Man guilty of stealing US$6 million golden toilet from Churchill’s birthplace

This Sept. 16, 2016 file image made from a video shows the 18-karat toilet, titled "America," by Maurizio Cattelan in the restroom of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. (AP Photo, File) (The Associated Press)

LONDON - A British man was convicted on Tuesday of stealing an 18-carat golden toilet that had been on display as an artwork in an exhibit at Winston Churchill’s birthplace.

The fully functioning toilet, a work titled “America” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was stolen from the Churchill family seat of Blenheim Palace in southern England, a major tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Prosecutor Julian Christopher told jurors at the start of the trial last month that a group of five men drove two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates into the palace grounds before dawn on September 14, 2019.

They broke in through a window, smashed down a wooden door, ripped the toilet from the wall and left after five minutes in the building.

The toilet weighing 98 kilos was insured for $6 million. Prosecutors say it was probably divided into smaller amounts of gold to sell it off.

Michael Jones, 39, was found guilty of burglary at Oxford Crown Court, having pleaded not guilty.

Fred Doe, 36, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property, namely the gold, while 41-year-old Bora Guccuk was acquitted of that charge.

James Sheen, 39, had pleaded guilty before trial to burglary, conspiring to convert or transfer the gold and converting or transferring the gold.

Shan Saunders of the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement: “This was an audacious raid which had been carefully planned and executed – but those responsible were not careful enough, leaving a trail of evidence in the form of forensics, CCTV footage and phone data.”

Saunders added that “while none of the gold was ever recovered ... we are confident this prosecution has played a part in disrupting a wider crime and money laundering network.”

Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James