Central Park's Stolen Bronze Eagles Returned

MyFoxNY.com - Two bronze eagles that were stolen by a drug dealer from Central Park more than 30 years ago have finally returned home.

The eagles were missing from the City Employees War Memorial at the Mall in Central Park, which was built in 1926.

During the 1970s, drug dealers used the eagles to hide money and narcotics.  The eagles went missing in the mid-1970s when a drug dealer took them to store his drugs.

The drug dealer who was responsible for stealing the bronze eagles later sold them to a client who kept them in his office.

Federal agents received a tip about the statues in May 2008, and seized the bronze eagles.  The statues were turned over to the City's Parks Department this week.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the eagles would again be affixed to the memorial, designed by George John Lober, who also created Central Park's famous Hans Christian Andersen statue.