Ragu Dogaru, one of the seven Romanian thieves who robbed the Dutch Kunsthal museum of $24 million worth of art in October 2012, is suing the museum for making the robbery “too easy.”
During a recent court hearing, Dogaru pleaded, “I could not imagine that a museum would exhibit such valuable works with so little security.” What Dogaru has to gain from his lawsuit has yet to be seen as he has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison for admitting to the robbery.
A lawsuit such as Dogaru’s against the Kunsthal museum, could initiate heightened security for artwork in museums across the globe. “Isn’t there some sort of protection for historical artifacts?” asked Michelle Winchell, a junior in exercise sports science from California. “They do have a little bit of a case.” Dogaru’s attorney, Catalin Dancu, stated, “We can clearly speak of negligence with serious consequences.”
Not everyone sees the lawsuit as worthwhile, however. Sterling Hansen, a freshman English education major from California, said, “I don’t think they have a case because they robbed the museum. They robbed it in 3 minutes. That’s incredible, but personally if I was the judge, I would laugh and give them 20 more years in prison just because I can.”
It is a long shot to think Dogaru could win the lawsuit, however, the case does bring up a need for change in museum protocol. After the robbery, Kunsthal museum Director Emily Ansenk, told the New York Times the event, “hit the art world like a bomb,” describing the situation as a “nightmare for any museum director.”
Changes obviously need to be made in museums, said Hansen. “I think if museums care about their artwork and if they don’t want to be robbed in 3 minutes, they should give the robbers jobs ... in 20 years when they get out of prison.”