America's elite rages as serial jewelry thief is given absurd plea (2024)

Victims of a retired professor turned jewel thief are outraged over the light plea deal he was offered that allows him to attend his daughter's wedding in Italy.

Lawrence Gray, 80, made headlinesin 2022 when the sons of his late wealthy socialite girlfriend Jacqueline Quillen accused him of selling dozens of her valuables.

Other victims then came forward and inAugust 2023, he was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office for swiping seven pieces of jewelry and selling them for more than $45,000 between 2016 and 2018.

Gray initially maintained his innocence but the former political science professor took a plea deal on September 24 and agreed to pay $55,850 in restitution to four people, including Frederick Vreeland, a former US ambassador, so that law enforcement would give him his passport back, reportedThe Washington Post.

'It's appalling that a serial thief gets away with so little punishment,' Sandra Vreeland Zwollo, Vreeland's wife, told the outlet.

'I'm sure Larry continues to believe himself innocent and that this is only a formality in order to attend his daughter's wedding inItaly,' she added.

The terms of the agreement state that in exchange for his guilty plea and an initial payment of $15,000, prosecutors will return Gray's passport to him 'for the sole purpose' of attending his daughter's wedding in Italy in October 'as well as the wedding reception' in November.

'[The deal was] the only way I could get the passport back was to accept the plea,' Gray told The Post.

His attorney, Christopher Zampogna, said, '[He is] 80 years old and he didn't want to drag it out. He didn't want to fight anymore.'

Charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property were dropped as part of the plea deal, the Post reported.

According to the Manhattan DA's office,Gray sold pieces of Buccellati jewelry, including a gold, silver, and diamond pendant brooch, a pair of silver, gold, and diamond pendant earrings, as well as two color gold, cabochon ruby and diamond compacts.

The other pieces included a Verdura platinum, diamond, and sapphire brooch, apair of Oscar Heyman Brothers sapphire, emerald and diamond earclips, a Van Cleef & Arpels gold, cabochon ruby and diamond ring and a19th century English pocket watch.

AirMail reported that theVreelands said three pieces ofBuccellati jewelry were missing from their home in Italy after Gray visited in July of 2016 which they later saw for sale on the website of New York-based Doyle Auctioneers and Appraisers.

As part of the New York deal, Gray has to pay$22,500 toNannette Herrick, who said he stole a $32,000 diamond and sapphire brooch from her home in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2016 when he stayed as a guest for a wedding.

'It's a pittance,' Herrick said of the plea deal. 'It will cover my lawyer's costs and doesn't give me any satisfaction.'

'I'm glad he got some form of punishment but it's more like a slap on the wrist for what he has done to people.'

He was charged by officials in Rhode Island and took a plea of no contest on October 8 and was ordered to pay Herrick $22,500.

'He is revolting, I don’t think he’s remotely sorry for anything,' Herrick said.

She said the brooch was a gift her husband gave her on their first wedding anniversary 54 years ago and nothing can replace its sentimental value.

Court documents show that Gray had even left a thank you note in the Herrick's guestbook when he stole the brooch that said he had 'such a marvelous time.'

Herrick told the Post she recalled Gray wandering near her bathroom during the stay.

'He said he was looking for a bathroom. I said [to him], "Every room has a bathroom," including his. The next morning, I couldn’t find the brooch.'

Police said Gray’s signature in a guest book at the wedding reception matched the consignment agreement withDoyle Auction House whereHerrick saw the brooch listed for sale five years later.

Gray also agreed to pay another victim, Elisabeth Porter,$8,250 for jewelry she said he stole from her Georgetown home when he came over for dinner with his girlfriend.

'I never wanted money, I wanted the jewelry back most of all,' Porter said. 'I'd like to see Larry Gray in jail. He is trash.'

Gray and Quillenlived together in a $1.6 million Georgetown house that she owned before she died from heart failure in October 2020 at age 77.

Quillen was the granddaughter of former Wall Street giant, Alfred Lee Loomis, who invented the Long Range Navigation System.

The couple met in Washington, D.C. in 2004, when he was on a sabbatical from John Cabot University, according to an account of their relationship in Gray's counter-complaint against her sons.

Gray had tenure at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, as a political science professor and traveled back and forth between Rome and Washington, DC, to be with Quillen before retiring in 2011.

For years, Quillen and Gray attended dinner parties and classical music concerts, and traveled extensively. Many of Gray's victims claim he would use their invitations to events to steal their items.

But there were signs of trouble in their relationship starting as early as 2016, according to the complaint, when Quillen 'suspected Gray was stealing from her.'

One of her sons, Parker, alleged that Gray stole art and jewelry from Jacqueline as her health declined. The valuables included a $17,000 diamond ring, a $10,000 Patek Philippe watch and $4,700 diamond earrings.

The lawsuit was settled in a confidential agreement and Gray was charged in Manhattan a year later.

Deadline reported that Jared Leto is set to produce and star in a film about Gray and his thefts.