Minneapolis police have identified one of two people they believe stole roughly $80,000 worth of artwork from the studio of 80-year-old artist Leon Hushcha, in a burglary that involved a UPS vest, a handcart, and, apparently, another artist.
Ricardo Andres Bassat, 56, has been charged with felony burglary and is due in Hennepin County District Court on Monday, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. Police are still looking for his alleged accomplice. Court records, the Star Tribune reported, describe Bassat as an “amateur artist who is familiar with different styles of artwork.”
The burglary happened early on June 2 at Hushcha’s studio in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood. Surveillance footage showed two people arriving with an empty cart at around 6:45 a.m., one of them wearing a UPS vest. About 30 minutes later, they left pushing the cart, now loaded and covered with a black sheet. The stolen haul included paintings, prints, and handmade platters worth about $80,000.
A tipster later identified the man in the UPS vest as Bassat and told police that he rented a storage unit in St. Paul. Police searched the unit on July 1 and recovered 14 of Hushcha’s paintings inside a large black Pelican protective case. Also in the locker was a portfolio containing sketches signed “Bassat,” along with mail bearing his name.
