The case of the missing gold toilet: Four charged in theft of $5.9 million loo

The fully functioning 18-karat gold toilet, estimated to be worth $5.9 million, was stolen in 2019 from an exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

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Now, four years later, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had authorized charges against four men in connection with the theft

The privy is a work of art by the Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, and is titled “America.” It had been on display as part of an exhibition at the palace, The New York Times reported.

The toilet had been installed at the palace. When it was taken, the removal caused a minor flood, authorities said.

According to a news release from Crown Prosecution Service, James Sheen, 39, has been charged with burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and transferring criminal property; Michael Jones, 38, has been charged with burglary; and Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, who were charged with conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

Seven people had been arrested over the heist, which took place in Oxfordshire, England. The toilet has never been found, according to The Associated Press.

The Guggenheim Museum in New York, where the toilet was installed in a bathroom prior to it being shown at Blenheim said the artwork invited viewers to “make use of the fixture individually and privately” to experience “unprecedented intimacy with a work of art.”