Two men found guilty in theft of $6 million gold toilet

LONDON – Ever since a hooded gang smashed its way into Blenheim Palace – an English stately home that was Winston Churchill’s birthplace – and stole a fully functioning 18-karat gold toilet more than five years ago, the glittering john has been missing seemingly without a trace.

On Tuesday, two men were found guilty over the theft and sale of the shiny commode, an artwork by Maurizio Cattelan, the Italian conceptual artist best known for another high-profile piece – a banana taped to a wall that was auctioned off last year for $6.2 million.

His toilet, titled “America,” was insured for $6 million and, despite that high value, is believed to have been divided up and sold.

After a three-week trial at Oxford Crown Court, a jury found Michael Jones, 39, guilty of burglary, and Fred Doe, 36, guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property.

A third man, James Sheen, 40, had already pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to burglary, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. The police found Sheen’s DNA on a sledgehammer left at the crime scene as well as in a stolen truck used in the raid. Investigators also found hundreds of gold fragments on a pair of his sweatpants.

All three men will be sentenced at a later date.

The jury found a fourth defendant, Bora Guccuk, 41, a London jeweler, not guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.