Ok Lady, Hand Over the Nazi Cup, or the Pooch Gets It

Friday, June 22, 2001 - UK

But unless we somehow got our newswire crossed with the WWII History Channel and the Home Shopping Network, here's the story:

News broke this morning of a bizarre dog-napping that has its roots in the sordid history of the Third Reich at the end of WWII.  A metal chalice once belonging to Nazi leader Hermann Goering is being demanded as ransom in exchange for a woman's beloved Boxer pooch.

When the Allies raided the Nazi lair in 1945, the chalice was allegedly wrapped in curtains and smuggled into England by a Sunderland soldier George Armstrong.  Later fearing the stigma of owning such a controversial piece, the soldier decided to hide it in the attic where it stayed until his death, reported the Sunderland Echo in 1999 when the chalice resurfaced.

The item next passed on to family friend Derick Smith and eventually on to the woman (whose identity has not yet been released).

The woman's dog was stolen late this week from her residence while she was on a hospital visit.

Although this crook's scheme is not exactly worthy of a James Bond plot (Austin Powers, maybe), such a relic could perhaps fetch a pretty penny if a buyer were to be found.  But apparently, that's a big "if".  A spokesperson for a major metropolitan museum told Scoop reporters, "With the recent publicity surrounding this piece—the distinctive markings and singularity—a thief may be lucky to fetch a few hundred bucks from some sucker on EBay."

With any luck it won't come to that.  The Northumbria Police have already made one arrest and are questioning the suspect with regard to the dog-napping.  The chalice remains for the time being in police custody.

Pictured at right is a Boxer Mr. Ripley who is available for adoption.  At left is Sergeant Schultz who is not.

UPDATE March 14, 2002:
A man pleads guilty to charges of blackmail and dognapping (is that really a crime?) in Newcastle Crown Court.  Read "This Month's Strangest Dognapping Stories."

§§§