A cruise ship vacationer has admitted this week to stealing a copy of a famous oil painting by Rembrandt while aboard a Bermuda-bound liner, reports The Royal Gazette Online. The passenger, Kevin Hudgeons, attempted to nab the $13,000 painting straight off the wall of a Norwegian Star ship last week.
The prosecutor in the case of the open-sea art heist explained to the Gazette that security staff stumbled upon Hudgeons holding a door-sized masterpiece while trying to leave the vessel. When confronted by the surprised staff, Hudgeons simply replied, "I'm going to mail it home."
A peek at the ship's video footage cleared up the confusion. It showed the ballsy, Kentucky-bred cruiser removing the copy of a Rembrandt painting from the ship's wall and carrying it towards his room.
The guilty party's defense lawyer, Oonagh Vaucrosson, stated that his client was a recovering drug addict and had been taking a medication to treat opiate withdrawal, writes USA Today.
During police questioning, Hudgeons allegedly stated a variety of explanations as to why he was in possession of the large art work, including that he'd bought it at an auction and painted it himself.
The Bermuda court where Hugdeon's case was tried sentenced the tourist-turned-crook to a $500 fine for his misdeed. Even after the defense lawyer argued that his client had spent the weekend in custody, missed work and was now forced to make alternative travel plans to return to the United States as a result of the proceedings.
Lesson learned, right readers? When you casually attempt to steal a gigantic, expensive painting and try to mail it across borders, you might just pay a price.
Let us know what you think of the cruise ship debacle in the comments section. Look below for reasons NOT to go on a cruise.
