Thief Swipes $16K Sculpture From Midtown Gallery, Police Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A Bronx man is facing charges for stealing a sculpture worth $16,000 during a daring broad-daylight robbery at a Midtown Manhattan art gallery, police said.

Zoltan Genc, 61, was arrested Saturday and charged with grand larceny in connection with a Thursday robbery at the Galeries Bartoux on Central Park South and Sixth Avenue, police said. Genc is accused of walking into the ritzy gallery, grabbing a $16,000 sculpture by the artist Fred Allard and walking out of the door with the artwork.

Security video from the gallery shows a man police say is Genc casually walking out of the gallery holding the crystal resin and gold sculpture in one hand and a plastic shopping bag in the other. The thief doesn't seem to be making any real effort to hide the fact that he's stealing the pricey artwork and nobody tries to stop him, according to the video released by police.

Genc was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on Sunday and released without bail, according to court records. The Bronx man is also currently facing charges such as petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property from two separate incidents, according to court records. He is due back in court on May 16.