A $4 million art theft netted a ring that its owner says belonged to the family of Vlad the Impaler, the Eastern European prince who inspired the vampire legend of Count Dracula, Newsday reported Sunday.
Two men beat up and handcuffed artist-historian Vlaicu Ionescu, 67, in his apartment in Queens and took his collection of paintings. Also stolen were three signet rings Ionescu said he acquired in Romania, Newsday said.Ionescu believes the rings belonged to three princes from the 14th and 15th centuries, and he said one, emblazoned with a raven, belonged to Vlad Dracul of Wallachia.
