Austin museum official in art theft brouhaha

A Texas art museum executive and his wife face accusations that they attempted to snatch paintings from an art festival.

Police in Austin, Texas, arrested Nathan Sheppard, 37, and his wife Alexandra, 33, Sunday. Nathan Sheppard, the Austin Museum of Art finance and operations director, was charged with burglary and evading arrest, while his wife was named in a burglary count, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.

Wonder if the police had their house searched? Seems obvious, but I've heard of more than one instance where someone was caught red-handed trying to sell items from a stolen collection, only to be released on bail before a search could be made for the rest of the missing items. Full article here. Sheppard has now resigned, so this does not look like a case of mistaken arrest. It is to be hoped that his misdeeds were limited to his off-work time.

Posted by David on April 25, 2007 11:00 AM