Jury Convicts Gallery Director Leigh Morse For Scamming Four Estates Out of Approximately $5 Million
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the conviction of LEIGH MORSE, 55, the director of the Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, for her participation in a large-scale art fraud scheme that victimized the estates of four artists. Following a month-long trial, a jury in New York State Supreme Court today found the defendant guilty of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. As proven at trial, MORSE fraudulently sold more than 80 artworks from four estates without notifying them. "The defendant, together with her accomplice, convicted art gallery owner LAWRENCE SALANDER, systematically looted the estates of her clients over a period of many years," said District Attorney Vance. "Because the art industry is largely unregulated, it is particularly important to hold accountable those who fraudulently handle works of art entrusted to them. I'd like to thank the prosecutors and investigators who pursued justice for these victims, and also the member...