State plans inquiry of serial killer art on auction Website
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State plans inquiry of serial killer art on auction Website
By Associated Press, 09/10/99
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) Artwork by a convicted serial killer from New York
that is
being auctioned on the eBay Website is raising eyebrows from state
prison
officials.
The auction house lists items reportedly created by Arthur Shawcross,
who is
serving a 250-year sentence for killing 11 Rochester-area women.
While 54-year-old Shawcross is not selling the items himself, he does
receive
occasional favors from those he sends his artwork to.
The state Department of Correctional Services plans to investigate
whether New
York's Son of Sam law is being broken. The law prohibits inmates from
profiting
from their crimes.
''Inmates are not allowed to run a business while incarcerated,'' said
Michael
Houston, a department spokesman.
Shawcross' art has included several drawings, oil paintings and
portraits,
including those of Marilyn Monroe and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. One
large
portrait sold for $250.
One of his drawings a snake included a description at the auction
Website that
made no attempt to hide the background of its maker.
''Shawcross is more famous for the other things he can do with his hands
than
his artwork, such as strangling and partially consuming some 11
prostitutes ...
which really makes this weird piece of prison art something the high
bidder
will treasure forever!'' it reads.
One of the sellers is art dealer Walter O'Reilly, of Mahopac, Putnam
County,
who has received artwork from Shawcross for about a year. He insists
that
Shawcross is not paid for his work.
''This is not blood money. He pays for the whole thing himself,'' he
said.
However, he may buy gifts, such as clothes or shoes, for Shawcross as a
favor
for his work. ''I take care of him,'' O'Reilly said.
''If he sent me a nice painting and I did well on it, I'd get a letter
from him
saying, 'Boy, I could really use a pair of sneakers.''' O'Reilly said.
The mother of one victim said she was shocked that someone would use the
notoriety of Shawcross as a marketing advantage.
''Who would want to buy artwork or an autograph from a serial killer?
They're
disgusting. They're making him out to be a hero,'' said Liz Vigneri of
Rochester, whose daughter, Maria Welch, was murdered by Shawcross in
1989. ''If
any money changes hands, it should go to the children. He left many
children
without mothers.''
Shawcross is being held at the Sullivan County Correctional Facility, 77
miles
northwest of New York City.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 9/10/99 online edition of The
New York
Post newspaper:
NEW eBLAST AT eBAY AS
KILLER'S ART IS AUCTIONED
By ADAM MILLER
The New York Post
Relatives of mass-murderer Arthur Shawcross' victims ripped online
auction
house eBay yesterday for selling his macabre artwork - just days after a
human
kidney and unborn children were offered on the popular site.
"This is sickening and disgusting," said Liz Vigneri of upstate
Rochester,
whose daughter, Maria Welch, was viciously killed by Shawcross in 1989.
"It's downright despicable. This is blood money, and it's outrageous.
What kind
of company would sell art from a serial murderer?" she fumed.
Shawcross, 54, is serving a 250-year prison sentence for the gruesome
murders
of 11 women in the Rochester area between March 1988 and January 1990.
"Shawcross is more famous for the other things he can do with his hands
than
his artwork, such as strangling and partially consuming some 11
prostitutes ...
which really makes this weird piece of prison art something the high
bidder
will treasure forever," reads the description accompanying one of the
items.
Shawcross' art includes paintings of race-car driver Dale Earnhardt and
screen
legend Marilyn Monroe. One of his works recently sold for $250 on eBay.
While Shawcross - dubbed the "Genesee River Killer" - is prohibited from
profiting from his crimes, he often receives favors from the dealers to
whom he
sends his work.
Jennifer Chu, a spokeswoman for eBay, said that while Shawcross' work
may be
ghoulish, it's not a crime for them to list it.
For each item sold through its auctions, eBay receives a commission of
up to 5
percent.
"While many people might consider this to be in poor taste, there are
others
who are very interested in it, and that's what makes eBay so eclectic
and
popular," she said.
Chu noted that eBay lists artwork and paraphernalia by - and of - other
serial
killers, including Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and
David
Berkowitz.
The Web-based auction house has recently been criticized for offerings
to sell
illegal items from eBabies to body parts to a teen's virginity, all of
which
were subsequently yanked.