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The now scrapped Angel of Roses as she stood at the Center for Padre Pio in Pennsylvania. Image courtesy of the Center for Padre Pio, Inc.

More charges against man accused of angel statue theft

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
The now scrapped Angel of Roses as she stood at the Center for Padre Pio in Pennsylvania. Image courtesy of the Center for Padre Pio, Inc.
The now scrapped Angel of Roses as she stood at the Center for Padre Pio in Pennsylvania. Image courtesy of the Center for Padre Pio, Inc.

READING, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania State Police say one of the men accused of stealing a 1,200-pound brass angel statue from a Roman Catholic shrine is facing additional charges in a similar case.

Thirty-one-year-old Jamie Custer of Norristown on Saturday was charged with stealing a 60-foot-long copper snake sculpture three years ago from a Hereford Township artist.

He and another man already had been charged with stealing the “Angel of the Roses” statue from the National Center for Padre Pio near Barto in September.

The snake sculpture was stolen in 2005 from the property of Val Bertoia. He created the sculpture from material collected by his late father, world-famous sculptor and chair designer Harry Bertoia.

The sculpture’s value was estimated at $90,000. State police say it was sold to a recycler for about $1,400.
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Information from: Reading Eagle, http://www.readingeagle.com/

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AP-ES-01-18-09 1024EST