The statue was the latest of several bronze elements stolen from Fairmount Park monuments or other structures around town.
"We are concerned that this is a major theft ring of bronze material," said William Mifflin, executive director of the Fairmount Park Commission. ''It's hard for me to say whether it was taken for its art value or the melting down of bronze. . . . Its value to us is astronomical."
Vererica, who told police he dealt in artifacts from old houses, will be charged with theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, according to investigators.
The statue was returned to park officials yesterday, who stored it in a warehouse until more secure fasteners could be designed for it. Police theorize that the thieves probably used a truck, possibly a tow truck, because of the immense weight of the piece.
The statue was taken off its pedestal in front of Memorial Hall between 5 p.m. Monday and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The hall also is headquarters for the Fairmount Park Commission.
The theft was discovered by Dick Nicolai, a spokesman for the commission, as he returned from lunch on Tuesday and noticed the statue was gone from its granite pedestal in front of the hall.
"I did a double take," said Nicolai. "All that was left was dust where the statue used to be."
Nicolai asked workers in Memorial Hall whether the piece, weighing hundreds of pounds, had been removed for cleaning. It had not.
Then, early yesterday, police, acting on an anonymous tip, went to the small warehouse next to Kissling's Sauerkraut Co. in the 100 block of East Richmond Street, where they found the statue tucked away with stained-glass
windows, old mantelpieces and other antiques.
Investigators spotted it along an aisle of the cluttered brick building, past strips of wooden molding, a large chandelier and old radio in large wooden cabinet.
