Security footage of the night a $6 million gold toilet was stolen from an English palace was made public this week as three British men stand trial for the brazen 2019 theft.
The 18-carat gold commode was an art piece called “America” that was being displayed in Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. According to the BBC, the 216-lb. toilet was swiped from the palace just two days after being installed.
Michael Jones, 39; Fred Doe, 36; and Bora Guccuk, 41, are accused in connection with the predawn strike that took just five minutes one September morning. Jones is faces one charge of burglary, while his co-defendants allegedly conspired to transfer the stolen property. They’ve all pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege the men drove through the locked gates of Blenheim Palace, then broke in a window, smashed down a door and ripped the toilet from the wall. The chaos was reportedly so loud that a night shift manager at the palace thought a boiler had exploded.
When he and another worker went to see what was happening on security cameras, they witnessed a car and a truck speeding away, presumably with the toilet in tow.
The art piece has never been recovered. Prosecutors told an Oxford court the toilet was likely dismantled and sold. They claim the transitional metal alone would’ve been worth more than $3.5 million.
A fourth man, 40-year-old James Sheen, earlier pleaded guilty to burglary in connection with the case.
The Italian artwork designed by Maurizio Cattelan was previously on display in The Guggenheim on Fifth Ave.