Retired professor charged with stealing uncommon jewellery from well-heeled acquaintances

NEW YORK – A retired political science professor who traveled in Washington’s elite social circles pleaded not responsible on Tuesday to fees that he stole tens of hundreds of {dollars} in jewellery from his rich acquaintances.

Lawrence Grey offered no less than seven uncommon and invaluable stolen objects, together with diamond earrings, a pink sapphire brooch, and a nineteenth century gold pocket watch, prosecutors mentioned. They allege he earned greater than $45,000 consigning the items to a Manhattan public sale home.

“The defendant allegedly repeatedly sold stolen jewelry in order to enrich himself,” Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg mentioned in a press release. “New York’s status as a global hub for auction houses is diminished when goods are illegally sold.”

Grey, 79, pleaded not responsible in a Manhattan legal courtroom to fees of grand larceny, legal possession of stolen property, and a scheme to defraud. Carrying a pink shirt and black blazer and leaning gingerly on a darkish picket cane, he declined to talk to reporters as he left the courtroom. He was launched with out bail after agreeing to surrender his passport. He’s due again in courtroom on Oct. 31.

The indictment is the newest in a rising checklist of theft allegations towards Grey, a former tenured professor at John Cabot College in Rome and the longtime romantic accomplice of the late Washington socialite Jacqueline Quillen.

In 2021, shortly after Quillen’s demise, her sons sued Grey, accusing him of stealing costly heirlooms, work and money from each Quillen and her associates — a well-heeled group that included American diplomats, bankers and businessmen. Later that yr, Grey was arrested in Rhode Island on fees that he stole a diamond and sapphire brooch valued at $32,000 throughout a marriage in Newport.

The household’s lawsuit has settled for undisclosed phrases; the Rhode Island case, wherein Grey pleaded not responsible, is ongoing.

On Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors mentioned they’d proof connecting Grey to a string of thefts in New York, Virginia, and several other different states. Between 2016 and 2019, he offered the products on consignment to Doyle Public sale Home on the Higher East Aspect, they mentioned, including that they’re nonetheless working to find a few of the items that had been offered.

A spokesperson for Doyle Public sale Home declined to remark, citing an organization coverage towards discussing consignors.

Quillen, a wine specialist at Christie’s and the inheritor to a Wall Road fortune, had come to suspect that Grey was stealing from her and her associates, in line with the lawsuit filed by her sons. She stored detailed notes on the lacking items, and ultimately broke off her relationship with Grey months previous to her demise, the swimsuit alleged.