Monday, July 01, 2002   Artists fall victim to wiles of fast-talking �art lovers�


by Cormac O�Keeffe

IT was like a three card trick. That�s how renowned artist Robert Ballagh described being done. �It was a real flim flam. I was bamboozled by them,� he said. It was two months ago and Mr Ballagh was working away at his studio when he got an unexpected knock on his door: �This man said he wanted to buy a painting for his wife. Normally, I wouldn�t have let him in, but I did. He asked could he bring his friend in, I said �yes�.�

Mr Ballagh later discovered the men had found his studio, which is in Dublin�s north inner city, by first going to his home and getting the studio address from builders working on his house. Once the two men were inside the studio, the pace and complexity of the scam was ratcheted up.

�They were walking around, offering me vast sums of money. At first he wanted some of my bigger paintings, but I resisted. Then, they were almost on their way out and he asked about some smaller paintings.

�They were so quick and so expert that they had more pictures than I thought for less money than I thought I had got.�

�I didn�t count the money, though I thought I had agreed a reasonably fair price. But I was seriously underpaid.�

He lost several thousand euro in the deal.

They also managed to take four paintings and a few prints - twice the amount he thought he had agreed to.

�I was caught unawares. I�m still surprised I fell for it. I feel very foolish. I�m slightly thankful it wasn�t more.� 

While Mr Ballagh said he didn�t feel threatened by the men, Dublin artist Kevin McNamara had a more sinister experience with the same gang.

Again, it was a couple of months ago and, again, the men went to his studio, which in his case is also his home, in Clondalkin: �They came to my door. They were extremely well dressed and told me that they knew me. I was confused, but they were convincing, so I invited them in.�

They told him they wanted a painting for a hotel they owned. Everything seemed alright: �But things got strange, the whole situation was a little bit odd. I sensed danger from these two.� 

The pair were very keen on shutting the front door and keeping him in the room.

�I pretended to get something out of the car and left the door open when I came back in.

�They were there saying: �Why don�t you shut the door Kev, shut the door Kev�. They were a fast talking duo. I was totally confused. One of them did most of the talking and he had you in a total state of suspension all the time. But there was a subtle potential for danger. They get you to feel there might be trouble. 

�They are looking at paintings, and said �we�ll take that�, and then put their eyes on something else and said �we�ll take that - three or four paintings at a time. 

�They�re asking me how much. I said thousands and they start counting out hundreds. They said �hold out your hand Kev,� and started placing 50 notes there. I had 1,300 in 50s.

�I said �that�s not right.� I said 3,000 for just that one, and I was cutting the price right down. I realised things were going weird and I gave them back the money.�

He walked out the door and down the street to get to a phone. �That confused them. They were there �where you going Kev?'� 

Luckily for him, that did the trick. The con artists left.

Mr Ballagh and Mr McNamara are just two of more than 10 leading artists who have been targeted by the gang in the last five months or so. 

Garda� know the gang. They�re settled travellers living in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, and are known as the Rathkeale Rovers. In some cases, the gang - three relatives - convince the artist to accept a deposit with promises to pay the rest later.

This way they can get a painting worth 15,000 for just 1,500, making a clean profit of 13,500.

Victims have told garda� they felt threatened by the men and confused and intimidated into the sale.

The problem is the con artists are not committing any crime as such and garda�s hands seem tied.

The Art & Antiques Unit of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation has confirmed the emergence of the scam within the last five to six months.

�There are a number of people who appear to have been taken advantage of and we will investigate any complaint. Artists need to be aware of the danger,� said a spokesman for the unit. Garda� approach the Arts Council and asked them to inform artists of the danger.

�They asked us, without been unduly alarming, to warn people to be extremely careful who they let into their studios. We sent e-mails out to resource organisations and put a warning on our website,� said a spokeswoman.

She said that many artists live in remote areas and that some might not be very security conscious and are therefore vulnerable.