Nine indicted in theft from National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Federal prosecutors have traced a 2013 burglary at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame to a Pennsylvania-based crime ring that specialized in stealing sports memorabilia from museums over a period of 20 years, according to an indictment that was unsealed last weekend.

The five trophies that were stolen from the museum, which included the trophy won by the owners of Africander after his win in the 1903 Belmont Stakes, are believed to be unrecoverable, according to the indictment. In fact, the indictment alleges that the crime ring melted the trophies down the day after the Sept. 13, 2013, robbery at the museum and then immediately sold the raw materials in the New York area for approximately $150,000 to $160,000.

The nine individuals charged in the indictment played various roles in schemes to rob 14 museums over the past 20 years, including the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y., where the team made off with 14 “trophies and other awards” in 2012. Those items also were melted down and sold, the indictment said.

In addition to trophies and other memorabilia, the crime ring also stole valuable paintings, including pieces by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Jasper Crospey, and antique firearms. In most of those cases, the stolen items were sold on the black market, the indictment says.

For the 2013 burglary at the National Museum of Racing, the indictment says the perpetrators cased the facility on multiple occasions several days prior to the heist. On the night of the burglary, one of the individuals, named only as “conspirator no. 1,” entered the museum “without authorization” and “smashed multiple glass display cases with a center-punch tool and grinder” before making off with five trophies. Four of the trophies were made of solid gold.

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The trophies were then driven to a bar owned by one of the indicted individuals, Damien Boland, in Scranton, Pa., where they were melted down. The following day, Boland and the un-named co-conspirator sold the pieces in New York City.

In addition to Boland, 47, the three other individuals facing the most serious charges in the case are Nicholas Dombek, 53; Alfred Atsus, 47; and Joseph Atsus, 48. All are Pennsylvania residents. The grand jury indicted the four on charges of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment or disposal of objects of cultural heritage, and interstate transportation of stolen property.

Five other Pennsylvania residents were charged under the conspiracy count, according to the indictment.

The Museum of Racing said in a statement that it was “pleased to learn arrests have been made in conjunction with the 2013 theft of priceless trophies from our institution.” It declined further comment, citing the ongoing legal process.

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