US Court of Appeals affirms the sentence of former prosecutor
April 16th, 2010 - 3:34 am ICT by BNO NewsBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (BNO NEWS) – The United States Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and prison sentence of a former Massachusetts state prosecutor involved in a stolen art case, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Robert M. Mardirosian, 74, of Falmouth, Massachusetts, was sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing stolen property that had crossed a U.S. boundary knowing it to be stolen.
In 1978, seven pieces of valuable artwork were stolen from a Stockbridge home, including the painting “Bouilloire et Fruits” by Cezanne. The alleged thief, David Colvin, left them with Mardirosian, his former attorney. Colvin was murdered four months later.
He stored the stolen paintings in a vault in a Swiss bank in 1988. Mardirosian attempted to sell them in 1999, alerting the London-based Art Loss Register (ALR). Mardirosian demanded $15 million as ransom for the return of the paintings.
Through an intermediary, Mardirosian managed to get a deal to return the most valuable painting, the Cezanne. Concealing his identity through a Panamanian corporation, the Cezanne was handed over in Geneva, Switzerland, in exchange for the owner’s relinquishing all claims to the remaining six paintings. The Cezanne was auctioned in Sotheby’s for $29.3 million.
In 2003, Mardirosian tried again to sell the paintings, this time to Sotheby’s. In 2005, four paintings were sent to Sotheby’s for authentication and sale. The owner field a lawsuit in an effort to void the 1999 agreement.
Eventually the four paintings were returned to his rightful owner. The last two stolen art items were recovered by the FBI and were returned 32 years after the burglary.
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Tags: alr, art case, art loss register, bno, boston massachusetts, burglary, cezanne, court of appeals, david colvin, falmouth massachusetts, geneva switzerland, massachusetts state, panamanian corporation, prison sentence, ransom, sotheby s, state prosecutor, swiss bank, united states court, united states court of appeals