Two Men Found Guilty of Stealing Golden Toilet From Winston Churchill’s House

Back in 2019, a group of masked men drove up to the ancestral home of Winston Churchill in the British countryside, broke in, and proceeded to steal a true national treasure: a fully functional toilet made of 18 karate gold. Half a decade later, the conspirators have finally been brought to justice.

The New York Times reports that, following a three-week trial, Michael Jones, 39, and Fred Doe, 36, were found guilty of crimes related to the theft. Jones was found guilty of burglary while Doe was found guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property. The newspaper writes that another conspirator, 40-year-old James Sheen, had already pled guilty to burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

The toilet was an art installation created by Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian artist known for his provocative visual works. Cattelan is the same artist who has drawn controversy for his artwork “Comedian,” which is just a banana taped to a wall. Cattelan’s name for the toilet was “America.” The work was previously featured at the Guggenheim in New York, and Cattelan had insured it for some $6 million.

In 2019, the toilet was transferred to the English manor, named Blenheim Palace. Only two days later, the group of men stole it. The Times report provides details of how the gang busted into the residence where it was stationed:

Once inside, the gang dislodged the toilet, causing a small flood in the room. Security cameras then captured several men rolling a large item toward the car and placing it into the vehicle’s trunk, the court heard. Those cameras also captured someone carrying what appeared to be a toilet seat toward the vehicles, he said. The gang then sped off.

The three men have not been sentenced yet, and it’s somewhat unclear what kind of sentence you get for stealing a toilet. Cattelan, himself, doesn’t seem to phased by the whole thing, telling the Times in an email that the theft of his work wasn’t “exactly the heist of the century,” but it was “one of the most bizarre.”