Alfredo Martinez had nothing until he started forging works of art. Then he had money. All that was missing was fame
By Peter Ward and Sean Williams
Without the certificates he would collapse the deal. Two Basquiat drawings lay on the table in front of Lio Malca. The elegantly dressed Colombian sat in his elegant office from which he had built a small art trading empire. Malca was interested in the works, but something was wrong with the accompanying documents.
“I don’t care how you do it.”he said to the man on the other side of the table. “If we want to do business, I need the original certificates.”
Alfredo Martinez, a good 1.80 meters tall and almost as wide, with a tangled shock of hair and a disheveled black beard, didn’t hesitate for a second. Since the death of the famous neo-expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat more than a decade ago, prices for his works have gone through the roof. And Martinez would do everything he could to collect a hefty sum for the two drawings.
No problem, he said. He knows where the certificates are – he just needs some time to get them. Then he got up and left the Chelsea office.
Martinez was energized. He found that the certificates he had personally forged for Malca looked deceptively real, just like the drawings. But whatever. Now he had to get the originals – as quickly as possible. He had been careless. Malca, who is networked worldwide and feared in the scene, should not be taken for a ride.
He rushed through Manhattan. He was friends with the man who had the original drawings, so maybe he could get the real certificates from him. Just a few hours later he was back in Chelsea. Malca ran his fingers over the embossed seal of the certificate. His eyes looked satisfied. Martinez breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to make the deal of his life.
Little did he know that this deal would put him in the crosshairs of America’s greatest art detective.