Federal Bureau of Investigation offering $20000 reward for info on paintings stolen from Maine

The FBI announced the reward Tuesday afternoon in the June 2013 case of N.C. Wyeth paintings stolen from the home of a Portland businessman.

Three men were prosecuted for theft after four of the missing works were found in a Beverly Hills pawn shop after the owner alerted police.

“We’re still continuing to look for the other two and we have reason to believe they are here in New England, possibly in the greater Boston area”, Lisi said.

The paintings are identified as “The Encounter on Freshwater Cliff” and “Go, Dutton, and that right speedily”, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Lawrence Estrella was jailed for seven years and Dean Coroniti is to be sentenced in October.

Oscar Leroy Roberts, 37, of North Hollywood, California used the stolen paintings to secure a loan from the Beverly Hills pawn shop. The paintings were recovered after Beverly Hill Police Detective Specialist Michelle Fieler discovered them while reviewing pawn slips from a local pawnshop.

Federal officials said Estrella took four of the six stolen paintings to California in November in an attempt to sell them. He was sentenced to 92 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Born in Needham, Massachusetts, in 1882 Wyeth got his start as an illustrator of books and magazines and then gained acclaim for painting seascapes after settling in Port Clyde, Maine, on the state’s rugged mid-coast, where he lived until his death in 1945. Coroniti, 55, of North Hollywood, but formerly of Boston, also pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property on March 19, 2015.

“The investigation into the theft has been an active and aggressive effort, with law enforcement following leads and tracking down potential sources of information across the country”, said Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division.

The reward of up to $ 20,000 is being provided to anybody who can present info main to the restoration of the 2 paintings. Anyone with information should call 1-800-225-5324.