STATEN ISLAND, NY.- Painter, sculptor, gallery owner and New York City art theft detective Robert Volpe, 63, died Tuesday due to a heart attack. Robert Volpe was born on December 13, 1942 in Brooklyn. A local art dealer sold Volpe’s paintings for $250 while Volpe was a teenager. He studied at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, the Parsons School of Design and the Art Students League. In 1964, after his service in the Army, he joined the police department investigating organized crime and drug dealing. As the art thefts increased, he was asked to investigate them. In 1974 Laurie Adams wrote the book “Art Cop”, of which Volpe was the subject.

Once the Hungarian government asked him to help find two Raphaels. He found the thief and recovered the works of art.

He once said, "An art thief is entertaining, romantic. I've seen cases where the thief has pleaded guilty and gotten no sentence at all."