Officer’s Alleged Role in Art Theft at Televangelist’s Church Probed

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating allegations that a suspended police officer may have been involved in the theft of a purported Rembrandt painting from the church of televangelist Gene Scott, The Times has learned.

Church officials told police that two masked gunmen burst into Scott’s downtown University Cathedral on Nov. 7 and made off with what was described in a police report as a valuable artwork by the 17th-Century Dutch master, Rembrandt van Rijn.

A custodian who was bound with tape and gagged during the robbery told police that he recognized the voice of one of the gunmen, whom he identified as Theodore J. Briseno, one of four Los Angeles police officers charged in the March 3 beating of Rodney G. King.

Briseno, according to sources, has worked off-duty as a security guard at Scott’s church along with other LAPD officers.

Although Internal Affairs officers were assigned to investigate, police officials said privately that there may be little, if anything, beyond the custodian’s allegation linking Briseno to the art theft.

His lawyer said that Briseno--who is awaiting trial on charges that he stomped King once during the videotaped beating--”categorically denied” any involvement in the theft.

“He wouldn’t know a Rembrandt from a rhinoceros,” said attorney John Barnett, “and he would have just about as much chance of disposing (of) one as he would the other.”

Barnett would not say whether Briseno had been interviewed by investigators.

A Police Department spokesman, Lt. Fred Nixon, declined to discuss the case other than to say the department was investigating an art theft at Scott’s church.

Sources said circumstances surrounding the theft remain puzzling and detectives have been hampered by a lack of information from University Cathedral officials.

Perhaps just as mysterious is the missing painting itself.

Neither police nor church officials on Tuesday were able to provide more than a general description of the painting--a large biblical scene in a gilded frame that hung prominently in the lobby of the church.

The painting was listed in a police report as a Rembrandt that, if genuine, could be worth millions of dollars. However, the FBI, which has some jurisdiction in art thefts of more than $50,000, is not investigating the theft, a spokeswoman said.

University Cathedral’s general counsel said the painting was uninsured and he did not know how much it was worth. Nor did he know how the artwork came to be acquired by the church or who painted it.

“It may or may not have been a Rembrandt,” said attorney Edward Masry. “Whether it was or wasn’t a Rembrandt is almost irrelevant. It was a religious object. We can’t place a value on it because we never had it appraised.”

Masry said the church did not intend to appear uncooperative with the Police Department, explaining that, “I’m basically the one who is in charge of all of these matters, and I was in the hospital having surgery. I didn’t get involved until a few days ago.”

The attorney said the church never formally hired Briseno to work security, but employed an off-duty Los Angeles police officer to coordinate security services. That officer, whom Masry would not name, had “total freedom” to hire other off-duty officers, he said.

“I don’t know who said that this man allegedly stole this painting because there is no proof he did,” Masry said. “It’s not up to us to say that the man did or did not commit this crime. We are not accusing him of any malfeasance.”

The unidentified custodian who allegedly recognized Briseno’s voice was in the church with another church worker when a pair of gunmen wearing ski masks burst through a side door late in the afternoon and ordered them to lie face down on the floor, sources said.

The two workers were bound and gagged with duct tape. One of the gunmen then removed his mask and put it on the custodian to prevent him from seeing. Nonetheless, the custodian later told investigators he recognized the gunman’s voice as Briseno’s, sources said.

After the suspects escaped, the workers were able to free themselves and called supervisors, sources said. Only the painting was reported stolen.

Masry said he does not know how the robbers gained entry. He added that he has not spoken with Scott about the robbery.

From studios in Glendale, Scott preaches daily to a worldwide audience via satellite on television and radio. He ministers every Sunday to an invitation-only audience of 1,800 at a classic movie theater on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles that Scott leased in 1989 and renamed University Cathedral.

In his broadcasts, Scott regularly exhorts audiences to contribute to his ministry, while sometimes criticizing politicians.

Scott’s philanthropy has benefitted various organizations and has helped win him friends among the rich and powerful in Los Angeles. When he reopened his University Cathedral on Easter last year after a massive renovation, those in attendance included City Councilman Richard Alatorre and Mayor Tom Bradley.