Thomas Trotta, a 49-year-old man from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his role in a theft ring that stole valuable artworks and sports memorabilia over two decades. Trotta pleaded guilty to theft of major artwork and was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution. Trotta and his accomplices targeted 20 museums, stores, and institutions, stealing items such as Andy Warhol’s silkscreen “Le Grande Passion,” Jackson Pollock’s oil-on-canvas painting “Springs Winter,” and World Series rings that belonged to baseball legend Yogi Berra.
The Pollock painting alone was estimated to be worth nearly $12 million in 2023. According to Trotta’s lawyer, Joe D’Andrea, Trotta was the main burglar who physically entered the institutions and committed the thefts. Gino Bartolai, the attorney for co-defendant Nicholas Dombek, noted that Trotta’s eight-year sentence was lenient given the number of burglaries he admitted to, stating, “The coin of the realm when you cooperate is you get a break.”
Trotta admitted to stealing the Warhol and Pollock paintings from the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2005.
The burglars took advantage of a large tent covering the back entrance during an event and shattered a glass door to gain entry.
Man imprisoned for art thefts
The museum confirmed that these works have not been recovered.
In addition to the artworks, Trotta stole rings and MVP plaques worth $500,000 from the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey. He was also implicated in the theft of a Tiffany lamp, boxing and horse racing items, and memorabilia linked to baseball player Roger Maris and golfer Ben Hogan. Prosecutors believe that Berra’s rings were melted down and sold for far less than their value as memorabilia.
The theft ring also targeted the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey, stealing gold nuggets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another painting, “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Cropsey, was reportedly burned to conceal the crime after being stolen from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey. Three other men involved in the theft ring – Nicholas Dombek, Damien Boland, and Joseph Atsus – were found guilty by jurors and are awaiting sentencing.
Many of the stolen artworks and items remain unaccounted for, according to federal prosecutors.
