The China Mail - UK man gets two-year suspended term for gold toilet theft

The fully functioning 18-carat artwork was stolen in a five-minute raid on an exhibition at Blenheim Palace -- the birthplace of Winston Churchill -- near Oxford in September 2019.

Frederick Doe, 37, was handed a suspended 21-month sentence after being found guilty in March of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, and ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Ian Pringle said Doe had been a "foolish" middleman in the plot.

"You had a limited function, you had no personal gain, you had no wider involvement and you were involved for a short period," he said.

The toilet artwork dubbed "America" was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and had been on display as one of the star attractions at an exhibition in the 18th-century home.

Weighing around 98 kilograms (216 pounds), it was insured for $6 million and was made with 20 kilograms of gold valued at around £2.8 million.

It was stolen just hours after a glamorous exhibition launch party by sledgehammer-wielding thieves.

Prosecutors said the work was likely broken up or melted down and sold soon after the theft. The gold has not been recovered.

The judge said Doe was "targeted" for his legitimate contacts in the jewellery industry.

Those responsible for the "audacious heist" were clearly intent on disposing of the work quickly.

Doe was found guilty alongside Michael Jones, 39, who was convicted of burglary.

Another man, James Sheen, 40, pleaded guilty to burglary and money laundering offences.

Jurors heard that Sheen first got in touch with Doe two days after the raid to ask if he could help him sell some of the gold.

Doe replied to Sheen in a WhatsApp message: "I do know just the man you need to see."

It is believed that Sheen took the 20 kilos of gold from the toilet artwork to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter on September 2019 and sold it for £26,000 a kilogram -- earning £520,000, the trial heard.

Jones previously said he used the toilet at Blenheim Palace the day before it was taken.

Asked what it was like, he told the court it was "splendid".

Q.Moore--ThChM