The victims of a retired teacher turned jewel thief are outraged by the light settlement he was offered that allows him to attend his daughter’s wedding in Italy.
Lawrence Gray, 80, made headlines in 2022 when the children of his late, wealthy socialite girlfriend Jacqueline Quillen accused him of selling dozens of her valuables.
Other victims then came forward, and in August 2023, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged him with stealing seven pieces of jewelry and selling them for more than $45,000 between 2016 and 2018.
Gray initially maintained his innocence, but the former political science professor accepted a plea deal on September 24 and agreed to pay $55,850 in restitution to four people, including Frederick Vreeland, a former U.S. ambassador, to be returned to authorities. his passport, he reported. Washington Post.
“It’s appalling that a serial thief gets away with so little punishment,” Sandra Vreeland Zwollo, Vreeland’s wife, told the outlet.
“I’m sure Larry still believes he’s innocent and that this is just a formality so he can attend his daughter’s wedding in Italy,” she added.
Gray made headlines in 2022 when the children of his late, wealthy socialite girlfriend Jacqueline Quillen (right) accused him of selling dozens of her valuables.
The couple lived together in a $1.6 million Georgetown home she owned before she died of heart failure in October 2020 at age 77.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Gray with stealing seven items, including a pair of gold, sapphire, emerald and diamond earrings (pictured).
The terms of the agreement state that in exchange for his guilty plea and an initial payment of $15,000, prosecutors will return Gray’s passport “for the sole purpose” of attending his daughter’s wedding in Italy in October “as well as to the wedding reception.” in November.
“(The deal was) the only way to get the passport back was to accept the plea,” Gray told The Post.
His lawyer, Christopher Zampogna, said: “(He’s) 80 years old and he didn’t want to drag it out.” I didn’t want to fight anymore.’
Charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property were dropped as part of the plea deal, the Post reported.
According to the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Gray sold pieces of Buccellati’s jewelry, including a gold, silver and diamond drop brooch, a pair of silver, gold and diamond drop earrings, as well as two-color gold compacts, cabochon ruby and diamonds.
The other pieces included a platinum, diamond and sapphire Verdura brooch, a pair of sapphire, emerald and diamond earrings by Oscar Heyman Brothers, a gold, cabochon and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels and a 19th century English pocket watch. XIX.
Airmail reported that the Vreelands said three pieces of Buccellati jewelry were missing from their home in Italy after Gray visited in July 2016, which they later saw for sale on New York-based Doyle Auctioneers and Appraisers’ website.
As part of the New York settlement, Gray must pay $22,500 to Nannette Herrick, who he said stole a $32,000 diamond and sapphire brooch from her home in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2016, when she stayed as a guest at a wedding.
Retired teacher turned jewel thief Lawrence Gray (pictured), 80, took a plea deal for stealing and selling seven pieces of expensive jewelery.
Nannette Herrick said she stole a diamond and sapphire brooch valued at $32,000 from her home in Newport, Rhode Island.
“It’s a pittance,” Herrick said of the plea deal. “It will cover my lawyer’s expenses and it gives me no satisfaction.”
“I’m glad he got some kind of punishment, but it’s more of a pat on the shoulder for what he’s done to people.”
He was charged by Rhode Island officials and pleaded no contest on October 8 and was ordered to pay Herrick $22,500.
“It’s disgusting, I don’t think he remotely regrets anything,” Herrick said.
She said the brooch was a gift her husband gave her on their first wedding anniversary 54 years ago and nothing can replace its sentimental value.
Court documents show that Gray had even left a thank-you note in Herrick’s guest book when she stole the brooch saying she had had a “great time.”
Herrick he told the email she recalled Gray wandering near her bathroom during the stay.
‘He said he was looking for a bathroom. I said (to him), “Every room has a bathroom,” including his. The next morning I couldn’t find the brooch.
Police said Gray’s signature in a guest book at the wedding reception matched the consignment agreement with the Doyle Auction House where Herrick saw the brooch for sale five years later.
Nannette Herrick (left) pictured with the stolen brooch
Court documents show that Gray had even left a thank-you note in Herrick’s guest book when she stole the brooch.
One of Gray’s victims includes former US ambassador Frederick Vreeland (pictured)
Gray also agreed to pay another victim, Elisabeth Porter, $8,250 for jewelry she said she stole from her Georgetown home when she came to dinner with her girlfriend.
“I never wanted money, what I wanted most was jewelry,” Porter said. ‘I would like to see Larry Gray in jail. He’s trash.’
Gray and Quillen lived together in a $1.6 million Georgetown home she owned before she died of heart failure in October 2020 at age 77.
Quillen was the granddaughter of former Wall Street giant Alfred Lee Loomis, who invented the long-range navigation system.
The couple met in Washington, D.C. in 2004, when he was on sabbatical from John Cabot University, according to an account of their relationship in Gray’s countercomplaint against his children.
Gray worked at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, as a political science professor and traveled back and forth between Rome and Washington, D.C., to be with Quillen before retiring in 2011.
Quillen and Gray attended classical music dinners and concerts and traveled extensively.
For years, Quillen and Gray attended classical music dinners and concerts and traveled extensively. Many of Gray’s victims claim he used their event invitations to steal their items.
But there were signs of trouble in their relationship starting in 2016, according to the complaint, when Quillen ‘suspected that Gray was stealing from him.’
One of his sons, Parker, alleged that Gray stole art and jewelry from Jacqueline when her health declined. The valuables included a $17,000 diamond ring, a $10,000 Patek Philippe watch and $4,700 diamond earrings.
The suit was settled in a confidential settlement and Gray was indicted in Manhattan a year later.
Deadline reported that Jared Leto will produce and star in a film about Gray and his robberies.