Caller Says He Stole Portrait of Washington
BALTIMORE — A man identifying himself as “Jose†has claimed responsibility for stealing a 99-year-old painting of George Washington valued at $25,000 from the Baltimore Museum of Art, a newspaper reported Saturday.
The Baltimore Sun said the man called Friday to explain that he stole the painting in retaliation for the December, 1985, theft of 140 pre-Columbian artifacts from a Mexico City museum. He called the theft “a loan,†the newspaper said.
Police said Saturday they had no clues about the man’s identity or the whereabouts of the painting, a miniature depicting Washington.
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