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It seems the burglars who broke into the Yogi Berra Museum at Montclair State University nearly a decade ago and stole several of his World Series rings, two of his MVP plaques and the glove the Yankee legend used to catch Don Larsen’s perfect game were actually part of a multi-state ring.
Eight people in all were charged with a series of heists of priceless artwork and one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia from museums and cultural centers in several states and Washington, D.C. from 1999 through 2018, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Gerard M. Karam said on June 15.
The hauls included paintings by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock, the 1903 Belmont Stakes trophy, 9 World Series rings that belonged to Berra and six boxing championship belts, among other valuables, Karam said.
SEE: Nine Pennsylvanians Stole Over $4 Million In Fine Art And Sports Memorabilia, Feds Say
Although those charged are all from Pennsylvania, a good deal of the damage was done in New Jersey.
The Berra Museum put a combined value of more than $1M on the stolen World Series rings, 7 other championship rings and two MVP plaques awarded to the Yankee catching legend. All were all stolen on Oct. 8, 2014 -- coincidentally, an off-day in the Major League Baseball playoffs.
The USGA Golf Museum & Library in Somerset County was burglarized in 2012 by the crew, who took the U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan, Karam said Thursday.
Three antique firearms worth a combined $1 million were stolen by the crew from the Space Farms Zoo & Museum in Wantage in 2005, the U.S. attorney said.
“Upper Hudson” by 19th Century painter Jasper Cropsey – worth a reported half a million dollars – and two antique firearms valued at a combined $300,000 were pilfered by the perps from the Ringwood Manor in 2011, according to the top Keystone cop.
Other Garden State thefts tied to the group:
- $400,000 worth of gold nuggets stolen in 2011 from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg;
- various gems, minerals, and other items swiped in 2017 from the Franklin Mineral Museum in Sussex County.
Berra’s World Series rings – valued at a minimum $150,000 each -- had been displayed together in a glass case. The MVP trophies were each worth anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000 at the time, dealers and collectors said.
The burglars apparently made their way in through an attached minor league baseball stadium. They got what they were looking for and were quickly gone.
Warnings immediately went out to sports memorabilia dealers on the off-chance the thieves might try to sell the items off quick.
Legitimate dealers kept their eyes and ears open, an expression of respect for one of the most beloved Bronx Bombers of all time. But nothing came of it – at least not back then.
With the announcements on Thursday came the sad news that most of the stolen items apparently haven’t been recovered.
Some of the sports memorabilia was melted into metal discs and bars that were more easily transported and sold in and around Manhattan, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Scranton, PA.
“Upper Hudson” was deliberately destroyed by fire to prevent its being recovered as evidence during the investigation, the indictment says.
What was peddled on the black market apparently fetched less than what collectors would have paid, it says.
Assisting in the investigation, along with dozens of other agencies in various states, were New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Park Police, Montclair State University Police, the Essex and Sussex county prosecutor’s offices and local police in Franklin, West Milford, Montclair and Bernards Township.
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