March 14, 2025
BILL OXFORD/UNSPLASH
Thomas Trotta, 49, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, was one of the leaders of a theft ring that targeted museums for valuable paintings and sports memorabilia later sold on the black market. Trotta pleaded guilty and was sentenced this week to eight years in federal prison.
A northern Pennsylvania man who stole famous artwork, sports memorabilia and other antiques from museums across the region was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison for his role in heists that spanned two decades and involved eight other people, federal prosecutors said.
Andy Warhol's "Le Grande Passion," Jackson Pollock's "Springs Winter" and nine World Series rings belonging to Yankees legend Yogi Berra were among the items Thomas Trotta, 49, of Dunmore, Lackawanna County, stole between 1999 and 2018. He and other members of the group planned break-ins at museums and cultural centers in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey to steal and resell the stolen items on the black market. Trotta usually carried out the thefts alone, prosecutors said.
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Federal charges were filed against nine members of the group two years ago in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Trotta pleaded guilty to one count of theft of major artwork at the time and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. His sister, Dawn Trotta, 53, pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to 15 months in prison earlier this year. Both served as witnesses during a monthlong trial that ended in February with the convictions of three Pennsylvania men who were among the group's ringleaders.
The Warhol and Pollack paintings were stolen from Scranton's Everhart Museum in 2005. Jasper Cropsey's "Upper Hudson," a 19th-century painting valued at about $120,000, was stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Passaic County, New Jersey. That painting was later found burned and became evidence prosecutors used against Trotta and his co-defendants.
The World Series rings and other sports collectibles, together valued at more than $500,000, were taken from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2014.
Other stolen collectibles included golf trophies, antique guns, gold nuggets, jewelry and various gems and minerals, investigators said. Most of the stolen items have not been recovered, and many of those that were sold went for far less than their value as items of historical significance. Some of the sports memorabilia items were melted into metal discs and bars that were sold in the New York City area, prosecutors said.
The trio of Nicholas Dombek, 53, of Thornhurst; Damien Boland, 47, of Moscow; and Joseph Atsus, 48, of Roaring Brook, are awaiting sentencing after their convictions in February.
Alfred Atsus, Joseph Atsus’ brother, was acquitted during the trial that ended in February.
In addition to his prison sentence, Trotta has been ordered to pay $2,759,073 in restitution to the various owners of the stolen items.
