When an original copy of the Bill of Rights worth $30 million vanished, Baltimore native Robert Wittman saved American history. As an FBI undercover agent, Wittman has recovered more than $215 million worth of stolen art and cultural property.
Using his training in art, antiques, jewelry and gem identification, he?s tracked and trapped thieves across the globe who nabbed the world?s greatest treasures from museums, galleries and private collections. See the side bar to read highlights of artifacts and art works he has recovered.
On Thursday, Wittman will be at his almamater, Towson University, to discuss the FBI?s National Art Crimes Team, which he works with as Senior Investigator.
Question: Have you ever come across a thief who was motivated more by an emotional attachment than financial gain?
Answer: Art works and collectibles can poison the mind and heart. There are people who want to own a work and feel they are privileged to take something because they think they understand that something more than any other person. Those are the most dangerous people. They keep [the stolen item] underwraps longer and it becomes moredifficult to recover. They don?t have a problem taking from cultures. That is very selfish.
Q: How so?
A: When someone steals a work of art or cultural property, they?re not just stealing from one person or culture, they?re stealing from all of us. No one can see the work once it?s stolen but the person who took it. The whole world looses a piece of its heritage. One hundred years from now, human kind will be enjoying works that, almost like a miracle, withstood the ravages of time. The whole purpose [of my work] is to put something back in a museum or exhibit. When the Bill of Rights was put back, 1,000 kids came to see it the first day. That was the big payoff.
Q: How can private collectors protect themselves from theft?
A: Have insurance and a fairly closed mouth, not everyone has to know what you have. Also have an alarm system on both the first and second floor and make sure you turn the system on. Criminals know most people have only first floor alarms. Burglars often come through bedroom windows. Good lighting around entrances is also beneficial. Having good photos and descriptions of your work is also important. If we can?t ID it, we can?t get it back.
FOUND
In his 19 years with the FBI, Special Agent Robert Wittman, a Calvert Hall and Towson University alum, has recovered:
» One of the original 14 copies of the Bill of Rights sent to North Carolina for ratification in 1789 and stolen by a Union soldier during the Civil War.
» $50 million worth of paintings stolen from a private estate in Madrid, including two by the Spanish master Francisco Goya and representing the cultural patrimony of Spain.
» Rembrandt?s “Self-Portrait” which was stolen from the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm and valued at $36 million.
» Five Norman Rockwell paintings stolen from a private gallery in Minneapolis, three of which were recovered by Wittman from a farmhouse in Brazil.
» A 2,000 year-old golden Pre-Columbian piece of body armor known as a “Backflap,” created by the ancient Moche people and looted from the Royal Tomb of the Lord of Sipan in Peru.
» Native American Apache medicine man Geronimo?s eagle feathered war bonnet valued at $1.2 million.
» The 1862 Tiffany presentation sword awarded to Admiral John Worden, for his heroic command aboard the U.S.S. Monitor during its historic Civil War battle with the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimac) and stolen from its place of honor at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1932.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
IF YOU GO
FBI Special Agent Robert K. Wittman, guest lecturer, Department of Art Lecture Series
» Where: Towson University, Center for the Arts, Kaplan Concert Hall
» When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday,
» Admission: Free
» More info: 410-704-2787,
» Click here to see theft notices and recoveries from around the world.
