The Associated Press and numerous mainstream media news outlets are reporting on the arrest of Arthur Moreira, following a sting operation in which he now stands accused of stealing $30,000 worth of assets (wardrobe and other accessories) from the set of Lipstick Jungle and selling them on eBay.
Below is an archive of the report from the New York Daily News (see original feature):
‘Lipstick Jungle’ stage manager charged with stealing designer goods from set
BY ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSaturday, January 24th 2009, 9:15 AM
A Brooklyn stage manager was busted Friday for allegedly stealing designer loot off the set of the television show “Lipstick Jungle” and hawking it on eBay, authorities said.
Arthur Moreira’s plan was foiled when agents from Paris designer Sylvia Toledano spotted one of her $1,400 Swarovski-encrusted clutch purses for sale on the online auction site.
The purse – which bears the word “LOVE” spelled out in crystals – had been loaned to NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle” set, a common practice.
The show’s producers had thought the bag was simply lost and had paid Toledano for it. But when agents from the fashion house saw the bag on eBay, they called NBC execs, who called Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.
Hynes’ investigators posed as eager handbag buyers. Moreira allegedly told the undercover officers he could sell the bags so cheap “because they fell off the back of a truck,” sources said.
Moreira, 27, was arrested Friday after investigators, armed with a search warrant, removed a dozen high-end items from his Brooklyn apartment – all had disappeared from the “Lipstick” set.
In all, Moreira looted the set of 16 items, valued at $29,555, a spokesman for Hynes said.
He was charged with 13 counts of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and petty larceny.
Among the hot stash were suits, coats and bags by Gucci, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Toledano and Burberry coats.
Below is an archive of the report from the New York Post (see original feature):
LIPSTICK ‘BUNGLE’
30G PROPS-THEFT BUSTBy TODD VENEZIA
Posted: 12:00 am
January 23, 2009A sticky-fingered stage manager turned the NBC show “Lipstick Jungle” into a fashion victim when he stole nearly $30,000 in designer props from the Brooklyn set and tried to hawk them on eBay, a source said yesterday.
Arthur Moreira, 27 allegedly snatched a load of goodies – including a Fendi bag, a Gucci suit, some Prada clothes and a Burberry trench coat – from a Brooklyn warehouse where props are stored and scenes for the series are occasionally shot.
But it wasn’t until he swiped five handbags, which were on loan to the show, starring Brooke Shields, from high-end designer Toledano, that his plot to get rich quick unraveled, the source said.
The bags were supposed to be returned to company after they made their big appearance on the show, which is based on the famous fashion- and entertainment-world book of the same name by Candace Bushnell, who also created “Sex and the City.”
When they vanished, the peacock network apparently paid Toledano for the missing items and considered the matter closed, the source said.
A worker at Toledano, however, spotted the bags for sale via an eBay listing placed by a Moreira cousin. The bag maker informed NBC, which went to authorities in Brooklyn.
Investigators from the DA Charles Hynes’ office set up a sting with Moreira last week, where he rolled out the merchandise and bragged to investigators that the items “fell off the back of a truck.” He sold one of the Toledano bags for $500 and the Burberry for $1,400.
Moreira was picked up yesterday at his home and charged with 13 counts of grand larceny and three counts of petit larceny, the source said.
NBC could not be reached for comment, although representatives for the show took time yesterday to meet with authorities and identify the missing items.
Moreira was employed by Broadway Stages, which owns the storage and production facility where he was employed as a stage manager for the show.
Neither Moreira nor anyone from Broadway Stages could be reached for comment.
The bad news for “Lipstick Jungle” comes after the show got a reprieve from network brass, who had earlier canceled the show but now are bringing it back.
Obviously the very real issue of stolen movie and television props and wardrobe sold into and circulating within the marketplace is one of those issues in the hobby that is not frequently talked about or acknowledged. This should serve as an additional reason for collectors to be diligent in vetting out their prospective purchases – not merely to affirm authenticity but to ensure that the item has clear title (i.e. it is not stolen property).
Thanks to Rick Spector for alerting me to the story.
Jason De Bord