What was done to lockpicking and stealing from chests was certainly the wrong move. A more ideal way to go about the change was to change the rules in a way that everyone can agree, to minimize said 'OOC drama' but still keep one of the most important parts of villain RP. Instead of bluntly removing the whole aspect of villain roleplay while generalizing that all thieves are greedy item-hungry bastards, they could have for example changed the rules a bit:
1) The owner of the chest or door must be online, increasing chances of getting caught.
2) The moderator would inform the victim that something is being lockpicked when the thief begins.
3) Having similar rules as raid rules, no more stealing for two days; the overseer would set the sign on the chest.
4) Limiting the 'loot' greatly. Perhaps so that the thief would be able to choose only a single item from the chest.
5) Force them to leave a clue or clues - thus creating more roleplay.
6) Maybe even have similar rules to lockpicking as there is to magic, not many books about it are in the circulation to learn it from. I can't see why wouldn't it work.
But instead of any of these, it was chosen by.. well certainly not the players, that lockpicking will be completely gone.. resulting in even more OOC drama.