The Italian Job - A Profile

Over the weekend, thieves broke into the The Magnani-Rocca Foundation, a private museum in the countryside just outside of Parma. They took three paintings valued at somewhere around 10 million euro. They were:

• Les Poissons by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

• Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cézanne

• Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse

The Magnani-Rocca Foundation boasts an impressive collection of A-list artists, including Monet, Goya, Titian, Dürer, Tiepolo, Rubens, and Van Dyck. It is unknown at this point whether the museum employs overnight guards.

The heist, which was perpetrated by what has been described as a “structured and organized” gang, took three minutes. That’s not uncommon. My research shows that heists typically take between three and nine minutes, with, of course outliers at either end of the normal curve.

The criminals escaped by climbing over a fence, according to a regional public broadcaster. Museum officials said that the thieves “seemed to have intended on stealing more were it not for the private collection's alarms going off and police being called,” according to the BBC. I doubt they were startled by the alarm. They’ve burgled before, and expect it. It’s curious that, based on reporting, the alarm took three minutes to be tripped.

Based on what we know so far, which isn’t much, here’s an early profile of the thieves based on my research over the years:

1. They are men who are probably between 25 and 37. Probably closer to the younger range, given the fact that their getaway involved all of them jumping a fence.

2. They are likely relatively local. It would be unusual for thieves to travel far to get to the Parma countryside to steal valuables.

3. While the press has reported that the pieces stolen are not the highest-value works by the three artists, thieves wouldn’t know values. What they would know is names. Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse are very big names, which they would assume means very high value. And 10 million euro is a heck of a haul.

4. The gang is not a group of highly skilled international art thieves (sorry, Hollywood). They are common criminals who steal all sort of things.

5. There was some planning, but the smash-and-grab method at night doesn’t take much planning. Important note here, though: if there were no overnight guards, the thieves likely knew this. If that is the case, inside information cannot be ruled out, and is probable.

6. They are most likely white.

7. Most if not all of them have records of many prior arrests and run-ins with the law.

I wouldn’t offer a reward just yet. They are probably talking about their take and seeking interest. They might be bragging, too. It is wise to wait and see if there is any street-level intel making its way to investigators.

Stay tuned. This profile could change as more information emerges. I predict that they are excited that they haul was estimated to be in the many millions. But the hard part is next: trying to monetize them. Hopefully the try hard—that’s the best hope for the Carabinieri to get intel and recover them.