The FBI doesn’t know where the painting was between 1969 and the late 1980s, but it believes “it remained in the hands of organized crime members.” The painting resurfaced in 1989 when James R.

An 18th century British painting that was stolen by mobsters ... then passed among members of organized crime groups for years before ending up in the southern Utah city of St. George.

The network of alleged forgers even organized entire exhibitions at prestigious locations in order to boost their credibility, completing with published art catalogs.

Investigators discovered six forgery workshops and seized more than 2,100 fake artworks with a potential market value of about $215 million.