FBI: Partygoer Stole $4.5 Million Statue's Left Thumb After Selfie At Franklin Institute
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A Delaware man attending an after-hours event at the Franklin Institute is in a heap of trouble, for allegedly breaking off a thumb from a Chinese statue constructed over 2000 years ago.
In the affidavit from a special agent assigned to the FBI's Art Crime Team, 24-year-old Michael Rohana of Bear, Delaware, sneaked into a closed exhibit, and snapped off the thumb of a terracotta statue.
It was among ten figures on display, on loan from China, dating from 210 to 209 B.C. That piece, the "Cavalryman," is valued at $4.5 million.
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It happened while he was attending an "Ugly Sweater Party." His comings and goings were captured on surveillance videos.
The FBI says he even took a selfie of himself with his arm around the Cavalryman, then he appeared to break something off the statue's left hand.
Rohana sent a friend a Snapchat message with a photo of "the finger." He was even fingered by two friends, who tell the FBI Rohana told them how he had sneaked into the Terracotta Warriors Exhibit and snatched the thumb.
The missing thumb was recovered at his home.