As of now, thirteen people—a combination of Italians and Moldavians—have been arrested in both countries for participating in a robbery at the Museum of Castelvecchio in Verona last November, reports |www.larena.it/territori/città/castelvecchio-12-arresti-le-opere-nascoste-in-moldavia-1.4718052?refresh_ce#scroll=532|L’Arena|.

The armed and hooded thieves had made off with seventeen paintings, among which were three by Tintoretto, as well as masterpieces by Caroto, Mantegna, Pisanello, and Rubens, at a total value of $15 to $20 million. Italy’s special police units Squadra Mobile and the Carabinieri have located the stolen works in Moldova and are recovering them. “We hope to succeed in recovering all the paintings in good condition,” commented Flavio Tosi, the mayor of Verona.

Among the arrested are not only the security guard who was in charge on the night of the robbery (and parked his car in the museum courtyard with the keys hidden under the dashboard), but also his brother, who formerly worked for a security agency but was forced to resign, and his female Moldavian partner. The investigators consider this woman to be the intermediary between the thieves’ bases in Verona and Moldova.