NEWPORT BEACH : Police Seek Owner of Stolen Photos Signed by Hollywood Greats

Detectives are searching for the owner of about two dozen autographed photos of Hollywood luminaries seized in the motel room of a 48-year-old woman convicted of stealing property from elderly victims in her care, authorities said Tuesday.

The photographs depict movie stars in the 1930s and 1940s, including Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, said Police Sgt. Andy Gonis in a prepared statement. Each was signed for either Annette or Marion Sack, possible victims of Sondra Khosla, a Santa Ana woman who was convicted of posing as a caretaker for the elderly and then stealing their belongings, according to police and court records. Khosla was sentenced in February to three years in prison.

In October, 1994, investigators seized more than 2,000 items that included the autographed photos, antiques and jewelry belonging to senior citizens from California, Arizona and Utah at the woman’s apartment and a nearby storage unit. Authorities said Khosla had stolen from the elderly over a period of three years, using 11 aliases to get employment at the homes of her victims.

Detectives were tipped off by a 92-year-old Newport Beach woman who said Khosla had stolen her 1926 wedding ring while she was asleep, police said. The ring was later recovered at Khosla’s apartment, according to detectives.

The majority of the stolen valuables were returned to their owners, but detectives have not been able to find the owner of the Hollywood photos, Gonis said.

Police are asking anyone with information on the owner or family members of the owner to call (800) 550-NBPD.