Housekeeper Arrested With $3 Million Benjamin Franklin Bust

A woman was arrested in Maryland for allegedly stealing a bust of Benjamin Franklin valued at over $3 million from the Bryn Mawr home at which she was employed last summer. The 46-year-old woman was taken into custody when she got off a bus in Elkton, Maryland with the bust in a gunny sack. It apparently sustained a crack across the breastplate.

Three days before the theft on Aug. 24, the cleaning company fired Lawton. Three witnesses told police they saw Lawton speed away from the D’Angelo home in a maroon Chevrolet Tahoe. She had gained access by removing an air-conditioning unit.

The 25-pound bust was made in 1778 by Jean-Antoine Houdon while Franklin was visiting Paris. It stands 28 inches high. There are but four like it in existence. [Inquirer]