A retired professor, Lawrence Gray, of political science, well-acquainted with Washington’s exclusive social circles, entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday in response to charges accusing him of pilfering substantial amounts of jewelry from his affluent acquaintances.
Having been accused by prosecutors of selling a minimum of seven valuable stolen items, including diamond earrings, a brooch adorned with a pink sapphire, and a 19th-century gold pocket watch, denied all allegations. These items were allegedly sold for over $45,000 through consignment to an auction house situated in Manhattan.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a statement, remarking, “The defendant purportedly engaged in the repeated sale of stolen jewelry for personal gain, thereby tarnishing New York’s reputation as a global hub for lawful auction houses.”
In a Manhattan criminal court, Gray, aged 79, asserted his not guilty plea to charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and involvement in a fraudulent scheme. Draped in a black blazer over a pink shirt, he leaned gently on a dark wooden cane. Upon departing the courtroom, he declined to interact with journalists. Following his agreement to surrender his passport, he was released without bail and is scheduled to return to court on October 31.
This indictment marks an addition to the growing list of theft allegations against Gray, a former tenured faculty member at John Cabot University in Rome and the long-term romantic companion of the late Jacqueline Quillen, a notable figure in Washington’s social scene.
In the wake of Quillen’s passing in 2021, her sons initiated legal proceedings against Gray, alleging that he misappropriated valuable heirlooms, artwork, and cash, not only from Quillen but also from her affluent circle of friends, which encompassed American diplomats, bankers, and businesspersons. In the same year, Gray was apprehended in Rhode Island on accusations of stealing a diamond and sapphire brooch worth $32,000 during a wedding event in Newport. Subsequently, the family’s legal suit was settled on undisclosed terms, while the Rhode Island case, in which Gray pleaded not guilty, remains unresolved.
According to the lawsuit filed by Quillen’s sons, she, as a wine specialist at Christie’s and an heiress to a Wall Street fortune, harbored suspicions that Gray was engaging in theft from her and her companions. The suit claimed that she meticulously documented the missing items and eventually severed her relationship with Gray several months before her demise.
On Tuesday, prosecutors in Manhattan revealed their possession of evidence linking Gray to a series of thefts spanning across New York, Virginia, and multiple other states. They disclosed that between 2016 and 2019, Gray consigned the stolen items to Doyle Auction House on the Upper East Side. Efforts are ongoing to recover some of the pieces that were sold. Doyle Auction House declined to comment, citing their policy against discussing consignors.
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Quillen’s legacy, as a specialist in wines at Christie’s and as an inheritor of substantial wealth from Wall Street, was marred by her suspicions that Gray had engaged in theft, as per her sons’ lawsuit. She meticulously noted the disappearing valuables and eventually severed her relationship with Gray months before her passing.