The Mystery of Stolen Dalí

In 1965, Salvador Dalí quickly painted a piece depicting Christ on the cross and donated it to New York's Rikers Island jail. For nearly five decades, this artwork hung within the prison, occasionally making brief appearances elsewhere. However, in 2003, a group of prison guards decided to steal it, replacing it with a shoddy imitation. On March 1, 2003, during a pre-planned fire drill that distracted other on-duty guards, the heist unfolded. The thieves included a lookout, someone removing the painting, and another monitoring the drill.

Following an investigation, one guard was imprisoned, another received probation, and a third struck a plea deal. The lingering mystery centers on Benny Nuzzo, a prison guard whom the others implicated but who was found not guilty in court. Nuzzo, believed to be the mastermind, remained a respected figure for the lead investigator. To this day, the location of Dalí's original painting remains a mystery, leaving open the possibility that it found its way into the hands of a black-market buyer through the botched heist. Benny Nuzzo has never wavered in his claim of innocence.