THE social secretary and confidante of former first lady and now Rep. Imelda Marcos of Ilocos Norte province, and her two nephews were apprehended and indicted by the New York District Attorney’s Office for illegally conspiring and selling valuable paintings included in the PCGG’s [Philippine Commission on Good Governance’s] list of missing paintings, according to PCGG on Wednesday.

In a statement, PCGG chairman Andres Bautista said that Vilma Bautista, the social secretary and confidante of Mrs. Marcos, and two of Bautista’s nephew who were not identified, were arrested and arraigned on November 20 in New York City.

The PCGG chief said that Bautista and her nephews were charged for illegally conspiring to possess and sell valuable paintings they did not own, keeping the proceeds for themselves and hiding the said proceeds from tax authorities.

He added that the arrest and indictment came when the New York District Attorney’s Office conducted an investigation after it was informed of the suspicious sale of a water lilies painting by Claude Monet in 2010.

The New York District Attorney’s Office thereafter contacted the PCGG noting that there appeared to have been other attempts by the defendants and their associates to sell other paintings publicly known to be missing since 1986 and being claimed by the Republic of the Philippines listed as ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

It was publicly known that Mrs. Marcos was into collection of paintings.

The PCGG chief said that it has been cooperating with the New York District Attorney’s Office investigation since the middle of last year.

In July 2011, aside from bank accounts containing tens of millions of dollars, New York authorities seized three paintings of internationally significant value from Bautista and her relatives.

The paintings were described as: (1) Claude Monet’s L’Eglise at la Siene a Veuthevil; (2) Claude Monet’s “Le Bassin aux Nymphease” (also known as “Japanese Footbridge Over the Water-Lily Pond at Giverny”), 1899, (the “Water-Lily”) 2 Albert Marquet’s Le Cyprès de Djenan Sidi Saïd; and (3) Alfred Sisley’s Langland Bay.

These paintings are all included in the PCGG’s missing paintings list, and have been recorded with Art Loss Register, the world’s largest private database of lost and stolen art.

“This criminal trial in New York will serve an important pedagogical purpose as it would highlight the point that ‘crime does not pay’ and eventually the long arm of the law will catch up with you,” Bautista said.

“Our cooperation with the NYDA’s investigation reflects the Commission’s determination to pursue its mandate for as long as we have such mandate. This also highlights President Aquino’s unrelenting crusade against graft and corruption,” the PCGG chief added.