A gold toilet worth more than its weight in the precious metal was stolen in the dead of night. This week, prosecutors presented their bizarre case before an English court. Now the thieves are looking at serving time for pinching the pricey potty.
On Monday, prosecutors told jurors a theft took place in the predawn hours of September 14, 2019. At that time, burglars swiped the one-of-a-kind, 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace in England.
The commode was titled America by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. He intended the potty to poke fun at excessive wealth. It weighed just over 215 pounds and was insured for $6 million. The value of the gold at the time was $3.5 million.
Blenheim is the sprawling English country mansion perhaps best known as the birthplace of British wartime leader Winston Churchill. It is the only non-royal home in England termed a palace.
During the toilet’s time on exhibit at Blenheim, visitors could book a three-minute appointment to use the costly commode.
Attorney Julian Christopher told the Oxford Crown Court that the theft was an “audacious raid.” One of three men on trial in the case was involved in stealing it. The other two helped sell the spoils.
One of the defendants, Michael Jones, cased the palace twice in the weeks leading up to the theft. He visited the home once before the toilet went on display and then up close and personal once it was installed and fully functional as an exhibit, Christopher says.
Both times, Jones took photos of the window that was later smashed to break into the palace. The second time he also took photos from inside the bathroom, including a photo of the lock on the toilet door.
“There can be no doubt that he was carrying out reconnaissance for the burglary that was to take place that night,” Christopher said during Monday’s trial. “That would be enough to make him guilty of count one of burglary.”
Jones was also probably among the group of five men who crashed through the wooden gates of the palace before dawn on September 14. They tore across a field in two stolen vehicles and pulled up to the front steps. There, they smashed the bathroom window Jones had photographed.
The thieves broke down the toilet door and removed the golden throne from the plumbing. That left water gushing from the pipes, which caused considerable damage to the art-filled, 18th-century building.
Jones was in cahoots with builder James Sheen. Sheen was part of both the burglary and the effort to sell the gold. Sheen had previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy, and transferring criminal property.
After the theft, Sheen tried to broker a deal with Fred Doe and Bora Guccuk to cash in on the haul. In a series of text messages, Sheen referred to the loot as a “car.” But Christopher says he was really talking about the gold.
All defendants have pleaded not guilty. The toilet has never been recovered. Experts believe the commode was likely cut up and sold.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. — Matthew 6:19
