SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — As North River Auction Gallery was making final preparations for its auction this past Sunday morning, a small army of police officers were making preparations of their own outside the auction hall. Unbeknownst to Dan Selvin and his North River crew, the heavily advertised 330-plus lots consigned from a Newport, R.I., estate consisted entirely of stolen merchandise that police had tracked to this auction house and others.

Selvin commented that at 8 am on Sunday, January 9, a mere three-and-a-half hours prior to sale time, a “whole team” of police officers entered the auction hall and “started flashing badges.” Present were New York State Police, Rhode Island Police, the Little Compton, R.I., chief of police and local law officers.

“They were actually very courteous and acted very professionally towards us and to the 300 people we had in the hall previewing,” stated Selvin. “They explained the situation to us and we were able to identify everything from the consignment for them. They asked us to withdraw the items, which we did, and then we went ahead and sold the remaining 200 lots that were not from the estate.”

Of the 550 lots scheduled to be sold, 330 had come from the Newport estate. “Everybody understood and the police made an announcement to the crowd that we were victims of a scam. The auction went on as scheduled and we actually did quite well,” said Selvin.

The best part of the day for police — and Selvin, for that matter — came shortly after the officers informed the auctioneer that the material was stolen. “What can you tell us about the consignor?” queried the police.

“I can tell you that he is out back loading his car,” responded Selvin. Within moments, the suspect, Theodore Sacharko, age 48 of 146 West Main Road, Little Compton, R.I., was being marched through the auction gallery in handcuffs.

“We have one individual in custody at this time,” stated Little Compton Chief of Police Sid Wordell. “He was identified by the auctioneer and we took him into custody.” Sacharko is being held on a felony charge as a fugitive of justice, He was arraigned on Monday, January 10, and was held without bail. He will be returned to Rhode Island to face charges, according to police.

Wordell commented that the items were linked to at least ten known robberies in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts area. Police were in the process of photographing and returning the items to Rhode Island so that victims could start identifying their belongings.

Stolen items consisted of paintings, including one John Wiggins, numerous pieces of furniture, including a Hepplewhite chest that was estimated to bring $30/40,000, china, silver, mirrors and more than 35 Oriental carpets. “One of the homes had everything stolen with the exception of the kitchen sink,” stated Wordell.

Some of the items were apparently recently sold at a Connecticut auction, stated Wordell, based on information gained during a debriefing of the suspect. Other items are scheduled to appear at an upcoming auction in Massachusetts, although police declined to reveal the name of the auction house.