490: The Dali Heist (From "True Crime Story: Smugshot")

490: The Dali Heist (From "True Crime Story: Smugshot")

From True Crime Obsessed by True Crime Obsessed

March 24, 2026 · 1h 3m · Episode 490

About this episode

This episode discusses the bizarre theft of a Dali painting from Rikers Island and its replacement with a hastily made copy.

WAIT, THERE'S AN ORIGINAL DALI PAINTING HANGING IN RIKERS ISLAND?!?! Well... there was, anyway. Dali was supposed to pay a visit to the prison in 1965, but instead of showing up, gave them the hastily made painting that he called "Christ on the cross" (a good swear, as anyone familiar with Long Island mothers of a certain stripe will tell you!). It hung in various places throughout the facility for forty years until someone on the inside was brazen enough to steal it in 2003 - AND REPLACE WITH HIS OWN HASTILY SCRAWLED PAINTING! This one's a kooky one, Fam! Find and watch "True Crime Story: Smugshot" on AppleTV LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed , you'll find over 400 FULL AD-FREE BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW , including our episode-by-episode coverage of popular documentary series like Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God , LulaRich , and The Curious Case of Natalia Grace ; classics like The Jinx , Making A Murderer , and The Staircase ; and well-known cases like The Menendez Murders , Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery , and The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann , and so many more! Episode Sponsors: Fabletics - High-end activewear at a fraction of the price! Get…

People in this episode

Host: True Crime Obsessed

Topics covered

  • art theft
  • true crime
  • Dali
  • Rikers Island
  • prison history
  • heist

Keywords

  • Dali
  • art theft
  • Rikers Island
  • Christ on the cross
  • True Crime Story
  • heist
  • prison

Sponsors

Fabletics, Wayfair, Momentous

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: True Crime Story: Smugshot

Books & works: Christ on the cross

Places: Rikers Island

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