crimes and misdemeanors

Man Who Stole (and Returned) Dalí Painting Also Took a Steak From Whole Foods

Photo: DCPI

Moncler’s international press office manager Phivos Lampros Istavrioglou has been charged in the strange theft of a $150,000 Salvador Dalí painting called Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio from an Upper East Side gallery last summer, Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance announced today. Even though the work was promptly returned, Istavrioglou was lured to America by an undercover NYPD detective posing as a gallery manager with a business proposal. When he arrived from Milan, the NYPD was waiting, as was a bench warrant for stealing a steak from Whole Foods in a separate incident. 

Istavrioglou reportedly said he only stole the painting because “there was a lapse in security at the gallery and he wanted to point it out,” and presumably the same goes for the meat. (Confession: Sometimes we sneak bites from the hot food buffet.) Police commissioner Ray Kelly, who just cannot lay off the press-release puns, added triumphantly, “More than ‘persistence of memory’ helped solve this case.”

Moncler Publicist Charged With Stealing Dalí