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Andrew Crispo

Andrew John Crispo (April 21, 1945 – February 8, 2024) was an American art gallerist and convicted felon.[1][2] In 1985 Crispo was implicated in the so-called Death Mask Murder of Norwegian fashion student Eigil Dag Vesti. The murder, committed by Crispo's employee Bernard LeGeros, shocked the global art community and has since received wide international coverage by authors and journalists,[3][4] with writer Gary Indiana noting that Crispo never being charged in the murder was "one of the most surpassingly ugly things that ever happened in the art world."[5]

Biography edit

Crispo was born in Philadelphia on April 21, 1945. An abused child, he was brought up in an orphanage.[6][7] He went on to found and run an eponymous high end art gallery on East 57th Street in the famed art deco Fuller Building[8] and had clients such as Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza.[9] Over the course of the gallery's history it exhibited such artists as Richard Anuszkiewicz, Richard Pousette-Dart,[10] Charles Burchfield,[11] and Lowell Blair Nesbitt. Often Crispo would write essays for the catalogues which he published to accompany the gallery's exhibitions.[12] Meanwhile, he was involved in S and M activities sometimes at his gallery.[13]

Death Mask Murder, trial, and subsequent criminal cases edit

On February 22, 1985, Crispo and his cohort and "executioner" Bernard LeGeros (the son of United Nations Development Fund official John LeGeros[14]) were on a drug-fueled nightlife run when they picked up a 26-year-old Norwegian Fashion Institute of Technology student Eigil Dag Vesti at the Limelight Club.[6] They handcuffed and hooded him with a black leather mask, and brought him back to LeGeros's parent's estate in the hamlet of Tomkins Cove in the town of Stony Point, New York.[6] Overnight, LeGeros shot Dag Vesti twice with a rifle in a smokehouse on the grounds of the compound.[6] Three weeks later, hikers discovered the victim's severely mutilated remains; the body had been burned and wild animals had largely eaten it away, with the exception of his face, which was covered by the mask.[6][15] Rockland County District Attorney Kenneth Gribetz, who prosecuted the case, said that had it not been for the mask, it is unlikely that the victim would have ever been identified.[15]

Subsequent to the finding of the body, Crispo was implicated but never charged with murder or any other crimes associated with the homicide.[16] LeGeros was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 25 years to life; he served 33 years at Attica State Prison and was paroled in 2019.[15] Gribetz later wrote about the case in his book (co-authored with H. Paul Jeffers) Murder Along the Way: A Prosecutor's Personal Account of Fighting Violent Crime in the Suburbs.[17][18] David France also penned a book about the case, Bag of Toys.[19]

Crispo was later charged with the 1984 kidnap and torture of a 26-year-old bartender, but was acquitted in a 1988 trial.[6] Meanwhile, in between the two trials (one in which he was implicated and one in which he was charged) over violent sexual misbehavior, Crispo was convicted of federal charges of tax evasion in 1985, and sentenced to five years in prison.[6][20] In 1985 Crispo was involved in a dispute with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum over Constantin Brâncuși's 1912 sculpture "The Muse" which ended in the museum paying $2 million US for the artwork, at the time believed to be the most ever paid for a 20th-century sculpture. Crispo at that juncture was currently free on $300,000 bail while under indictment on United States Federal tax evasion charges. The bail had been guaranteed by the artwork and was now in turn guaranteed by the newly liquid funds.[21]

Later years and death edit

In 1989 while imprisoned on the aforementioned tax evasion conviction Crispo's home in The Hamptons suffered a catastrophic explosion due to a natural gas leak.[22] In 1991 a court ordered that the Long Island utility Lilco pay Andrew Crispo $7.6 million dollars for his lost home and art collection.[23] He went through bankruptcy proceedings in the late 1990s, while attempting to open a new art gallery, and in 2000, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for extortion, after threatening to kidnap the daughter of a lawyer who had worked on the case; he served five of the seven years.[6][24]

Following that release, Crispo attempted to open another gallery in a space he purchased in a Brooklyn building, but could not raise sufficient funds. By the late 2010s, he was facing additional bankruptcy proceedings and an eviction proceeding for the apartment he resided at in the building.[6]

For a time, Crispo owned the historic Pineapple Gate House[25] (known formally as Simmons-Edwards House) in Charleston, South Carolina.[26]

From 2016 to 2018, alleged representatives of Crispo engaged in an extensive online dispute[27] over the provenance of an uncatalogued Picasso sketch bearing a supposed Andrew Crispo gallery label.[28] Crispo's alleged representatives, claiming to speak directly for Crispo, vehemently denied ever having the Picasso in their collection and declared the sketch a fraud.

Crispo died at a nursing home in Brooklyn, New York on February 8, 2024, at the age of 78.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ Glueck, Grace (June 21, 1992). "There Was Something Creepy About the Gallery". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ "Collectors' Reversals of Fortune Can Mean a Payday for Auction Houses - or Spell Disaster". ARTnews. October 20, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "The Biggest Society Scandals To Rock New York". Guest of a Guest. August 9, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "El Crimen Sadomasoquista que Conmocionó al Arte Neoyorquino". Vanity Fair (Spain). December 18, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "Sixteen Members of The Art Community Share Their Most Shocking Memories". Interview. January 8, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Risen, Clay (March 19, 2024). "Andrew Crispo, Disgraced Manhattan Gallery Owner, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  7. ^ Sun-Sentinel, STEVEN R. BILLER, Special to the. "TRUE CRIME SEX, MURDER AND THE ART WORLD CONVERGE". Sun-Sentinel.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "'Round 57th Street: New York's First Gallery District Continues (for Now) to Weather Endless Changes in the Art World". July 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Haden-Guest, Anthony (February 17, 2015). The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night. Open Road Media. ISBN 9781497695559 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Chronology". The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation.
  11. ^ Ten Americans: Masters of Watercolor. January 1974.
  12. ^ https://www.jhbooks.com/pages/books/162519/richard-anuszkiewicz-andrew-crispo-gene-baro/richard-anuszkiewicz-recent-paintings [dead link]
  13. ^ "The History of New York Scandals - Andrew Crispo's S&M Dungeon -- New York Magazine - Nymag". New York Magazine.
  14. ^ "U.N. executive's son arraigned today for sex-slaying". UPI.
  15. ^ a b c Lieberman, Steve (January 2, 2019). "Bernard LeGeros paroled after 3 decades for Stony Point S&M murder". The Journal News.
  16. ^ Zugibe, Frederick Thomas; Carroll, David L. (July 30, 2006). Dissecting Death: Secrets of a Medical Examiner. Crown/Archetype. ISBN 9780767918800 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ "Arrest Made in Bizarre Slaying Of Modeling Student". AP NEWS.
  18. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Murder Along the Way: A Prosecutor's Personal Account of Fighting Violent Crime in the Suburbs by Kenneth Gribetz, Author, H. Paul Jeffers, With Pharos Books $16.95 (264p) ISBN 978-0-88687-422-3". PublishersWeekly.com.
  19. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Bag Toys: Sex, Scandal, and the Death Mask Murder by David France, Author Grand Central Publishing $30 (350p) ISBN 978-0-446-51606-8". PublishersWeekly.com.
  20. ^ "Jury Clears Art Dealer in Attack". AP NEWS.
  21. ^ "The Guggenheim Museum paid art dealer Andrew Crispo more..." UPI.
  22. ^ "Blast at imprisoned art dealer's home investigated". UPI.
  23. ^ "Jury awards art dealer $7.6 million in suit against power company". UPI.
  24. ^ Ramirez, Anthony, ed. (August 31, 2000). "METRO BRIEFING: Former Art Dealer Sentenced". The New York Times. p. B4.
  25. ^ "14 Legare Street - The Pineapple Gates House". Charleston.com. August 17, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "Property File – 14 Legare Street (Simmons-Edwards House a/k/a Pineapple Gate House)".
  27. ^ Gabriel Horn Gets Sketchy, Fort Worth Weekly, October 12, 2016, retrieved March 7, 2021
  28. ^ About Picasso's Christ, Picasso's Christ, 2017, retrieved March 7, 2021

andrew, crispo, andrew, john, crispo, april, 1945, february, 2024, american, gallerist, convicted, felon, 1985, crispo, implicated, called, death, mask, murder, norwegian, fashion, student, eigil, vesti, murder, committed, crispo, employee, bernard, legeros, s. Andrew John Crispo April 21 1945 February 8 2024 was an American art gallerist and convicted felon 1 2 In 1985 Crispo was implicated in the so called Death Mask Murder of Norwegian fashion student Eigil Dag Vesti The murder committed by Crispo s employee Bernard LeGeros shocked the global art community and has since received wide international coverage by authors and journalists 3 4 with writer Gary Indiana noting that Crispo never being charged in the murder was one of the most surpassingly ugly things that ever happened in the art world 5 Contents 1 Biography 2 Death Mask Murder trial and subsequent criminal cases 3 Later years and death 4 ReferencesBiography editCrispo was born in Philadelphia on April 21 1945 An abused child he was brought up in an orphanage 6 7 He went on to found and run an eponymous high end art gallery on East 57th Street in the famed art deco Fuller Building 8 and had clients such as Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen Bornemisza 9 Over the course of the gallery s history it exhibited such artists as Richard Anuszkiewicz Richard Pousette Dart 10 Charles Burchfield 11 and Lowell Blair Nesbitt Often Crispo would write essays for the catalogues which he published to accompany the gallery s exhibitions 12 Meanwhile he was involved in S and M activities sometimes at his gallery 13 Death Mask Murder trial and subsequent criminal cases editOn February 22 1985 Crispo and his cohort and executioner Bernard LeGeros the son of United Nations Development Fund official John LeGeros 14 were on a drug fueled nightlife run when they picked up a 26 year old Norwegian Fashion Institute of Technology student Eigil Dag Vesti at the Limelight Club 6 They handcuffed and hooded him with a black leather mask and brought him back to LeGeros s parent s estate in the hamlet of Tomkins Cove in the town of Stony Point New York 6 Overnight LeGeros shot Dag Vesti twice with a rifle in a smokehouse on the grounds of the compound 6 Three weeks later hikers discovered the victim s severely mutilated remains the body had been burned and wild animals had largely eaten it away with the exception of his face which was covered by the mask 6 15 Rockland County District Attorney Kenneth Gribetz who prosecuted the case said that had it not been for the mask it is unlikely that the victim would have ever been identified 15 Subsequent to the finding of the body Crispo was implicated but never charged with murder or any other crimes associated with the homicide 16 LeGeros was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 25 years to life he served 33 years at Attica State Prison and was paroled in 2019 15 Gribetz later wrote about the case in his book co authored with H Paul Jeffers Murder Along the Way A Prosecutor s Personal Account of Fighting Violent Crime in the Suburbs 17 18 David France also penned a book about the case Bag of Toys 19 Crispo was later charged with the 1984 kidnap and torture of a 26 year old bartender but was acquitted in a 1988 trial 6 Meanwhile in between the two trials one in which he was implicated and one in which he was charged over violent sexual misbehavior Crispo was convicted of federal charges of tax evasion in 1985 and sentenced to five years in prison 6 20 In 1985 Crispo was involved in a dispute with the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum over Constantin Brancuși s 1912 sculpture The Muse which ended in the museum paying 2 million US for the artwork at the time believed to be the most ever paid for a 20th century sculpture Crispo at that juncture was currently free on 300 000 bail while under indictment on United States Federal tax evasion charges The bail had been guaranteed by the artwork and was now in turn guaranteed by the newly liquid funds 21 Later years and death editIn 1989 while imprisoned on the aforementioned tax evasion conviction Crispo s home in The Hamptons suffered a catastrophic explosion due to a natural gas leak 22 In 1991 a court ordered that the Long Island utility Lilco pay Andrew Crispo 7 6 million dollars for his lost home and art collection 23 He went through bankruptcy proceedings in the late 1990s while attempting to open a new art gallery and in 2000 he was sentenced to seven years in prison for extortion after threatening to kidnap the daughter of a lawyer who had worked on the case he served five of the seven years 6 24 Following that release Crispo attempted to open another gallery in a space he purchased in a Brooklyn building but could not raise sufficient funds By the late 2010s he was facing additional bankruptcy proceedings and an eviction proceeding for the apartment he resided at in the building 6 For a time Crispo owned the historic Pineapple Gate House 25 known formally as Simmons Edwards House in Charleston South Carolina 26 From 2016 to 2018 alleged representatives of Crispo engaged in an extensive online dispute 27 over the provenance of an uncatalogued Picasso sketch bearing a supposed Andrew Crispo gallery label 28 Crispo s alleged representatives claiming to speak directly for Crispo vehemently denied ever having the Picasso in their collection and declared the sketch a fraud Crispo died at a nursing home in Brooklyn New York on February 8 2024 at the age of 78 6 References edit Glueck Grace June 21 1992 There Was Something Creepy About the Gallery The New York Times via NYTimes com Collectors Reversals of Fortune Can Mean a Payday for Auction Houses or Spell Disaster ARTnews October 20 2020 Retrieved March 7 2021 The Biggest Society Scandals To Rock New York Guest of a Guest August 9 2016 Retrieved March 7 2021 El Crimen Sadomasoquista que Conmociono al Arte Neoyorquino Vanity Fair Spain December 18 2016 Retrieved March 7 2021 Sixteen Members of The Art Community Share Their Most Shocking Memories Interview January 8 2020 Retrieved March 7 2021 a b c d e f g h i j Risen Clay March 19 2024 Andrew Crispo Disgraced Manhattan Gallery Owner Dies at 78 The New York Times Retrieved March 19 2024 Sun Sentinel STEVEN R BILLER Special to the TRUE CRIME SEX MURDER AND THE ART WORLD CONVERGE Sun Sentinel com a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Round 57th Street New York s First Gallery District Continues for Now to Weather Endless Changes in the Art World July 19 2016 Haden Guest Anthony February 17 2015 The Last Party Studio 54 Disco and the Culture of the Night Open Road Media ISBN 9781497695559 via Google Books Chronology The Richard Pousette Dart Foundation Ten Americans Masters of Watercolor January 1974 https www jhbooks com pages books 162519 richard anuszkiewicz andrew crispo gene baro richard anuszkiewicz recent paintings dead link The History of New York Scandals Andrew Crispo s S amp M Dungeon New York Magazine Nymag New York Magazine U N executive s son arraigned today for sex slaying UPI a b c Lieberman Steve January 2 2019 Bernard LeGeros paroled after 3 decades for Stony Point S amp M murder The Journal News Zugibe Frederick Thomas Carroll David L July 30 2006 Dissecting Death Secrets of a Medical Examiner Crown Archetype ISBN 9780767918800 via Google Books Arrest Made in Bizarre Slaying Of Modeling Student AP NEWS Nonfiction Book Review Murder Along the Way A Prosecutor s Personal Account of Fighting Violent Crime in the Suburbs by Kenneth Gribetz Author H Paul Jeffers With Pharos Books 16 95 264p ISBN 978 0 88687 422 3 PublishersWeekly com Nonfiction Book Review Bag Toys Sex Scandal and the Death Mask Murder by David France Author Grand Central Publishing 30 350p ISBN 978 0 446 51606 8 PublishersWeekly com Jury Clears Art Dealer in Attack AP NEWS The Guggenheim Museum paid art dealer Andrew Crispo more UPI Blast at imprisoned art dealer s home investigated UPI Jury awards art dealer 7 6 million in suit against power company UPI Ramirez Anthony ed August 31 2000 METRO BRIEFING Former Art Dealer Sentenced The New York Times p B4 14 Legare Street The Pineapple Gates House Charleston com August 17 2017 Retrieved March 7 2021 Property File 14 Legare Street Simmons Edwards House a k a Pineapple Gate House Gabriel Horn Gets Sketchy Fort Worth Weekly October 12 2016 retrieved March 7 2021 About Picasso s Christ Picasso s Christ 2017 retrieved March 7 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Andrew Crispo amp oldid 1216733304, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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