Italian alleged mobster linked to Van Goghs is held in Dubai

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Italian police say one of Italy’s most wanted men has been arrested in Dubai. They said on Thursday that the alleged cocaine trafficker suspected of having bought two stolen Van Gogh paintings on the black market was arrested on Aug. 4. Raffaele Imperiale is being held in the United Arab Emirates while Italy’s justice ministry completes extradition procedures. The 46-year old is an alleged kingpin in the Naples-based Camorra organized crime syndicate and wanted in Italy for alleged international drug trafficking and money laundering. In 2016, two Van Gogh paintings that had been stolen in 2002 from an Amsterdam museum were found stashed in a farmhouse on property in Italy owned by Imperiale.