A band of Italian art thieves were so inept they peddled major hauls through small-town antiques shops and even flea markets, Italian police have found.
Police closed in on the gang Monday after tracing a valuable oil painting by Giandomenico Tiepolo - son of the great Giovanni Battista Tiepolo - to a flea market near Venice.
The painting, 'Carnival Scene' (1765), valued at over one million euros, was bought from a small-time antiques dealer for a few thousand euros just before police pounced.
"It may sound amazing but these art thieves were recycling goods worth millions via small local markets and bric-a-brac dealers," police said.
"They simply had no idea of the value of the works".
"To call them clueless would be a compliment".
The oil was stolen from a private collector in Rome several months ago.
It was among over 90 works of art police seized in a major operation across Italy, sweeping up after the bungling art bandits.
Fourteen of these works were known to have been stolen, including a priceless Greek Orthodox icon.
Police said they believed most of the works of art had been stolen from private homes and apartments, mainly in Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio.
Monday's operation was the result of an investigation which began last October.
Police said they used listening devices, bugs and other means of electronic surveillance to close in on the crooks and their outlets.
Giandomenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) was the son of the more famous Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) Tiepolo (1696-1770), whose tufty-cloud views of Venice dot the world's galleries.
A considerable painter and printmaker in his own right, Giandomenico was considered one of the last 'Grand Manner' fresco painters.
