A jury found three Lackawanna County men guilty in an federal art and memorabilia theft ring trial Friday, but exonerated one of all charges.
After deliberating three days, jurors found Nicholas Dombek, 54, Thornhurst Township, guilty on eight of 11 counts he faced; Damien Boland, 48, of Moscow, guilty of all 11 counts; and Joseph Atsus, 50, of Roaring Brook Township, guilty of four of six counts.
The nine-man, three-woman jury found Atsus’ brother, Alfred Atsus, 48, of Covington Township, not guilty of all five counts he faced.
“Hoo-rah,” said a smiling post-verdict Ted Zale, 76, of Lansing, Michigan, whose family was victimized by the 2015 theft of the late middleweight boxer Tony Zale’s two championship belts from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.
His daughter, Haley Zale, 41, of Brooklyn, New York, said the verdict brought some satisfaction.
“My heart was pounding. I had no idea what to expect, and I was really hoping to hear that first guilty count, one for all three of them. And when it came through, I felt this sense of peace,” Haley Zale said.
Guilty men decline to comment
Ringleader Thomas Trotta testified to stealing two championship boxing belts that belonged to Tony Zale and four that belonged another middleweight champion, Carmen Basilio, from the Hall of Fame
Joseph Atsus and Boland declined to comment on the verdict. Dombek did not comment before deputy marshals returned him to the Lackawanna County Prison. The three men’s lawyers also declined to comment.
In the courtroom, Alfred Atsus hugged his lawyer, Jason Mattioli, who loudly slapped him on the back.
“Thank you,” Atsus said, choking up.
In front of reporters outside the courthouse, Atsus thanked Mattioli and his other lawyer, Michael Ossont, but declined further comment including on the guilty verdicts against his brother.
Mattioli choked up when talking about his client and praised the jury for its thoroughness.
“What I’m most proud of is that — and I'm going to get emotional — is that this guy gets to walk out of here a free man,” Mattioli said. “Because I knew it when we got this case. I told him, ‘We are going to get you out of this mess. You didn't do any of this nonsense wrong. Guilt by association is guilty of nothing, and you're going to walk out of here a free man.”
The men were charged with roles in thefts or attempted thefts at 20 museums across two decades in six states and Washington, D.C.
The Northeast Pennsylvania targets included the Everhart Museum and Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton; the Country Club of Scranton in South Abington; Hawley Antique Exchange in Hawley; and Cade’s Coins in Exeter.
The case hinged heavily on the ringleader, Thomas Trotta, 49, a former Moscow resident and a friend of all four men for almost 40 years. Trotta, who had already pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, testified for three days in great detail about the thefts.
Juror Taz Akhter called the case “very complicated” and said jurors “couldn’t believe him (Trotta) for a lot of the testimony that (was) provided.”
“That's why we had to look at all the evidence that was presented. We just couldn't go on a verdict just based on, you know, what Thomas Trotta said,” Akhter said. “It took us a long time ... because we were going through each and every individual (piece of) evidence just to make sure we were fair.”
Asked if the jury acquitted Alfred Atsus because of his lesser role in the thefts, she said, “I mean, if we found him not guilty, that's what it is in the verdict.”
'Somebody up there likes us'
Haley Zale said she “didn’t really expect Al Atsus to be found guilty, because he wasn't mentioned much in court.”
Ted Zale, his wife, Deborah, and their daughter said they would return to Scranton to make victim statements to Senior U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion before he sentences the men. No sentencing dates are set.
“If my uncle was around, you know what he'd be doing with each one of them individually?” Ted Zale said. “He would say, ‘Good morning. How do you like a nice right to the ribs?”
Haley, who attended the trial many days and took notes, said she teared up when she wrote down “2025” Friday morning and realized the title belts were stolen 10 years ago. Trotta testified the belts only brought about $400 in cash, less than it cost to steal them, because their gemstones were glass and what looked like gold was actually gold plating.
The belts were burned after Dombek removed the gold from the plating he could, Trotta said. The Zales said the boxing community, including actor Rosie Perez and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, rallied around the Zale and Basilio families for years in hopes of retrieving the belts.
“It feels good that the mystery is finally solved, and we finally know what exactly happened with our uncle's beloved belts and his lineage and his pride and joy,” Haley Zale, Tony Zale’s great niece, said. “He was homeless in the streets of Chicago, and nobody in the family knew. He was too proud to tell anybody. And he could have sold those belts then, and he didn't, because they meant so much to him. So, I think uncle Tony is looking down proud.”
Deborah Zale said she found one fragment of a belt in one of the empty cases that once held them. They plan to show Mannion the cases when they testify at sentencing about the pain the theft inflicted.
The Zales said they felt proud to represent all the theft victims at the trial.
“Somebody up there likes us,” Deborah Zale said.
It was a reference to the movie “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” a 1956 biopic about boxer Rocky Graziano, starring actor Paul Newman as Graziano.
After beating Graziano once in 1946, Tony Zale lost the middleweight title to him in 1947.
Zale knocked out Graziano in the third round in June 1948 to win back the middleweight crown.
Charges detailed
The guilty men were all convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment or disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property.
Dombek was also found six counts of guilty of concealment or disposal of major artwork. That included the theft of pop artist Andy Warhol’s “Le Grand Passion” from the Everhart and nine World Series and seven other championship rings and two MVP plaques stolen from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey. The museum honors Hall of Fame New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra. Dombek was also convicted of one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
Dombek was found not guilty of theft of major artwork in the Everhart theft and two concealment counts, including one centered on the theft of a Hickok Belt and MVP trophy awarded to the late Yankees outfielder Roger Maris from the Roger Maris Museum in a Fargo, North Dakota, mall.
Boland was also found guilty of two counts of theft of major artwork, including the Everhart painting and a Tiffany lamp from the historical society. Jurors also found him guilty of eight concealment counts, including loot from the Everhart and the historical society.
Joseph Atsus was also found guilty of one count of theft of major artwork for the Everhart and two concealment counts, including one for the Everhart.
He was found not guilty of two concealment counts, including one for the Yogi Berra Museum.
Alfred Atsus was found not guilty of one count of theft of major artwork, the one at the Everhart, and three concealment counts, including the Everhart theft.
