the police, who contacted the FBI. One day later, the painting was reunited with its proper custodians. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-01-copy.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"A police sketch of the suspects portrays the Alters.\" class=\"wp-image-21921250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-01-copy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-01-copy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-01-copy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>A police sketch of the suspects portrays the Alters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOlivia started to cry,\u201d said Van Auker. \u201cShe was almost speechless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The work was a little worse for wear: Paint had flaked off when it was hastily rolled up by Jerry. Amazingly, the Alters had the temerity to retouch the painting themselves. They also stapled the front of the work to a stretcher that they had purchased. It all resulted in damages that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theartnewspaper.com\/2022\/04\/05\/stolen-restored-de-kooning-painting-getty\">Ulrich Birkmaier, senior conservator of paintings at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles<\/a>, needed to resolve. <\/p>\n<p>All the while, a question loomed: Who was this couple that managed to pull off the ultimate art heist?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-02.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Experts say thieves like the Alters, who keep their loot rather than selling it, are rare.\" class=\"wp-image-21921243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-alter-Willem-de-Kooning-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Experts say thieves like the Alters, who keep their loot rather than selling it, are rare.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Initially, it was believed that the theft was a one-time crime of opportunity. But then odd clues popped up. <\/p>\n<p>For one, there was Jerry\u2019s unpublished short-story collection, \u201cThe Cup and the Lip: Exotic Tales,\u201d which contained sagas said to be based on his life experiences. Thinly veiled accounts of various thefts, including that of the de Kooning (via a story entitled \u201cThrill Seekers\u201d), are in the book. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there was an obsession with getting away with things,\u201d said Otto. \u201cThe book shows Jerry committing nefarious acts and wanting to prove himself smarter than the institutions.\u201d At the time of Rita\u2019s death, \u201cthey had more than $1 million in a bank account.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s unlikely that a retired teacher and a speech therapist in rural New Mexico could [legitimately] accumulate more than $1 million,\u201d Otto added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-11.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The painting is now back at the museum.\" class=\"wp-image-21921229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-11.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-11.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-11.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The painting is now back at the museum.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Patrick Breen\/The Republic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-12.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Its frame was left behind, after Jerry cut out the painting.\" class=\"wp-image-21921238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-12.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-12.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-12.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Its frame was left behind, after Jerry cut out the painting.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Patrick Breen\/The Republic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bolstering a theory that the couple had committed other thefts \u2014 and possibly sold their ill-gotten gains during travels overseas \u2014 were remnants from their home that were thought to be worthless reproductions and wound up donated, by Roseman, to a Silver City thrift store called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SilverCityGardenClub\/\">Town &amp; Country Garden Club<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey arrived with a pickup truck full of stuff,\u201d Harriet Rogers, a volunteer at Town &amp; Country, says in the doc. \u201cOne of the teenagers came in carrying a Frederick Remington bronze. He\u2019s one of the most famous art sculptors of the Western school! I said, \u2018Wait a minute, we can\u2019t take that. We are a thrift store. We sell things for $2 and $5\u2019\u201d \u2013 but she took it anyway. \u201cThis was an amazing deal. My son picked up a painting of an Indian and said, \u2018Oh, my lord, this is a J.H. Sharp.\u2019 J.H. Sharp is one of the most famous Western artists. My son called Sotheby\u2019s and they were interested. This stuff was good enough for Sotheby\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Rogers, \u201cThe total intake [from Sotheby\u2019s selling the goods] was $160,000. We received a check for $129,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for whether or not the Alters had obtained the art through shady means, Rogers says, \u201cThe FBI came out and took pictures. [They said] it wasn\u2019t stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the doc, though, Van Auker recalls something he says he was told by an FBI agent: \u201cJust because we cleared it, doesn\u2019t mean it was not stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"The Alters' story is told in the new documentary &quot;The Thief Collector,&quot; which does not yet have distribution.\" class=\"wp-image-21921324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/thief-collector-Willem-de-Kooning-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>The Alters\u2019 story is told in the new documentary \u201cThe Thief Collector,\u201d which does not yet have distribution.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Van Auker added to The Post: \u201cIt\u2019s just not on their radar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As to how this all shook out for Jerry Alter, said to be the mastermind, Van Auker figures that he\u2019d be feeling weirdly vindicated. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore all of this, his art was unsellable; now it is the art thief\u2019s art,\u201d said Van Auker, who retrieved the \u201cso bad\u201d pieces as soon as Alter became notorious. \u201cThere were 75 paintings and I sold 20 of them to a radio station owner in the Midwest for $5,000. He was fascinated by the story. I have 13 of them. And his book is selling on Amazon\u201d \u2014\u00a0at $54 for a paperback copy. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cJerry was arrogant and egotistical. He would think he finally got his due and would not be surprised,\u201d said Van Auker. \u201cIf there is an afterlife, Jerry Alter is looking down and smugly chuckling.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/16\/ordinary-new-mexico-couple-pulled-off-150-million-art-heist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Ordinary New Mexico couple pulled off $150 million art heist&#8221; Jerry and Rita Alter were viewed by friends and family as harmless eccentrics. Known for loving exotic travel, they celebrated their journeys with self-indulgent slide shows. Jerry was a jazz musician, a commercially unsuccessful artist, an unpublished author and a retired New York City public&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":432689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/art-thieves-jerry-rita-alter-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[128085,116,65799,77436,71571],"class_list":["post-432688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-4-16-22","tag-art","tag-documentaries","tag-heists","tag-museums"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}