W.’s lawyer, Dennis Vlielander, says against NOS that the webshop was founded by people who are ‘close to’ his client. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service told Dagblad van het Noorden that they had taken note of the webshop, but did not want to comment substantively.
The website offers caps, shorts and T-shirts. The brand’s slogan is ‘Not guilty by design’. W.’s biography states: ‘My name is Douglas Chesley W. You may have heard about the stories surrounding the golden helmet, but I want to put a positive spin on it so I founded this brand.’
T-shirt in court with reference
The webshop’s postal address is the Schiphol Judicial Complex, where W. (37) is imprisoned. Vlielander emphasizes that the webshop was not founded from prison.
W. and two others Today sentenced to almost four years in prison for their part in the spectacular art theft from the Drents Museum last January.
During the ruling in court, he wore one of the T-shirts sold in the webshop. The shirt had ‘BOOK JUDGMENT’ written on it with Cotofenesti’s helmet above it. That is a reference to the Romanian capital Bucharest, where the art treasures come from.