More details about Frank Frazetta Jr.’s arrest on arrest on December 9 by Pennsylvania state police have appeared in a local paper.

The Morning Call, which covers Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, ran this except from the arrest affidavit:

Alfonso Frazetta told police he began trying to get into the museum using hand tools, but then asked Frank Bush, 69, to use the backhoe, breaking the door off completely. Alfonso Frazetta moved 90 paintings from the museum into the back seats of his sport-utility vehicle and an attached trailer.

Another trooper called Frazetta Sr., who told the trooper his son did not have permission to be inside the museum or to remove the paintings. Geiger, Frazetta Sr.’s attorney, came to the scene and said there were 90 paintings insured for $20 million in the museum.

 Frazetta Jr.’s lawyer has made a statement, too:

Attorney T. Axel Jones, representing Alfonso Frazetta, said his client and siblings — a brother and two sisters — have had an ongoing squabble over their father’s estate, which began about five months ago when their mother died. They are doing an accounting of his estate, Jones said.

Alfonso Frazetta, also known as Frank Jr., had previously been the caretaker of the museum, a job that ended about five or six months ago, Jones said. He now runs an Internet business for his father, selling reproductions of his artwork, Jones said. The family also owns two businesses in East Stroudsburg, a costume shop and a golf store, he said.

 [Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story, via Mike Chomko.]

Frank Frazetta Jr. was arrested December 9 by state police for stealing 90 of Frazetta Sr.’s paintings worth $20 million. A backhoe was used to break through the door of a family-owned museum where the paintings were kept.

Frazetta Jr., the backhoe operator and a third accomplice were arrested after the  paintings were loaded on a trailer but before they could flee the scene reports the Pocono Record.

Frazetta Jr.’s bail has been set at $500,000. His wife, Lori Frazetta told a reporter that the incident resulted from family infighting that began after the death of Frank Sr.’s wife, Ellie.

A Publishers Weekly blogger points out:

While we are not privy to the family dynamics that created this sad episode, Ellie Frazetta, who managed the museum and most Frazetta Sr. business, passed away in the summer. It isn’t hard to draw a line between that event and evident sprawling family turmoil.

[Thanks to Moshe Feder and Taral for the story.]