PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A rare bust of Benjamin Franklin worth $3 million has been recovered almost a month after it was stolen from a suburban Philadelphia home.
Owner George D’Angelo says the 1778 porcelain bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon was recovered Friday when authorities arrested a former housecleaner.
D’Angelo tells The Philadelphia Inquirer the bust was stolen from his Bryn Mawr home on Aug. 24. A woman who previously worked for D’Angelo’s cleaning service was seen speeding away from the scene.
The FBI confirmed the arrest of 46-year-old Andrea Lawton and the recovery of the bust. D’Angelo says Lawton was carrying the bust in a duffel bag when she was arrested in Elkton, Md., after departing from Mobile, Ala.
D’Angelo says the bust’s breastplate was cracked but he hasn’t seen it yet.
Lawton is in federal custody.
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