Latest news with #MaurizioCattelan
Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Blenheim Palace replaces stolen gold lavatory with £10 substitute
Blenheim Palace has replaced its stolen golden lavatory with a replica with which visitors can pay £10 to take a selfie. The historic country house, which was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, is planning to put the attraction in the Water Terraces. It comes after the original £4.75 million golden lavatory artwork, named America, was stolen from the Spencer-Churchill's family home back in 2019. Five men broke into the palace using sledgehammers, before ripping out the solid gold lavatory and fleeing in a stolen Volkswagen. The working lavatory, plumbed as part of an exhibition by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been on display for just under a week before it was taken. James Sheen, 40, Michael Jones, 39, Fred Doe, 36, and Bora Guccuk, 41, were accused of being part of a gang who planned and carried out the 'bold and brazen' burglary of the Oxfordshire stately home. Sheen was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to burglary and transferring criminal property in 2024, while Jones was found guilty of burglary in March 2025 and sentenced to 27 months. Doe, from Windsor, was convicted of conspiracy to sell the stolen gold and given a 21-month-long suspended sentence in May, while Guccuk, from west London, was cleared of the same charge. The golden lavatory was probably melted down after it was stolen and has not been recovered since. Blenheim Palace said the replica, which has been spray-painted gold and stuck to an old pallet, is 'aimed to be a fun focal point for visitors to sit down for a selfie with a difference.' A spokesman for Blenheim Palace said: 'We take the theft of any property extremely seriously, but with the incredible global interest in the golden toilet theft and the recent court case coming to a conclusion, we thought some light hearted amusement with a budget alternative in our gardens would raise a smile and become an unlikely new stop-off point for visitors to our stunning gardens.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Ridiculous reasons people have ended up behind bars including sausage roll drama
From gold toilets to stolen sausage rolls, here's an absurd round up of real-life crimes that prove you really can go to jail for the downright ridiculous - and the court will never be amused Criminal activity is nothing to joke about, but when it comes to crimes, you are probably thinking of burglary, fraud and assault. However, sometimes, the law collides with the most ridiculous crimes, and everyone ends up trying to hold a straight face whilst attempting to make it through a court case. The case of the £4.8 million golden toilet, at Blenheim Palace, installed as part of an art exhibition by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan being stolen is one such case. The fully functioning 18-carat gold toilet titled America and crown jewel of the show was taken after a glitzy launch party in September 2019. Thieves smashed into the stately home and decided they weren't very happy with its positioning, instead choosing to make off with it themselves. Two men have now been jailed, James 'Jimmy' Sheen, 40, a career criminal from Oxford, pleaded guilty to burglary and conspiracy in 2024 after his DNA was found at the scene and gold fragments were discovered in his clothes. His phone, brimming with incriminating messages in coded language and slang, sealed his fate. He was sentenced to four years in prison, which he will serve consecutively with a previous 19-year term. Michael Jones, 39, was found guilty of burglary in March and sentenced to two years and three months. Jones had booked a time slot to use the toilet the day before the heist and even snapped photos inside the cubicle. During the court case Michael was asked to confirm having used the toilet, he confirmed and described the experience as 'splendid.' The golden loo isn't the only criminality to have graced the halls of the very serious institution. A surprising number of offenders have found themselves on the wrong side of the law - some of them so surreal you probably won't even believe what you read. Originally compiled by Morton's Solicitors in Manchester, here are some of the most outlandish real-life convictions in recent UK legal history: Cheese Theft In 2013, a group of thieves targeted a dairy farm not for cattle, but for cheese. Whilst the rest of the world slept, thieves stole thousands of pounds worth of cheese. After being caught they claimed they were overcome with passion for cheese. Whilst everyone else was probably trying to stop themselves doubling over with laughter, the court wasn't very amused. Despite their 'passions,' the group were handed standard theft charges. The Sausage Roll Incident One hungry individual couldn't resist the smell of a fresh batch of sausage rolls cooling on a bakery counter. They walked in, grabbed a handful, and left without paying but the individual faces standard theft charges because the law takes any type of property theft quite seriously. It's still a crime and still had consequences. Takes the Biscuit In London, a man pocketed an expensive box of biscuits. When questioned, the man claimed they were meant as a gift for his girlfriend. Whilst the gesture was nice it was still a crime. The court - with its stiff upper lip - remained unmoved, treating the theft as a straightforward violation of retail laws. Loitering in Gnome Disguise A group of individuals dressed as garden gnomes and lingered in a residential area, their aim was to spook passers-by. The stunt landed them in hot water and they were charged with public nuisance. The law doesn't accept that individuals should have to experience unnecessary distress. Feeding the Seagulls In a coastal Devon town, a man was fined for feeding chips to seagulls, in breach of local regulations. The man argued he was just sharing a few chips with the birds, but the court ruled that encouraging aggressive bird behaviour was a public safety issue and upheld the penalty.
New York Times
6 days ago
- New York Times
2 Men Are Sentenced in Theft of Golden Toilet
The tale of the stolen gold toilet has come to a close. Two men who stole an 18-carat commode from Blenheim Palace in England in 2019 were sentenced on Friday to two to four years in prison for their roles in the theft. The sentencing came after four men were accused of stealing or trying to sell the $6 million fully functioning toilet, an artwork titled 'America' by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, which was believed to have been chopped up so the gold could be sold. James Sheen, 44, described by prosecutors as the mastermind behind the theft, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. On Friday, he received a four-year sentence. Michael Jones, 39, was sentenced to 27 months in prison. Prosecutors said he made reconnaissance trips to Blenheim Palace near Oxford in advance of the theft. He was found guilty of burglary after a trial in March. 'This was an extraordinary case in many respects,' Shan Saunders, a solicitor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement. 'It is not every day that we prosecute high-value burglaries of stately homes, let alone the audacious theft of an 18-carat gold toilet.' Just as unusual, he added, was that despite the level of planning that went into the theft, 'the offenders left such a trail of evidence in their wake.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Malay Mail
Luxury loo larceny: Two men jailed for ‘bold and brazen' US$6m gold toilet heist at Churchill's birthplace
LONDON, June 14 — Two men were jailed yesterday for stealing an 18-carat golden toilet that had been on display as an artwork in an exhibition at Winston Churchill's birthplace. The fully functioning toilet, a work titled America by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was stolen from the Churchill family seat of Blenheim Palace in southern England, a major tourist attraction and Unesco World Heritage Site. Prosecutor Julian Christopher told jurors at the start of the trial at Oxford Crown Court in February that a group of five men had driven two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates into the palace grounds before dawn on September 14, 2019. They broke in through a window, smashed down a wooden door, ripped the toilet from the wall and left after five minutes in the building. The toilet, weighing 98 kilos was insured for US$6 million (RM25 million). Prosecutors say it was probably divided into smaller amounts of gold to sell it off. None of the gold has ever been recovered. James Sheen, 40, had pleaded guilty before trial to burglary, conspiring to convert or transfer the gold and converting or transferring the gold. Michael Jones, 39, was found guilty of burglary by a jury, having pleaded not guilty. Judge Ian Pringle said the pair had played important roles in the 'bold and brazen heist', though the judge said he could not be sure that Jones was present during the burglary. Sheen was sentenced to four years in jail, with the sentence to begin at the end of a separate jail term of nearly 20 years he is currently serving for a series of thefts. Jones was sentenced to 27 months in prison. — Reuters
ABC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Two men jailed for stealing golden toilet from Winston Churchill's birthplace
Two men who smashed their way into a historic English property and ripped out a $9 million solid-gold toilet have been jailed for their part in the theft. James Sheen, 40, and Michael Jones, 39, were jailed at Oxford Crown Court in central England for four years and 27 months respectively. The sentences came as it was revealed Sheen is already serving 19 years in jail for a string of other offences, including a museum burglary and attacks on cash machines. The fully functioning 18-carat artwork was stolen in a raid on an exhibition at Blenheim Palace — the birthplace of Winston Churchill — near central Oxford in September 2019. The toilet artwork, dubbed America, was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and had been on display as one of the star attractions at an exhibition in the 18th-century home. "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete," Judge Ian Pringle said. "America has never been seen again." Weighing about 98 kilograms, the artwork was insured for $US6 million ($9 million) and was made with 20 kilograms of gold. It was stolen just hours after a glamorous exhibition launch party by thieves wielding sledgehammers. Prosecutors said the work was likely broken up or melted down and sold soon after the theft. The gold has not been recovered. It is believed Sheen took the 20kg of gold to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter in September 2019 and sold it for 26,000 pounds ($54,000) a kilogram. Jurors heard earlier that Sheen first contacted a third man, Frederick Doe, two days after the raid to ask if he could help him sell some of the gold. Doe replied to Sheen in a WhatsApp message: "I do know just the man you need to see." The 37-year-old, described by a judge as a "foolish" middleman, escaped jail for his role in the heist. He was handed a suspended sentence last month after being found guilty of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Jones previously said he used the toilet at Blenheim Palace the day before it was taken. Asked what it was like, he told the court it was "splendid". Sheen admitted burglary and money laundering offences. Judge Pringle said his four-year jail term would be added to the 19 years he is already serving. Jones was found guilty of burglary after an earlier trial. AFP
