A 53 year old as yet unidentified heroin addict stole upwards of 39 paintings from various locations, including Yale’s Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale and the New Haven Free Public Library. The accused would steal the paintings by stuffing them under his clothes and then bring them to a drug house, where he would exchange them for bags of heroin. 31 of the 39 paintings discovered in the drug house have been identified. The paintings that were stolen from the Slifka Center were made by one of the Unabomber’s victims, David Gelernter and his son Daniel. The stolen paintings were just hung on the wall without any security devices protecting them.
Source: New Haven Independent
3.24.2009