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Art foundry smash and grab
Posted on Sun, Sep. 21, 2008
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BY KATHERINE FARRELL
kfarrell@MiamiHerald.com

At approximately 2:15AM last night, Modern Art Foundry Industry in Hialeah was the victim of an unusual crime. A person or group of persons staged a destructive robbery of the foundry, where many local artists have works displayed. No art pieces were reported stolen. Instead, several large ingots of metal were stolen. In the process of the theft, two walls were also severely damaged, weakening the building almost to the point of collapse.

When reached for comment, Edward Dunham, a manager for the foundry, said the following, "This brazen robbery represents a huge blow to Modern Art Foundry. Though no art was taken, ingots of gold, silver, copper, tin, and zinc were. Considering the damage done to the building, this represents a loss of nearly half a million dollars. It's just devastating."

Miami Police have made no official statement on the robbery, but sources inside the department claim that the police have few leads to follow in the case. Sources also say the police believe this to be yet another of the increasingly frequent incidences of scrap theft, where metals such as copper are stolen and then sold to scrap yards and recycling centers to capitalize on rising metal prices.

The lack of leads may be attributable to the odd nature of the crime. Security guard Miles O'Hara, the only witness to come forward so far, describes what he saw of the crime, "I was walking my rounds, when I hear this crash come from the other side of the building. I rushed around as quick as I could and saw this big hole. It looked like a truck had driven right through the side of the building. So, I look inside to see what's going on when I hear another big crash coming from the other side of the building. I look through the hole, expecting to see a truck full of guys driving away, but there's no truck! Just one guy with a slab of something across his shoulders. By the time I get around to the other side, he's already gone. So I call Eddie, the manager, and he comes right over and the first words out of his mouth are, 'Christ, Miles, it looks like the Incredible Hulk tore through this place.' So I tell him I only saw one guy, but Miles says it's impossible. The cops told me the same thing, but I know what I saw. And I know they ain't found no truck tracks, neither."

The Miami PD asks that anyone with information on this crime come forward. There is the possibility of a reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Modern Art Foundry Industry will be setting up a hotline for any who wish to help them in this time of need.

The Miami Herald will have more on this story as it develops.

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