A thief and his accomplice were convicted Tiesday in the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet, stolen from an English palace. Insured for "nearly 5 million pounds" (~$6 million) the shiny shittoir was a fully-functional plumbed-in work of art (subtly titled "America") installed at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill.
The thief, Michael Jones, had used it the day before he returned with two others armed with sledgehammers and crowbars. Jones, 39, was convicted of burglary in Oxford Crown Court, following the earlier conviction of James Sheen, 40, who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property.
They smashed a window and pried the toilet from its plumbing within five minutes, leaving a damaging flood in their wake as they escaped in stolen vehicles.
"This was an audacious raid which had been carefully planned and executed," prosecutor Shan Saunders said. "But those responsible were not careful enough, leaving a trail of evidence in the form of forensics, CCTV footage and phone data."
The toilet was not recovered and was likely sold for its elemental value—about $3.6m at the time.
Previously:
• Two suspects arrested after $5 million gold toilet stolen from Britain's Blenheim Palace
• Trump to Guggenheim: lend me your Van Gogh? Guggenheim: Nah, howbout a gold toilet instead?
• Four men charged with stealing 18K gold toilet from Winston Churchill's home
• Thieves steal golden toilet
• Men on trial for stealing 18k golden toilet from English palace, Trump surprisingly not a suspect
• Want to urinate in a gold toilet? You're in luck at the Guggenheim
