LOCAL : $1-Million Art Theft Reported

The owner of a Van Nuys art publishing company told police today that a masked gunman tied him to a chair, loaded a company van with a million dollars worth of paintings, lithographs and serigraphs, and then drove off.

Robert Silver, 44, told officers it took him three hours to free himself enough to dial police, talking to them over a speaker telephone.

“When officers arrived . . . Silver was still tied to the chair, and they freed him,” said Detective Richard Schauer.

Silver told police the intruder entered his Eagle Limited publishing firm on Sophia Avenue in Van Nuys about 8 p.m. Monday and threatened him with a gun. The thief then “took jewelry and cash from the victim and plundered the business,” said Sgt. Charles Meter.