Museum Guard Charged With $1-Million Theft From Gallery

A museum guard was charged with theft today after up to $1 million in Asian artwork stolen from the Walters Art Gallery was discovered in his basement, authorities said.

Gregory Bartgis, 30, a museum security supervisor, was arrested at his home Tuesday, FBI Agent James Dearborn said.

Bartgis was charged today with theft, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, police Lt. Lawrence Leeson said.

All 81 items reported stolen from the gallery Aug. 16 appear to have been recovered, said Joseph Corless, agent in charge of the FBI office in Baltimore.

The artwork includes jade, Chinese snuff bottles, figurines, incense burners and an 18-inch porcelain vase dating to the 18th Century known as the Peach Bloom Vase. The pieces were valued at between $500,000 and $1 million.

Law enforcement agents found the art in boxes in Bartgis’ basement, Leeson said. None of the artifacts appeared to have been sold, he said.

The theft from at least 13 plexiglass display cases on the museum’s fourth floor was discovered after the curator returned from vacation. Other pieces in the cases had been rearranged to hide the theft, a museum spokesman said.

The theft was “very sophisticated and well planned” and obvious only to those who knew the collection well, museum spokesman Howard White said.