Judicial Watch Sues Justice Department for Records on Unsolved $1.5 Million Art Theft

Stations of the Cross paintings vanished overnight

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records regarding an unsolved $1.5 million art theft in 1969 in Sarasota, FL (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (1:26-cv-01166)).

Ben Stahl, an internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator, was commissioned by the Catholic Press to create 14 paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross. “The Way of the Cross” was a series of 6-foot by 9-foot paintings depicting the Good Friday events from Jesus’ condemnation by Pontius Pilate to Jesus’ body being placed in the tomb. One night in April 1969, the paintings were carefully removed from their frames and stolen from the Museum of the Cross. None were recovered.

The search for the truth was taken up by Stahl’s children, particularly David Stahl, who alleges the investigation was mishandled by local police and the FBI. He cites irregularities including reportedly lost files due to floods and fires. Although the Sarasota Police Department reopened the case in 2013, no new leads emerged.

Prior to the Judicial Watch lawsuit, David Stahl submitted a FOIA request to the Justice Department and received 12 fully redacted pages.

Judicial Watch sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the FBI failed to respond to a February 18, 2026, FOIA request for:

All records in main files or cross-referenced files related to the investigation of artwork stolen in 1969 from the Museum of the Cross in Sarasota, Florida. Such records shall include, but not be limited to, investigative reports, witness summaries (Forms 1023), letterhead memoranda, agents’ handwritten notes, communications in any form, crime scene photographs, fingerprints, evidence logs, and any other records. (This request slightly modified a similar request sent on Dec. 11, 2025 with a corrected year of the date of the art theft.)

“This should be a straightforward search for records,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “After more than five decades, the FBI should be able to find and release these records. The public deserves answers.” 

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