The man who discovered Winston Churchill’s picture was stolen was treated like a suspect; now he’s being honoured

By Judy Trinh

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    OTTAWA (CTV Network) — When the “Roaring Lion” portrait of Winston Churchill is returned to the Fairmont Château Laurier, a 68-year-old man once considered the prime suspect in the heist will have the honour of mounting the iconic photograph in its oak-panelled home.

The brazen theft took Ottawa Police more than two years to solve. It may have gone unnoticed if not for Bruno Lair, a maintenance worker, who had been employed by the Chateau Laurier since 1988. Instead of lauding his eagle eyes, police initially treated him with suspicion.

“Because I found it, and they thought it was an inside job,” he said. ” (As if) I hung the picture so I could undo it.”

Lair said he was interviewed by police numerous times after he sounded the alarm.

“It was stressful, but I knew the truth,” he said.

The discovery

In August 2022 he walked past Churchill’s photograph in the hotel’s dark oak reading room and noticed it was hanging a bit crookedly.

He took it off the wall and set it aside to rehang later. When he went to mount it, Lair says he noticed there were no lock mechanisms and the frame appeared smaller than he remembered.

And there was another suspicious detail: “It was crooked on a wire, and those pictures are not hung by a wire.”

Lair says the hotel’s general manager, Genevieve Dumas, happened to be in the room and he immediately alerted her.

“I said, ‘Boss, we got a problem because this is not our picture,” Lair said.

Dumas said she then called Jerry Fielder, the Director of the Yousuf Karsh Estate. After analyzing photos of the picture, the frame and a close-up of Karsh’s signature, Fielder determined it was a fake.

In a Zoom interview, Fielder, who was also Karsh’s assistant in Ottawa, called the theft shocking.

“I worked with Yousef in the studio at the Chateau Laurier. And I supervised the framing and the hanging of the photograph. It was personal for me too.”

Fielder told CTV News that police provided him with regular updates during their search for the thief, adding he was impressed by the doggedness of the detectives.

“It was such a vanishing act and there was so little to go on. It just seemed like an impossible task. But the Ottawa Police department stuck with it, followed up every detail, and finally solved the case,” Fielder said from Boston.

The 1941 portrait of the British Prime Minister captured by renowned Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh was stolen from the reading room of the hotel and replaced with a forgery in the 13 days between Christmas 2021 and Jan. 6, 2022. eight months would pass before the fake was discovered by Lair in August 2022.

The chase

At a news conference held at the hotel on Wednesday afternoon, Detective Sergeant Akiva Geller said police relied on tips from the public to narrow down the time frame of the theft and point them in the direction of where to search.

Ottawa Police also sought assistance from the London Metropolitan Police and the Italian Carabinieri Polizia.

Geller said the portrait of Churchill was sold through an auction house in London to a buyer in Italy. Both the auction house and the buyer didn’t know the portrait was stolen. The detective also revealed the picture was sold before the fake was discovered by hotel staff.

“We utilized forensic analysis as well as open source information and tips from the public to really direct us where to go,” said Geller. The detective added that London Metropolitan Police was instrumental in getting the information to identify the subject and the “ways it was trafficked overseas.”

Police chased leads from London, then Genoa, Italy, before the clues pointed to a suspect in a small Ontario town.

Geller was determined to return the portrait to its “rightful” home.

“This was about honouring Mr. Karsh’s last wishes about having this portrait hung for the public to view within the Fairmont Reading Room. That’s a lot of what we were trying to accomplish — not just by charging a person and identifying who stole it, but also recovering it and putting it in its rightful place,” Geller said.

A 43-year-old man from Powassan, Ont., has been charged for the theft and trafficking of the portrait. His name is protected by a publication ban. Police say he was arrested on April 25, 2024.

The man faces several charges, including forgery, theft over $5,000 and trafficking in property obtained through a crime.

The recovery

Later this month, Ottawa Police will travel to Rome for a ceremony to mark the success of the international investigation.

The portrait will be officially handed over to the hotel at that time.

“We’ve been dreaming about this. This portrait belongs to the Chateau Laurier,” said Dumas.

While the photo of the former British Prime Minister is of historical significance, Dumas says what makes it priceless is the fact that it was a gift from Karsh and his wife. The couple were longtime residents of the hotel.

“It was donated by Mr.Karsh himself. He was living here for 18 years with his wife Estrellita. He had a studio here (in the Chateau) for 16 years. … It means the world that we can get it back home where people can see it,” Dumas said.

After the portrait is shipped back to the capital, the public will have to wait a few more months to see it. The Chateau’s reading room where it will be displayed is currently under renovation. Once construction is complete, Dumas says the portrait will be protected with new security measures.

Lair says he’s already called “dibs” on hanging the art. Churchill will soon stare down at guests once again, while also under the watch of the maintenance worker and unsung hero of this Canadian caper.

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