Fritsch added that rogue collectors may hire thieves to acquire especially famous works of art. Fritsch said this tactic is popular because, if the stolen art is insured, the insurance company almost always will pay the ransom. Although uncommon, there also have been a few cases of terrorists stealing art for political ransom. Members of the Irish Republican Army engineered an art heist in the mid-1970s. Their unsuccessful mission was to ransom the art for the release of jailed comrades.
Some thieves steal art to later use as negotiating leverage.
He noted that discussions police are holding with Myles Connor in Boston are not unusual. Museums are far from loathe to provide theft protection for their art objects, but there are several barriers. Unlike art galleries or most private collections, museums are nonprofit entities. With that comes budgetary constraints, especially after cutbacks of federal funds to the National Endowment for the Arts, which partially funded some museums' operational costs. Many museums can't afford to insure their entire collections.