Stolen painting anonymously returned

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 10:59 a.m.

A thief apparently had second thoughts about keeping a $40,000 LeRoy Neiman painting that was stolen last week from the Centaur Gallery in Fashion Show mall.

The painting, "Golf Landscape," was anonymously returned to the mall Tuesday.

"I couldn't believe it," said Jonas Maxwell, spokesman for the gallery. "We couldn't be happier."

The painting, which is 5-by-7 inches and is in a 20-by-19-inch frame, was encased in bubble-wrap and arrived at the mall in a priority mail box with a return address of LTH Limited, 400 Casino Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89101. Nothing exists at that address. The postmark says it was mailed Friday.

The painting was stolen from the gallery Feb. 12. It's back on sale now, but in a more secure place, Maxwell said. No one has claimed the $5,000 reward offered for the painting's return.

"We were getting worldwide publicity on this," Maxwell said, adding that a jewelry magazine in London called to ask questions about the theft.

"I think whoever stole it realized there was nothing they could have done with it because of the publicity, and who knows what his conscience told him."