A Moscow man convicted for his role in a theft ring that targeted art and vintage memorabilia in six states was sentenced Thursday to spend nine years in a federal prison.
Senior U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion also ordered Damien Boland, 49, to pay $2,049,420 in restitution and undergo three years of supervised release after prison.
A jury found Boland and two other Lackawanna County men — Nicholas Dombek, 55, of Thornhurst Township, and Joseph Atsus, 51, of Roaring Brook Township — guilty in February for their roles. The jury found Atsus’ brother, Alfred Atsus, 49, of Covington Township, not guilty on all counts.
Dombek and Joseph Atsus are awaiting sentencing.
Trotta squealed
The case hinged heavily on the testimony of the ringleader, Thomas Trotta, 50, a former Moscow resident and a friend of all four men for almost 40 years who was stopped for drunken driving and decided to cooperate with police.
Trotta helped bring the case national attention by agreeing to interviews with the TV news program, “60 Minutes,” and The Atlantic magazine.
Mannion sentenced Trotta in March to eight years in prison and ordered him to serve three years on supervised release and pay $2,759,073 in restitution. The money will go to the 20 museums and other venues he and the others burglarized over two decades.
Sister guilty, too
Three others pleaded guilty to single counts, including Trotta’s sister, Dawn Trotta, 54, of Covington Twp. Mannion sentenced her the same day as her brother to 15 months in prison and ordered her to pay $200,000 in restitution.
In February, Mannion sentenced Frank Tassiello, 52, of Scranton, to six months in prison and three years of supervised release; and Ralph Parry, 47, of Covington Twp., to three years probation.
Daryl Rinker, 51, of Thornhurst Twp., pleaded guilty but died before sentencing.
Boland's involvement
The nine-man, three-woman jury found Boland guilty on all 11 counts — one count of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment or disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property; two counts of theft of major artwork; and eight counts of concealment or disposal of major artwork.
Boland’s participation included the theft of six boxing championship belts, including four belonging to Carmen Basillio and two belonging to Tony Zale stolen in 2015 from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.
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 gold plating.
The belts were burned after Dombek removed all the gold from the plating he could, Trotta testified.
Boxer's relative testifies
At Boland’s sentencing, Haley Zale, the boxer’s great niece, said the “senseless crime” put her family through a lot of suffering.
“In two swift minutes, you stole so much,” she wrote in prepared remarks that she shared with WVIA News.
She spent years searching for the belts in vain, she said.
“Five solid years of my life devoted to finding my uncle’s belts and five more years holding out hope, were for nothing. I dedicated countless hours in therapy dealing with the repercussions of the belt loss, the bullying, the fear, anxiety and depression,” she said. “I wish I had something more than this photo of myself wearing my uncle’s 1948 world champion belt ... I wish I had a fragment, a keepsake, something. But I don’t. Because you and your buddies burned them.”
Boland's other thefts
Boland was also part of thefts of:
- “Le Grande Passion” by Andy Warhol and “Springs Winter” purportedly by Jackson Pollock in 2005 from the Everhart Museum in Scranton. Both remain missing.
- A 1903/1904 Tiffany Lamp stolen in 2010 from the Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton.
- The Hickok Belt and MVP Trophy belonging to Roger Maris, stolen in 2016 from the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, North Dakota.
- The U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan, stolen in 2012 from the USGA Golf Museum & Library in Bernards Twp., New Jersey.
- Fourteen trophies and other awards worth approximately $300,000 stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York.
- Five trophies worth over $350,000, including the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy, stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
- Three antique firearms stolen in 2006 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum in Wantage, New Jersey.
- “Upper Hudson,” a painting by Jasper Crospey, worth approximately $120,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey.
- Antique guns worth more than $150,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor.
