Man charged with burglary in Minneapolis art theft
A Minneapolis man is accused of stealing $50,000 worth of art from a North Loop studio.
According to a criminal complaint, surveillance video showed two suspects arrived at the gallery with an empty cart around 6:45 a.m. on June 2, one of them wearing a UPS vest. About half an hour later, they left the gallery with the cart loaded and covered in a black sheet.
A "concerned citizen" called police and identified one of the suspects, the complaint said. Police searched a storage unit in St. Paul rented by the suspect and found the missing art.
The man faces one count of third-degree burglary and is not in custody.
The studio and art belong to Leon Hushcha, who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in 1949. He's been making art for six decades and sells it all over the country.
Hushcha and his assistant told WCCO at the time of the theft they did not know how the thieves entered the gallery.
"When I saw the emptiness, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I laughed because that protects me from reality," Hushcha said. "This is the first time I've ever seen in the Twin Cities an art heist. That is unheard of."
