N.S., 40, from Rome has been stealing precious works of art from churches in the Italian capital simulating prayer while calculating the dimensions of the masterpieces, which he later stole and hid in his newspaper until he was discovered on May 12.
Leaving the St Cosma and St Damiano Basilica, the man caught the attention of a police patrol which surprised him while wrapping the Madonna with the Child , a priceless work of art dated back to the 16th century. However the thief got out on bail.
But the Rome downtown police continued to investigate the man s previous visits in churches and thanks to the descriptions provided by several believers as well as to the use of sophisticated information systems, they managed to identify N.S. as the person responsible for other thefts of works of art in the Basilicas of St Alessio and Santa Sabina on April 6 and May 3, respectively.
The man was arrested and is currently held in custody in the Rebibbia prison in Rome.
The next step will be to try and find eventual accomplices as well as to discover the missing works of art.
