"In less than 18 months trophies and memorabilia valued at nearly $1 million were stolen from three museums and a country club...by what the authorities say is probably the same male suspect."

The NY Times' Joe Drape does a nice job piecing together the sad story of the worthless fleabag who has been stealing golf trophies of significance in the northeast United States over the last year. (Thanks to reader Tim for the link.)

We all know it started with the Somerset Hills and USGA heist of the U.S. Amateur trophy, but it seems this loser has branched out to include several other priceless artifacts, including "the 1903 Belmont Stakes trophy, a silver Fabergé soup tureen and ladle given by Czar Nicholas II of Russia to an American harness horse impresari."

“Whoever it is is experienced at what they do,” said John Catone, an assistant chief with the Saratoga Springs Police Department. “The question is, is it about having something of historic value or is it about melting down the gold?”

At the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as in the previous thefts, Catone said, video surveillance shows that the thief worked quickly and confidently. He smashed two cases with about a half-dozen trophies in each. But he took only five in total. Three of them had significant amounts of gold: the 1903 Brighton Cup Trophy won by Hermis (35 ounces, 18-karat gold); the 1905 Saratoga Special Trophy won by Mohawk II (76 ounces, 18-karat gold); and the 1914 Brook Cup Handicap Steeplechase Trophy won by Compliment.

The Belmont Stakes Trophy captured by Africander and the 1923 Grand National Steeplechase Trophy won by Sergeant Murphy were silver.

“He obviously knew the place and knew what he was coming to get,” Catone said. “He was out in less than three minutes.”

With gold prices in the last year reaching as high as $1,700 an ounce and silver at $30, it does not take a horseplayer to calculate that the odds are pretty good that the trophies have been melted for their metals and a big score.

“I’ve never seen a significant secondary market for trophies,” Robert Wittman, a former senior investigator and founder of the F.B.I. Art Crime Team, who now has his own protection and recovery firm. “At the same time, they are not the best thing to steal for the melt. There’s a lot of garbage metal in there to get to what’s valuable.”