Dick Ellis Prep study for Gardner Gossips canvas by
Charles Vincent Sabba
Link:
http://gardnergossips.blogspot.com/
Dick Ellis, above, aged 12, showing early interest in stolen art
Monkey business by porcelain gangs leaves stately homes counting costhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article7140720.eceEngland’s stately homes are being targeted by thieves with a penchant for antique porcelain — and their victims include the Prime Minister’s father in law.
There have been at least 21 major thefts and 15 attempted robberies in the past three years The Art Newspaper reports this week.
Dick Ellis, former head of Scotland Yard’s art and antiques unit, said that three organised gangs, each with a distinctive style, were believed to be behind the thefts.
One gang relies on an unusually small burglar to squeeze through narrow openings; another operates at night, often using a ladder, and removes sections of glass from windows; the third targets country houses open to visitors, using very rapid, forced entry. Gangs often also take curtains and cushions to use as packing for the fragile porcelain, though some pieces are damaged during thefts.
Mr Ellis assembled the data for the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, which is handling the most serious case, at Firle Place in Sussex, where £500,000 of porcelain was stolen last summer. Others include Sutton Park, North Yorkshire, the home of Sir Reginald Sheffield, the father of Samantha Cameron, the Prime Minister’s wife.
Firle Place was burgled on July 19, 2009. Thieves entered the 18th-century mansion on the Sussex Downs at night. They climbed a ladder, entered via a window and broke into two display cabinets. Among the losses were a Meissen statue, The Indiscreet Harlequin, around 1743, by Johann Kändler, and a rare Sèvres Hollandois Nouveau vase of 1761. None of the 20 pieces has been recovered. Firle Place is owned by the family of the London old-master dealer Deborah Gage.
The theft at Sutton Park was on May 21, 2009. The Georgian house has been owned by the Sheffield family since 1963. Like Firle Place, it is open to visitors. Objects stolen included a £20,000 Meissen teapot in the form of a monkey, and a 19th-century bronze bust of an Asian woman by Charles Cordier. The thieves spent no longer than a minute inside the house. On April 17 there had been an attempted burglary in the porcelain room.
Mr Ellis believes that the thieves dispose of the porcelain quickly. Some use eBay, as with the theft from Longner Hall in Shrewsbury last August, when losses included a 28-piece Worcester dessert service, Most of the stolen pieces have not been recovered and Mr Ellis suspects that many have gone to Europe, where Meissen and Sèvres are highly collectable. Items may well be sold at large antiques fairs in England, usually within a few days of the theft, and passed to unsuspecting Continental dealers. There have been very few arrests.
“British police forces are run on a county basis,” Mr Ellis said. “No force has an overview of similar crimes occurring elsewhere, so investigations are limited and local.”
Julian Radcliffe, chairman of the Art Loss Register, which enables people to find out whether items are stolen, said thieves had learnt that porcelain dealers were less assiduous than others in making checks. Criminals probably gain their knowledge of the market from dealers on the fringes. “In Ireland they would call them tinkers,” he said.
Raided properties
Burton Agnes Hall (Historic Houses Association) East Yorkshire
Castle Howard (HHA) North Yorkshire
Cusworth Hall South Yorkshire
Firle Place (HHA) East Sussex
Grantham House (National Trust) Lincolnshire
Hastings Museum East Sussex
Lanhydrock (NT) Cornwall
Longner Hall (HHA) Shropshire
Munstead House Surrey
Penshurst Place Kent
Private house Surrey
Private house West Yorkshire
Redbrick Mill West Yorkshire
Shugborough Hall (NT) Staffs
Sion Hill Hall (HHA) North Yorkshire
Sutton Park (HHA) North Yorkshire
The Hoo Hertfordshire
Temple Newsam West Yorkshire
Thorpe Hall East Yorkshire
Uppark (NT) West Sussex
West Green House (NT, tenanted) Hampshire
Art Hostage Comments:You do have to feel sympathy for Dick Ellis, and here is the truth not told by the Art Newspaper, Times of London and others who are fully aware, but have chosen to wimp out, yet again.
Before we start, a little reminder to Dick Ellis:
"Dick, you forgot the raid at Glynde Place, home of
Viscount and Viscountess Hampden, four days after the Firle Place raid"
The Glynde Place raid saw a pair of silver candelabra, (not
chandeliers as reported), stolen valued at £20,000.
So, that's 22 major raids in two years not 21 !!!
Sorry, but how much did you get paid for preparing this report Dick ????
In January 2009 Dick Ellis received intelligence that an attempt to raid Firle Place had been called off due to roadworks outside Firle Place that could have hampered the thieves get-away.
Furthermore, the intelligence stated another attempt would be made to raid Firle Place when roadworks were completed.
Dick Ellis duly gave this specific intelligence to Surrey Police Force Source Unit, as Dick was registered as a Police Informant in January 2009 with Surrey Police. The specific instructions made was to contact Viscount Gage and request an urgent security review of Firle Place.
Surrey Police duly passed this vital intelligence to Sussex Police in January/February 2009.
Sadly, Glenn Jones, as Director of Sussex Police Force Intelligence Bureau, and Sussex Police corporately, completely dropped the ball and not only failed to warn Viscount Gage, but also refused to act upon other vital intelligence Dick Ellis provided that could have seen a huge number of stolen antiques and artworks recovered.
Moving swiftly to July 2009, Firle Place is raided and £1 million worth of unique porcelain is stolen. Also, notice how the figure has been reduced to £500,000 in the Times story, thereby devaluing any reward claim or fee required to help recover the Firle Place hoard.
See a Lloyd's valuation in this link that confirms the value of the Firle Place haul:
http://www.lloyds.com/News_Centre/Features_from_Lloyds/News_and_features_2009/Market_news/Country_homes_targeted_by_thieves.htmIncandescent with rage, and not for the first time towards Sussex Police, Dick Ellis kept his cool and became registered as a Police Informant with Sussex Police days after the Firle Place raid July 2009.
Dick Ellis then got a credible lead on the whereabouts of the Firle Place haul and passed that intelligence to Sussex Police Source Unit.
Again, nothing was done and it was at that point Dick Ellis exploded and went directly to Viscount Gage and told His Grace of the failures by Sussex Police to first, warn him of a pending threat, then to add insult to injury, not act upon credible corroborated intelligence that would have recovered at least some of the Firle Place haul.
As you can imagine, "Viscount Gage hit the roof", to quote Dick Ellis and demanded a meeting with the Chief Constable of Sussex Police. Questions were also raised at the Home Office and the Home Secretary was informed.
Now, sadly, the Firle Place hoard is still outstanding as are most of the stolen antiques taken from all the above mentioned raids committed over the last two years.
Moving on to another failed attempt to recover stolen art and antiques by Dick Ellis involving Sussex Police.
Two years ago Dick Ellis received intelligence that a so-called "end user", (a person who collects stolen art and antiques but is not connected to the art world) had been identified and to back up the intelligence specific stolen artworks were listed. The intelligence went further. Certain stolen artworks could be seen through the windows of the large country house where they were being displayed by the handler of these stolen artworks. A covert trip was made to the location by Dick Ellis who confirmed seeing the said stolen artworks displayed openly.
Dick Ellis then went to his Police handlers at Surrey Police, who Dick Ellis was working for at the time 2008, and gave them all the details of the house, actual stolen artworks he had seen, and background into the dealings of the target figure, who was a long term buyer of stolen art and antiques.
This person made their money from illicit business other than art and antiques and therefore would not normally appear on the radar of Police associated with stolen art and antiques, thus why people like these are called "End Users" and are the most sought after buyers of stolen art and antiques by thieves and handler's of stolen art and antiques.
Surrey Police passed this corroborated intelligence to Sussex Police, OH them again I hear you say, and, yes you've guessed it, Sussex Police refused to act, refused to obtain a warrant and search the identified house, knowing full well they were guaranteed a result because Dick Ellis had actually seen stolen artworks openly displayed.
Recently, there was a Pow, Wow in London of Belted Earls, Viscounts, Lords and insurers to work out how to take legal action against Sussex Police for failing to act time and time again on corroborated intelligence given to them by Dick Ellis, who was the Founder and Head of Scotland Yards Art and Antiques Squad before retiring.
Moral of this true story:"If Dick Ellis, Ex Head of Scotland Yards Art and antiques Squad cannot get Sussex/Surrey Police to act when the Elite and Establishment are under threat, what chance does the ordinary public have "
Dick Ellis received from Sussex Police the gift of being De-registered as an Informant and is now black-balled amongst the British National Police force, Central Source Unit.
Or as Dick Ellis said:
"I am now removed from the Sussex/Surrey Police Christmas Card List"
Once again, if you doubt Art Hostage go ask Dick Ellis.............
Coming soon, Dick Ellis passed valuable intelligence about a possible Terrorist cell and the possession of firearms to Sussex Police, January 2010, What happened next...........Art Hostage is waiting for Dick Ellis to reveal all, over to you Dick............
