Interesting report by Joel Rubin at the L.A. Times metro desk this morning: Apparently, Richard L. Weisman, the (former) owner of that big cache of stolen Warhols (valued at $25 million) has decided to forgo the insurance money because he doesn’t want to go through “the hassle” of the investigation. Weisman’s decision, first reported by the Seattle Times, was confirmed by LAPD today.

Dets. Donald Hrycyk and Mark Sommer, who make up the Los Angeles Police Department’s art theft detail, had few leads to follow. There was no sign of forced entry and no substantial witness accounts. And, oddly, other valuable pieces of art in the home had been left untouched.

Now, Weisman has said he is not going to pursue a payout from the company that insured the paintings.

“It is curious,” Sommer said. “We’d like to talk to him about it.”

We’d have to agree. How many people—even fabulously wealthy people—would choose to eat $25 million because of a perceived “hassle”?

PS Is this not the best Wanted poster of all time?

Cross posting this at Brand X