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Forgery: The action of forging or producing a copy of a document, signature, banknote, or work of art.

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Forgery: The action of forging or producing a copy of a document, signature, banknote, or work of art.

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In the last decade, reported revenues from the Chinese auction market have expanded ninefold, now higher than those of its American counterpart. Records have been set for Chinese masters that compete with the West's already inflated prices for Warhol and Picasso - if such records even end up holding, given some buyers who are refusing to pay because of doubts about authenticity.

In a market depressed and made anxious by fakes, investors and private collectors may start pulling out, leaving more room for museums to buy at prices they can afford, which in turn would be good news for any art lover who depends on our public collections. And, since museums don't have to think about net worth and reselling (let's forget the Detroit case for a moment), they can live with the risk of maybe having bought a fake. Their audience might still enjoy and learn from the new "Rothko" in the collection.

Our current market, geared toward the ultra-wealthy, is helping few and hurting many. It stomps down all the emerging and midlevel dealers, artists, curators and even collectors who can't play in the big-money game. It's also hurting all the art lovers, current and future, who deserve work that's conceived to address artistic issues, not to sell well to robber barons. If forgers can help burst our art bubble, blessings be upon them.

Finally, forgers teach us to doubt connoisseurs. There's a myth out there, propagated by the market and some strains of academe, that certain thoroughbred experts can smell authentic art at 100 yards. After more than a century of bad attributions, reattributions and long-lived fakes, you'd think we would know better than to believe in such fantasy creatures. The truth is, the connoisseur's eye works brilliantly in that vast majority of attributions where an artwork comes without a name attached but clearly has a single maker's signature look. And then that eye fails utterly in those remaining, more iffy cases where a piece looks quite like some artist's work, but may almost as easily be by someone else - including a forger.

Every time an expert is fooled by a fake, the faker has once again taught us that connoisseurship is not to be trusted. More important, we're reminded that the whole idea of a unique artistic "touch," along with the ideal of "authenticity" that goes with it, may be beside the point in our understanding of art.

An essay by Alexander Nagel, a professor of Renaissance art at the Institute of Fine Arts in New York, argues that "forgery" is a concept that barely existed in Western art before around 1500, when the art market was invented and a new cast of players who came to be known as "dealers," "collectors," "connoisseurs" - and forgers - was born. Before that moment a copy could stand in perfectly well for an earlier work of art, so long as it transmitted the same "essential content," as Mr. Nagel puts it, and could fill the same religious or commemorative functions. When a great Byzantine icon was copied, the new version was felt to have the same relationship to its divine subject as the older one, and so could do the same cultural work. What would it mean to "forge" a picture, in a world where originals and copies could be interchanged?

Even as far back as ancient Rome, Mr. Nagel shows, it was considered utterly normal to copy the Greek statues of Praxiteles or Polyclitus, even while altering them. Patrons wanted access to the larger aesthetic ideas and ideals of their artistic geniuses; they didn't think of works of art "as singularities, as unrepeatable performances by an author," as Mr. Nagel puts it.

Some of the 20th century's most important creators set out to undermine ideas of unique, authentic, hand-touched works of art. Precisely 100 years ago, when Marcel Duchamp began presenting store-bought bicycle wheels, urinals and bottle racks as ready-made sculptures, he was also inviting others to buy and show similar masterworks. A half-century later, Andy Warhol was famously freewheeling when it came to notions of authenticity: You could never tell, and weren't supposed to know, how much if any of a Warhol painting had actually been made by him versus by some acolyte in his art Factory. (In interviews, Warhol would sometimes attribute his works to others even when he'd executed them himself.) The art market can't stand the slippages such ideas introduce, and insists on selling Warhols and Duchamps the way you'd sell a Lincoln autograph. Forgers, on the other hand, help preserve modern art's productive uncertainty.

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In the last decade, reported revenues from the Chinese auction market have expanded ninefold, now higher than those of its American counterpart. Records have been set for Chinese masters that compete with the West's already inflated prices for Warhol and Picasso - if such records even end up holding, given some buyers who are refusing to pay because of doubts about authenticity.

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Burglary: Entry into a building illegally with intent to commit a crime, especially theft.

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Burglary: Entry into a building illegally with intent to commit a crime, especially theft.

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ALBANY - A convicted felon who invaded the home of a 96-year-old woman in Albany faces up to 15 years in prison after being convicted of burglary Friday.

Israel Bishop, 26, was found guilty at his retrial by a jury, which began deciding his fate Thursday afternoon in Albany County Court. It was the first trial before newly elected Judge Peter Lynch.

Bishop was thwarted by his DNA, which was found on the fingertip of a green latex glove found outside the woman's home on Forest Avenue. The rest of the glove was found down the street.

The victim was sleeping during the break-in - and awoke during it. She was not injured in the break-in. She called her son who, in turn, contacted police.

In addition to the DNA match, a gold watch and pin, which had belonged to the victim's late husband, were later discovered in Bishop's home on Orange Street.

Bishop's first trial ended in a mistrial. His attorney, Gregory Teresi, had argued that his client was not at the scene and that it was committed by two of Bishop's associates. The jury, unmoved, convicted Bishop of second-degree burglary.

Bishop, who has a 2005 attempted robbery conviction, will be sentenced March 8.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Mastaitis.

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ALBANY - A convicted felon who invaded the home of a 96-year-old woman in Albany faces up to 15 years in prison after being convicted of burglary Friday. Bishop was thwarted by his DNA, which was found on the fingertip of a green latex glove found outside the woman's home on Forest Avenue.

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Extortion: The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.

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Extortion: The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.

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He was looking to make some dough off Paula Deen, but he bit off more than he could chew.

The FBI busted Thomas Paculis in upstate New York on Friday on charges he tried to extort Deen, the scandal-scarred former Food Network superstar - for $250,000.

Paculis, 62, cooked his own goose when he emailed Deen's lawyer and demanded cash in exchange for keeping quiet about "true and damning" statements involving the television icon "using the N-word in her business practices," according to court papers.

Deen, 66, was booted from Food Network and lost endorsement deals in June after admitting she had "of course" used the N-word at one point in the past but not for "a very long time."

The butter-loving kitchen queen made the confession during a deposition for a civil lawsuit filed in 2012 by a former restaurant employee, Lisa Jackson.

"I am about to go public with statements refuting your (client's) statements about using the 'N' word in her business practices at Lady and Son's," Paculis wrote June 24, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Savannah, Ga.

"The statements are true and damning enough that the case for Jackson will be won on (its) merit alone," he allegedly warned Deen's lawyer, Greg Hodges.

He had an initial court appearance Friday in New York and was released on bond, the FBI said.

Hodges went straight to the feds with the email and they told the lawyer to string Paculis along. The two exchanged several more emails and eventually spoke over the phone, with Paculis saying he didn't want a paper trail.

Paculis, who once ran a Savannah eatery himself, provided examples of information he believed "would damage your client in so many ways that it would sink your ship before it left the dock."

The oddball accused extortionist - who was profiled by the Savannah News-Press in 1995 as a cookbook collector with a personal library of about 300 culinary tomes - told Hodges he was house-sitting in New York, according to the complaint. In a Facebook post in June, Paculis called Deen "raceist."

Despite their shared Savannah ties, Deen said she didn't recognize Paculis or his name when FBI agents showed her photos of the suspected schemer.

Hodges eventually bargained him down to $200,000, but Paculis said he didn't have a car and was unsure how he would collect the cash, the complaint says. And then the accused shakedown artist got greedy, according to the complaint.

On July 1, Paculis allegedly emailed Jackson's lawyer Matt Billups to suggest they join forces.

"The burning question is ... do you want in ... I still have the chance to bring this together, but time is slowly running out," he wrote, the complaint says.

"I have them hooked, but reeling this sucker in is gonna be hard without help. ... Give me a call."

A phone call and email to Paculis went unanswered Friday, and a relative reached by phone declined to comment.

With News Wire Services

dbeekman@nydailynews.com
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Man tries to blackmail Paula Deen in $250,000 extortion plot

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As if Paula Deen didn't have enough problems. On Friday, New York FBI agents arrested Thomas George Paculis of Newfield, N.Y., a former resident of Deen's hometown of Savannah, Ga., on charges that he had attempted to extort money from the former Food Network star.

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Robbery: The action of robbing a person or place.

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Robbery: The action of robbing a person or place.

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Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this report misstated the 12-year-old's age. Also, officials say no weapon was used in the robbery attempt on Keystone Avenue.
INDIANAPOLIS - At least seven reported robberies or attempted robberies at Indianapolis-area pharmacies in the past 24 hours involved suspects who were 18 or younger, according to police reports.

In a robbery attempt at a Northeastside Walgreens, a 12-year-old boy was arrested.

The incident was reported about 4 p.m. Tuesday when the boy walked into the Walgreens at 5199 N. Keystone Ave. An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report states that officers were notified of the robbery in progress, responded quickly and took the boy into custody.

No one was injured during the robbery attempt, and the boy was taken to the juvenile intake center. The police report lists the weapon used in the incident as a handgun, but officials said that no weapon was displayed or recovered.

In another case, reported about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, a 16-year-old carrying an unknown firearm robbed the Walgreens at 3545 W. 86th St., on the Northwestside, according to a police report.

In a third case, police were called about 10 p.m. Tuesday to the CVS at 7240 E. 82nd St., on the Northeastside, after a boy thought to be a 16-year-old entered the store and passed a note, stating that he was robbing the store, to a pharmacy technician. A police report said the teen then left without taking anything.

The latest incident occurred about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday when an armed 18-year-old attempted to rob the same Northeastside Walgreens targeted Tuesday by the 11-year-old. An IMPD report says the teen failed to rob the store.

Similar incidents were reported Tuesday in Lawrence and Beech Grove.

Officials said Wednesday it does not appear that all of the incidents are connected. The robberies remain under investigation.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Fgl2Ta

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12-year-old arrested in pharmacy robbery

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Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this report misstated the 12-year-old's age. Also, officials say no weapon was used in the robbery attempt on Keystone Avenue. INDIANAPOLIS - At least seven reported robberies or attempted robberies at Indianapolis-area pharmacies in the past 24 hours involved suspects who were 18 or younger, according to police reports.

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Embezzlement: Theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one's trust or belonging to one's employer."charges of fraud and embezzlement"

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Embezzlement: Theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one's trust or belonging to one's employer."charges of fraud and embezzlement"

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NEWTOWN -- A 51-year-old Newtown woman pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to embezzling more than $1.5 million from her employer.

Joanne Osmolik, the former vice president of human resources for Latex International in Shelton, admitted using corporate money to pay personal expenses and to submitting bogus expense reports to cover up the theft, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Osmolik waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud before Judge Stefan Underhill in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.

The embezzlement, which also allegedly involved another member of the company's senior management, occurred between October 2008 and November 2010.

Company president Dave Fisher said that after the theft was discovered, the company conducted a "comprehensive investigation "and turned the evidence over to federal authorities.

"Osmolik's guilty plea today demonstrates that she betrayed her obligations to the company, its employees and stakeholders," Fisher said in a statement issued by Latex International.

As part of the scheme, Osmolik charged more than $1 million in personal expenses on the corporate American Express card issued to her, the government said. She also billed the company for and collected another $531,000 for fraudulent expenses, according to authorities.

She spent the money on motorcycles, snowmobiles, jewelry and home furnishing, among other things, the government said.

Osmolik faces a term of up to 20 years in prison and a fine when she is sentenced March 9.

As part of the plea deal, she agreed to forfeit her interest in three homes in Vermont, six motorcycles, four snowmobiles, vehicle trailers, jewelry, appliances and furniture, the government said.

Latex International, which was founded in 1975, is the world's largest manufacturer of latex pillows and mattresses, according to the company.

Contact John Pirro at jpirro@newstimes.com or 203-731-3342.

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Woman guilty in $1.5 million embezzlement

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NEWTOWN -- A 51-year-old Newtown woman pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to embezzling more than $1.5 million from her employer. Joanne Osmolik, the former vice president of human resources for Latex International in Shelton, admitted using corporate money to pay personal expenses and to submitting bogus expense reports to cover up the theft, according to a spokesman for the U.S.

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Vandalism: Action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.

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Vandalism: Action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.

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The start of the school year brings unique challenges to students, parents, and school administrators, as well as law enforcement. Once a symbol of discipline and order, many of today's schools are overcrowded, poorly maintained, and serve as magnets for criminal activity. One particular crime that presents special challenges for law enforcement is school vandalism, which can take a variety of forms from broken windows to graffiti to the total destruction of property.
Easy Target
While such acts are rarely reported in the media, one in three schools has reported acts of vandalism each year. In 1990 more than $600 million in damage to school property was caused by vandals. By understanding the nuances of vandalistic acts, patrol officers can develop specialized responses to help minimize future attacks.

Schools present a unique target for vandals. They are easily accessible and everyone knows when schools are busy and when they are empty. Unfortunately, vandalism is often under reported because school officials may view the crimes as inconsequential, they may prefer to handle the repairs in house, or they may fear that reports of vandalism reflect negatively on their management skills.
Consider the Motives
If you and your police department aim to reduce school vandalism, you must first get a clear picture of the offense and help to ensure that all vandalism incidents are properly reported. To facilitate easy reporting, develop a form that school administrators can fill out without police assistance or allow tipsters to report crimes of vandalism over the phone. If all incidents are not being reported, find out why.

Once you have a clear picture of the prevalence of these crimes in your area, develop theories as to why the vandalism occurs. It may be helpful to recognize that most acts of vandalism provide no financial gain for the actor; they are merely vehicles for the actor to gain status in the eyes of his or her peers.

In an effort to gain social status without causing real financial damage, an actor may spray hate-motivated or gang-related graffiti on school grounds. This act gets the actor's name around school. In contrast, secretly dropping cherry bombs into toilets or vandalizing laboratories causes a great deal of financial damage, but doesn't do much for the reputation of the clandestine actor. Establishing the motive of the actor will go a long way toward developing a criminal profile.

Next, try to develop a profile of the events and the perpetrators. Spontaneous events such as throwing rocks or bottles through windows, seem relatively random. Other acts, like drawing elaborate, multi-colored gang graffiti high off the ground, indicate some level of planning. How the incidents are grouped-many small incidents with no apparent pattern or a few large incidents that coincide with sporting events or concerts-can provide valuable clues.

Obtain additional information by interviewing non-offending students or by debriefing offenders who have been apprehended. Find out the general age of the perpetrators, level of criminal sophistication, proximity to the crime scene, modes of transportation, and the number of offenders involved.
Tackling the Problem
Prior to initiating proactive enforcement steps, gauge the community's reaction to the vandalism. Is it viewed as a serious, expensive offense or a harmless act that everyone in the town engaged in when they were in high school? How does the media portray the vandals: as gang members marking their territory or as harmless kids committing juvenile pranks? A police response that is out of sync with the community's feelings could cause more problems than it solves.

As school and police officials begin to tackle the problem of school vandalism, the first step will be to conduct a security walk through the campus. Sprawling campuses that cover many acres are more susceptible to vandalism than smaller facilities. Burned out lights and large bushes can create hiding spots that give vandals a sense of secrecy. Look out for any trees that may lend easy access to the roof. Also pay special attention to large, smooth walls, especially those painted a light color. Such walls can be painted with a mixture of colors (camouflage print) that doesn't allow graffiti to stand out, making them much less tempting to vandals.

If the vandalism problem continues to escalate, look into organizing a task force that invites a free exchange of ideas from students, teachers, administrators, custodians, and members of the community. Make every effort to include marginalized students whose voices may not be heard in an organized setting. Input from these varied sources will lead to a vigorous discourse, as well as new ideas and responses.

If graffiti is the main problem, schools might choose to erect a "graffiti board," a wall where non-offensive graffiti is permitted. This means of expression allows students to have an outlet for their creativity while preventing widespread damage to school grounds.

Finally, work with the courts to develop creative sentences for those who are caught vandalizing schools. Using a restorative justice model, you can encourage judges to sentence offenders to cleaning the school's hallways or scrubbing graffiti from the walls instead of giving them time in juvie. This way, the offenders will serve a punishment that returns the school to its prior condition.

School vandalism plagues almost every community in the country. Police want to develop a measured response that reflects the community's view of the offense and creates an environment wherein the crimes will ultimately be eliminated. By working with students, faculty, and members of the community, your agency can develop creative and successful responses to school vandalism.

Det. Joseph Petrocelli is a 20-year veteran of New Jersey law enforcement. He can be contacted through SAFECOPS.com.

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While such acts are rarely reported in the media, one in three schools has reported acts of vandalism each year. In 1990 more than $600 million in damage to school property was caused by vandals. By understanding the nuances of vandalistic acts, patrol officers can develop specialized responses to help minimize future attacks.

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Arson: The criminal act of deliberately causing destruction to property. 

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Arson: The criminal act of deliberately causing destruction to property. 

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Authorities arrested a German man Monday in connection with dozens of suspected arson attacks that destroyed parked cars, scorched buildings and rattled much of the nation's second-largest city over the New Year's weekend.

Harry Burkhart, 24, was booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling and was being held without bail, authorities said. He is a German national, but authorities said they didn't know how long he's been in the United States. Police said he told arresting officers he's from Frankfurt.

Burkhart was arrested earlier in the day because he resembled a "person of interest" captured on surveillance video. He was stopped by a reserve sheriff's deputy in a van being sought by arson investigators, who did not rule out the possibility that others may be involved.

More than 50 blazes have flared since Friday in Hollywood, neighboring West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, causing about $3 million in damage. Firefighters have not responded to any other suspicious fires since Burkhart was detained.

Police declined to reveal any motive for the fires. When asked at a news conference about reports that an immigration problem with Burkhart's mother may have been a factor, authorities declined to comment.

"We are very confident in this arrest, but we have a long way to go," said Police Chief Charlie Beck, who mentioned receiving information from federal authorities who recognized Burkhart from the video. They believed he had been involved in removal hearings in immigration court, but they didn't specify how he was involved.

Galina Illarionova, who lives in the same apartment complex as the suspect, told reporters through a Russian translator that an agitated Burkhart visited her Sunday and said his mother was having some kind of legal trouble. He told her his mother was in trouble with authorities and wanted Illarionova to attend a legal hearing with him, but he later said he didn't need her help.

The blazes forced many apartment dwellers from their homes. But there were no serious injuries -- one firefighter was hurt in a fall from a ladder, and another person suffered smoke inhalation.

Most of the fires began in cars, and authorities have not said how they were started.

One of Saturday's fires occurred at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, a popular tourist destination bordered by the Walk of Fame in a neighborhood that includes Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Damaged buildings included a former home of Doors singer Jim Morrison in Laurel Canyon.

The onslaught of intentionally set fires left residents on edge over the holiday weekend in some of the most densely populated areas of the city. Hundreds of investigators, police officers and firefighters raced to deal with the blazes. Police conducted extra patrols all weekend, and the noise of helicopters and sirens persisted virtually nonstop in Hollywood.

Even long-time firefighters struggled to recall an arson outbreak involving so many fires. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Division Chief James Lopez recalled a notorious case from a generation ago, when California arson investigator John Orr was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1984 killings of four people in one of multiple arsons he set over the course of years.

"Sometimes it's pathological in nature," Lopez said. "I think motives are going to be hard to come by. We may never know."

Investigators were still busy Monday mapping out the sequence of the blazes, examining more than 100 clues and interviewing witnesses.

The fires left behind a trail of smoldering debris. Police urged residents to check their cars for any signs of tampering and to take simple precautions such as locking vehicles, keeping garage and carport lights on at night and reporting suspicious activity.

Despite the arrest, authorities continued to urge vigilance.

"We're not resting, and we're not stopping" the extra patrols, police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. "If you have lights in your carport area, keep them on tonight."

Some other deliberately set fires were reported Thursday in Hollywood, and two people were arrested. But police said Monday that those suspects were not connected with the 52 other blazes.

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24-Year-Old Arrested in Los Angeles Arson Spree

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Authorities arrested a German man Monday in connection with dozens of suspected arson attacks that destroyed parked cars, scorched buildings and rattled much of the nation's second-largest city over the New Year's weekend. Harry Burkhart, 24, was booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling and was being held without bail, authorities said.