Art heists are mysterious, and mythological. In the real world, art theft is an international labyrinth of petty criminals and hot shot detectives. We go inside the international black market for stolen art, a market that fuels organized crime and one in which Canada plays a prominent role.

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Part Three of The Current

The World of Stolen Art - Joshua Knelman

We started this segment with a clip describing a real-life art heist.

The international black market for stolen art is rife with malicious -- and considerably shrewder -- characters than the two we just heard about. And many of them operate here in Canada. Joshua Knelman goes inside that world in his new book, Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art. Joshua Knelman was in Toronto.

The World of Stolen Art - Robert Wittman

One of the detectives Joshua Knelman chronicled in his book is Robert Wittman. He's a former FBI agent who spent years undercover tracking down stolen art. Robert Wittman is also the author of Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures. He was in Philadelphia.

Related Links:

• Artful Crimes By Joshua Knelman - Walrus Magazine
• Police cracking down on a hot bed of hot art By Joshua Knelman - Globe & Mail
  
• His Heart Is in the Art of Sleuthing By Randy Kennedy - NY Times
• From the Art World to the Underworld By Kelly Crow - Wall Street Journal

Last Word - Chris Mburu

We ended the program with a preview of something we're working on for Monday's program. It's the story of two people who barely knew each other ... how a small act on the part of one of them profoundly changed the life of the other. The Current's Ellen Saenger got the last word this morning.

Other segments from today's show:

• Palestinian Snapshots on UN Bid
• Camera's in the Court Room