Yahoo News Painting Stolen by Mobsters Returned After 50 Years
A valuable British painting was returned to the son of its original owner over 50 years after it was originally stolen by mobsters, authorities announced Friday. In 1969, former New Jersey state Sen. Anthony Imperiale instructed a group of three thieves to steal a John Opie painting called “The Schoolmistress” from Dr. Earl Wood, according to the FBI. While Wood had originally purchased the painting for $7,500 during the Great Depression, Imperiale had been told the painting was “priceless.” Claims that the lawmaker had the painting were never substantiated and he was never charged. The painting was recovered during the liquidation of assets after a man died and left behind his belongings in a home in St. George, Utah. The painting has been returned to Dr. Francis Wood of Newark, who is now 96.
