The son of a multimillionaire caravan tycoon has escaped jail despite trying to sell part of a £4.8million gold toilet that was stolen from Blenheim Palace in a dramatic five-minute raid.
37-year-old Fred Doe was convicted after a trial in March of attempting to broker the sale of about 10 kilograms of stolen gold on behalf of thief and family friend James Sheen.
Formerly known as Fred Sines, Doe is the son of multimillionaire caravan tycoon Maurice 'Fred' Sines, who has been accused by Irish authorities of being an ally of the notorious Kinahan organised crime clan.
Speaking outside court after being given a suspended sentence, Doe celebrated with his father and insisted he was a "good man" whose good nature was taken advantage of.
The 18-carat gold toilet was a work of art called "America" by satirist Maurizio Cattelan and was installed at Blenheim Palace for visitors to use in an exhibition in September 2019.
But in the early hours of September 14, just two days after the toilet was exposed, a gang of five men with hammers and crowbars broke open a window and emerged just minutes later with the golden toilet in their hands.
No trace of the robbers has ever been found. Within hours of the robbery, Doe texted Sheen to say he knew about the stolen gold and could help.
He then approached a jeweller in the Hatton Garden area and arranged for Sheen's gold to be valued, but the sale fell through. The jeweller, Bora Guçuk, was acquitted of money laundering charges for the stolen goods.
Judge Ian Pringle KC at a sentencing hearing at Oxford Crown Court said the value of the gold Doe was trying to sell was between £250,000 and £260,000. (A2 Televizion)
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