Drunk Off the Hook for Losing $1.3M Painting

Owner drops lawsuit after figuring out her co-owner's a conman
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 2, 2010 7:19 AM CDT
Updated Sep 2, 2010 8:41 AM CDT
Drunk Off the Hook for Losing $1.3M Painting
"Portrait of a Girl" by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.   (Hammer Museum)

Kristyn Trudgeon is dropping her lawsuit against the drunken courier who said he lost her $1.3 million painting after learning that her co-owner was a convicted art thief. Trudgeon realized who she was dealing with when she saw a mugshot of partner Thomas Doyle, the AP reports. Doyle, it turns out, just got out of jail in December, after pleading guilty to swindling a wealthy collector out of an Edgar Degas sculpture.

In that case, Doyle had persuaded the 73-year-old collector to let him take the statue to a famed art dealer, who, he pretended, was a relation. Instead, he made off with the statue, and sold it to an antiques dealer for $225,000. He has also spent time in federal prison for stealing $200,000 worth of jewelry in Tennessee. Trudgeon’s lawyer says she’s “exploring potential legal remedies” against Doyle. (More drunkenness stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X