LAPD Art Theft Detective Don Hrycyk on Art Fraud and Forgery

Andrea Olcese, a collector, discovered he had purchased a fake artwork and was contacted by the FBI and LAPD. He interviewed Detective Don Hrycyk of the LAPD Art Theft Detail, which has existed for over 30 years but never had more than two detectives for a city of four million. The unit handles art theft and fraud, including rare books, film memorabilia, fossils, and musical instruments. Hrycyk noted that the US spends few resources on art crime; LAPD is the only US city with a dedicated art unit, and the FBI Art Crime Team has fewer than two dozen agents, contrasting with Italy's hundreds. The unit has recovered over $122 million since 1993, including a $3.5 million Stradivarius cello, a comic book owned by Nicolas Cage sold for $2.1 million, and a collection of Warhol paintings worth $24 million. Common forgeries involve Picasso, Chagall, Dalí, Warhol, and Basquiat, often cheap prints with fake certificates. Hrycyk emphasized that artist estates are reluctant to authenticate works due to fear of lawsuits, hindering investigations. He described art fraud as a problem out of control, worsened by the art community's secrecy and lack of self-regulation. Regarding the Modigliani forgery case in Genoa, he noted confusion over who to trust as experts are increasingly seen as fallible. Olcese received a refund from the seller.