House Painter Stole Picasso Drawing, Police Say

Prosecutors in New York said an Easton man stole $100,000 worth of artwork—including a piece by Picasso—from an estate he had been hired to paint.

Joselito Vega, 42, of 139 Scott St., is charged with grand larceny, money laundering and identity theft in two different New York counties, and faces up to 26 years in prison, according to a news release from the Kings County, N.Y. (Brooklyn) district attorney's office.

Easton police, working with Kings County, served a search warrant on Vega's home last week. Investigators seized computers and other records, which are being evaluated.

Prosecutors say Vega was hired to paint the Schulhof Estate in Kings Point, N.Y. in March 2011. The estate, just east of New York City, is home to a considerable collection of American and European artwork.

About a year after Vega was hired, the estate did an inventory of the collection and found three pieces missing.

“The defendant tried to launder the proceeds from the stolen art in Brooklyn," Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes said in the release. "Investigators were able to track down one of the works in an Oakland art gallery. It obviously raises a red flag when you are selling a $50,000 painting for less than $10,000."

Police began to investigate and traced one of the missing paintings, a $50,000 work by French artist Jean DuBuffet, to the gallery in Oakland. Prosecutors say Vega had sold the painting using his former sister-in-law's identity without her knowledge.

Police say investigators set up a sting to catch Vega, arranging for him to return to Schulhof for more work. He was arrested after allegedly getting caught on camera taking three works of art, including the Picasso etching "Three Graces."

In the release, Haynes thanked the Easton police, as well as investigators in California and Nassau County, N.Y.

Vega was being held on $1 million bail, according to the Associated Press.