Just weeks after the sentencing of the woman who drunkenly drove through the Montauk Art Show last year, destroying many paintings, photographs, and handmade crafts, the event was targeted again, this time falling victim to thieves and vandals.
In a social media post last weekend, John Papaleo, a member of the artists association’s board who oversees the twice-a-summer shows on the green, said that in a 24-hour period, seven artists’ tents had been vandalized and works had been stolen.
East Hampton Town police said in a statement this week that the thefts are believed to have occurred between last Thursday night and Saturday morning. Detectives, who are working on five separate cases, declined to release details.
According to Capt. Gregory Martin, the value of the stolen art is being determined based on ongoing appraisals and costs. He would not comment further.
That number, when established, will determine what charges are brought. While petty larceny is a misdemeanor, grand larceny, even at the lowest evaluation amount of $1,000, is a felony.
Town police do increase patrols in Montauk during the summer months, and organizers of the art show hire private security. Captain aMartin said there were security guards on site over the weekend, and that they are working with police.
Mr. Papaleo commented on social media that the hamlet sees more than its fair share of alcohol-related events in season. “Yet, we are building even more places to get drunk.”
“Every weekend night you are sure to find some drunk young person lying in a gutter somewhere in Montauk,” he wrote.
The drunken woman involved in last summer’s incident, Nicoly Ribeiro De Souza, admitted to drinking at the Surf Lodge earlier that night and pleaded guilty recently; she was sentenced to three years’ probation. The Montauk Artists Association Art Show sustained over $100,000 in damages after she drove her Nissan Rogue into its tents.
Neither the individual artists whose works were destroyed, nor the association, has recouped any money since then. Keith O’Brien, a Suffolk County assistant district attorney, said in May that his office would not seek restitution. Mr. Papaleo noted that Ms. Ribeiro De Souza did not carry enough insurance to cover the losses, although the artists are still waiting for final determinations.
Mr. Papaleo’s frustration comes on the heels of another high-profile event that centered around the art show and the green. Earlier this year, an off-duty state trooper drove through the green and was charged with misdemeanor-level driving while intoxicated.
That incident was captured on a surveillance camera across the street from the green. There were no installations on the green itself that night, and the only damage done was to the trooper’s vehicle, which crashed into a signpost.
