Latest news with #JeffreyWood
The Province
5 days ago
- The Province
Churchill portrait thief sentenced to two years less a day in jail
'It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame,' the judge said in sentencing Jeffrey Wood Published May 26, 2025 • 3 minute read Jeffrey Wood (left), walking to the courthouse with his lawyer Lawrence Greenspon in Ottawa on March 13, 2025. Photo by TONY CALDWELL / Postmedia OTTAWA — The Ontario man who pleaded guilty to stealing an iconic portrait of former British prime minister Winston Churchill said he committed the crime to find money to help his brother, who was experiencing mental health struggles, Justice Robert Wadden told the court during a sentencing hearing Monday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Jeffrey Wood kept his composure in the courtroom as Wadden told him he was being sentenced to two years less a day in jail. Wood admitted earlier this year that he stole the portrait from Ottawa's Chateau Laurier hotel and committed forgery. Renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh snapped the celebrated portrait in 1941 in the Speaker's office just after Churchill delivered a rousing wartime address to Canadian members of Parliament. Karsh lived in the hotel, and operated a studio out of it, for almost two decades. He donated the Churchill portrait and six others to the hotel in 1998, when he moved out. Police said the portrait was stolen from the hotel sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and Jan. 6, 2022, and replaced with a fake. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The swap was only discovered months later, in August, when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly. The portrait was returned to the hotel after a lengthy international investigation determined it was bought at an auction in London by an Italian man who was not aware it was stolen. During the sentencing hearing Monday, Wadden said Wood planned to use the money he received from selling the portrait to help his brother. 'But his brother died that spring before Mr. Wood received the proceeds from the sale,' Wadden said in his decision. Yousuf Karsh snapped the celebrated portrait in 1941 in the Speaker's office just after Churchill delivered a rousing wartime address to Canadian members of Parliament. Wadden said it was tricky to determine just how long Wood should serve for the crime because there is a lack of case law on similar art thefts in Canada. Instead of focusing on a few domestic cases mentioned by the Crown, Wadden said he took into account international cases presented to him to help decide on the best approach. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Wadden said that Wood had no previous criminal record and maintained employment throughout his adulthood. Still, Wood did not help police recover the portrait, and when it was finally brought back to Canada it was damaged, Wadden said. The Italian buyer forfeited the portrait when he learned it was stolen. Had he not done so, Wadden said, a major artifact of Canadian history would be lost forever. 'The portrait is a reminder of the importance not just of Churchill, but of Karsh. It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame,' Wadden said. 'There is an element of trust in our society that allows such properties to be displayed, to be enjoyed by all Canadians. To steal, damage and traffic in such property is to breach that trust.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Wadden said that while he normally would have ordered a sentence of three years, he settled for two years less a day because Wood is clearly remorseful and pleaded guilty. He also noted the five days of pre-sentence custody Wood served, along with more than a year he spent with strict bail conditions. After Wadden finished reading the sentencing, Wood's lawyer Lawrence Greenspon could be heard telling his client to 'hang in there.' Speaking outside the courthouse after, Greenspon said he and Wood spoke extensively about the possibility of lengthy jail time, despite the fact that he pleaded guilty and is a first-time offender. 'It was an unnecessarily harsh sentence,' he said. Greenspon sought a suspended sentence with probation, while the Crown asked for two years less a day. A sentence of less than two years means Wood will serve his time in a provincial jail. Any sentence of two years or more moves an offender into the federal prison system. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's quite a disparity between what we were seeking and what the Crown was seeking,' Greenspon said. 'He wasn't surprised by what occurred because we had prepared him in advance for possibilities of what the sentence would be.' When asked about the prospect of an appeal minutes after Greenspon spoke, Chateau Laurier general manager Genevieve Dumas simply said, 'Good luck.' 'I think the case is solid,' she added. 'We got what we wanted — two years minus one day … So we're very happy.' Read More Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. News Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Hockey Vancouver Canucks
ABC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Thief of iconic Winston Churchill portrait 'Roaring Lion' sentenced to jail
A Canadian man who stole an iconic portrait of a scowling Winston Churchill in a brazen international art heist has been sentenced to jail, according to local media. The portrait, known as Roaring Lion, vanished from the walls of Ottawa's Fairmont Château Laurier in 2022, sparking a multi-year police investigation. According to Canada's public broadcaster CBC, the man, Jeffrey Wood, pleaded guilty in March to forgery, theft, and trafficking property obtained by crime. He was sentenced to jail for almost two years on Monday, local time, at an Ottawa courthouse. CBC reported that Justice Robert Wadden told Wood that he was guilty of stealing a "cultural and historical" portrait that was a "point of national pride". The judge said Wood planned to use the money he received from selling the portrait to help his brother, according to the Toronto Star. "But his brother died that spring before Mr Wood received the proceeds from the sale," Mr Wadden said in his decision. The famed portrait was snapped by Armenian-born Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941, just after Churchill gave a rousing wartime address to the Canadian parliament. The image is arguably the most recognised of Churchill and widely circulated, even appearing on the British five pound note. Mr Karsh gifted the photograph to the Fairmont Château Laurier hotel in 1998, where it hung in a reading room next to the main lobby. But in August 2022, staff member Bruno Lair noticed an issue with the frame — a wire where specialised locking bolts should have been. Ottowa police said a fake print, complete with a forged artist's signature, sat where the original once hung for several months before it was discovered. "At the beginning, we had nothing but a big hole in the wall where this portrait was supposed to be, and no leads," lead investigator Detective Akiva Geller said. Police said a piece of tape attached to the fake, torn with teeth, had retained traces of saliva, but no matches were found in the national DNA database initially. Mr Geller began scouring auction houses and online listings around the world. He discovered a suspicious Roaring Lion print, claiming to be from the Karsh estate, which was marked for sale at Sotheby's in London. Police said it had no history, the wrong frame, slight damage and was sold in May 2022, within the period of the theft. Meanwhile, the hotel called for people to submit photos from their visits to the venue. This allowed police to determine the real Roaring Lion had been stolen and replaced sometime between December 25, 2021, and January 6, 2022. To pinpoint the seller, Mr Geller initiated a "mutual legal assistance treaty" request. Almost a year later, a trove of documents confirmed the suspect's identity as Jeffrey Wood, a 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ontario. Police said Wood had fabricated a fake persona, attempting to sell the stolen portrait under a pseudonym. Mr Geller obtained a search warrant for Wood's storage unit, where he uncovered another Roaring Lion print and a toothbrush with a DNA match to the torn tape. Wood was arrested on April 25 last year. The buyer of the portrait, an Italian lawyer who was unaware it was stolen, worked with police to return it to Canada, where it was reinstalled at the hotel on November 15. Mr Karsh previously said making the portrait "changed his life", adding he captured Churchill's expression immediately after plucking a cigar out of the British leader's mouth. "By the time I got back to my camera, he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me," Mr Karsh said. "It was at that instant that I took the photograph."
Sky News
6 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Man who stole iconic portrait of Winston Churchill from hotel is jailed
A man who stole an iconic wartime portrait of Sir Winston Churchill from a hotel has been jailed for nearly two years, according to media reports in Canada. Police said the "Roaring Lion" portrait - which appears on the UK's £5 note - was stolen from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa in Canada sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and 6 January 2022. It was replaced with a fake and the swap was only uncovered in August 2022 when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly and looked different from the others. The portrait had been sold through an auction house in London to a private buyer and ended up in Rome, where two Canadian police detectives retrieved it. Both seller and buyer were unaware that it had been stolen, police said. Jeffrey Wood, from Ontario, was later arrested and admitted stealing the portrait, committing forgery and trafficking property obtained by crime in March, according to CBC News. He was sentenced to "two years less a day" in prison at Ottawa Courthouse on Monday. In Canada, a sentence of less than two years is served in a provincial jail, while sentences of more than two years are served in a federal prison. The judge reportedly told Wood he was guilty of stealing a "cultural and historical" portrait that was a "point of national pride". Justice Robert Wadden also told the court Wood said he had committed the crime to find money to help his brother, who was experiencing mental health struggles, CTV News reported. The investigation by police in Ottawa had reportedly spanned several countries across two continents before Wood's arrest. 'Roaring Lion' back in its rightful place The famous portrait was captured by renowned Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941 just after Sir Winston delivered a rousing wartime address to Canadian politicians. Towards the end of his life, Mr Karsh signed and gifted the portrait to the hotel, where he had lived and worked. The portrait was returned to the hotel in November after it surfaced in Italy. Genevieve Dumas, the hotel's general manager, said when it was unveiled: "I can tell you that it is armed, locked, secured.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Canadian who stole iconic Winston Churchill portrait sentenced
May 27 (UPI) -- A Canadian man who pleaded guilty to stealing an iconic portrait of Sir Winston Churchill from a storied Ottawa hotel more than three years ago has been sentenced to two years less a day in prison. Jeffrey Lain James Wood received his sentence Monday in an Ottawa courtroom, CBC reported. He had pleaded guilty in March to forgery, theft over $5,000 -- or $3,640 USD -- and trafficking property obtained by crime. The Roaring Lion is a world-famous photograph of Churchill taken by renowned Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1941 in the Canadian capital of Ottawa. A resident of Ottawa's famed Fairmont Chateau Laurier for nearly two decades, Karsh moved out of the hotel in 1998, and upon his exit, gifted the hotel seven photographs, including the Churchill portrait, which hung on its walls until the pandemic hit. According to the Chateau Laurier, the photograph was stolen between Dec. 25, 2021, and Jan. 6, 2022, and was replaced by the thief with an imitation, "deceiving everyone until a hotel staff member discovered the theft" that August. Ottawa police said the hotel employee had noticed differences with the frame and the wire mechanism, which led to the discovery of the fake print, complete with a forged Karsh signature. An investigation brought Ottawa police to the attention of a Roaring Lion print that was said to be from the Karsh estate and was up for sale at London's Sotheby's auction house. It was then sold to a buyer in Genoa, Italy. Ottawa police said neither the buyer nor the auction house knew the photograph was stolen. Police then learned that the seller was Wood, a man in his 40s from Powassan Ont., who had created a fake identity and credentials in an effort to move the famed photograph. Wood was arrested and charged on April 24, 2024. The photograph was returned to the hotel in September of that year and returned to its walls on Nov. 15, 2024.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Churchill photo thief sentenced to two years in jail
A Canadian man has been sentenced to almost two years in prison for stealing a famous photograph of Sir Winston Churchill known as "The Roaring Lion". Jeffrey Wood had pleaded guilty to stealing the original print from Ottawa's Château Laurier hotel between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022. He also admitted committing forgery. The photo of Britain's war-time prime minister, taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1941, features on the UK £5 note. Ottawa Police said it was found last year in Genoa, Italy in the possession of a private buyer, who was unaware it was stolen. The image depicts a frowning Churchill, who was 67 at the time, shortly after he delivered a speech to the Canadian parliament. It wasn't until August 2022 that a hotel staff member realised the original photo had been replaced with a fake. According to Canadian media, Wood said he took the photo to find money for his brother, who was suffering from mental health problems. During sentencing, Justice Robert Wadden said: "It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame." "There is an element of trust in our society that allows such properties to be displayed, to be enjoyed by all Canadians. To steal, damage and traffic in such property is to breach that trust," he added. "We're very happy to see that Canadian history is recognised," said Geneviève Dumas, the general manager of the Château Laurier hotel, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Wood was sentenced to "two years less a day", a distinction which means he will serve his sentence in a provincial institution instead of a federal prison. The lawyer representing Wood said the sentence was "unnecessarily harsh" given that he was a first-time offender. Churchill photo stolen in Canada discovered in Italy Iconic Churchill photo vanishes from Canada hotel
