Malachy E. Mannion

In a two-decade period, Thomas Trotta led a ring that targeted 20 museums and other venues, including the Everhart Museum and Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton, the Country Club of Scranton in South Abington Twp. and Keystone College in LaPlume Twp.

Deliberations scheduled to resume Thursday in the trial of accused theft ring members Nicholas Dombek, Damien Boland and Joseph and Alfred Atsus.

Trooper Kyle Hnat said he took care to corroborate statements that ring leader Thomas Trotta. Eventually, police dropped him as a confidential informant because he kept committing burglaries, testimony shows.

International Boxing Hall of Fame Director Ed Brophy enthusiastically explains the hall's roots and meaning, then breaks down while talking about theft of six championship belts in November 2015.

Presiding judge says the case will last into February. Prosecutors say the theft ring operated in six states and the District of Columbia between 1999 and 2019 and collected hundreds of thousands in loot.

A suspect in an interstate art and memorabilia theft ring can keep his existing lawyer, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. During a hearing in a Scranton federal courtroom, Joseph Atsus, 53, of Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, formally waived his right to potential future court appeals based on the possibility that his lawyer, Attorney Patrick A. Casey, has a conflict of interest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Buchanan's admission at a court hearing Tuesday adds to the doubt about the painting's authenticity.