U.S. lawyer imprisoned for seven years for possession of stolen paintings by Paul Cezanne
A former lawyer from Massachusetts - 74-year-old Robert Mardirosyan (Robert Mardirosian) - was sentenced to seven years in prison for having kept in his stolen in 1978, the artist's paintings by Paul Cezanne, reports on Wednesday Associated Press.
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According to the investigation, the paintings of Cezanne were stolen from the house the client Mardirosyana Bekuina one Michael (Michael Bakwin) in the town of Stockbridge, and then transferred to a lawyer. Mardirosyan hoard of art until 1988, and then put them in one of the Swiss banks in order to subsequently sell the work at auction in London.
In 1999, reports United Press International, with reference to The Boston Globe, Mardirosyan Bekuinu agreed to return one of the paintings by Paul Cezanne - Still Life "Pitcher and Fruit" ( "Bouilloire et Fruits") - in exchange for recognition of his rights to own the remaining six stolen works of art. Returned Mardirosyanom painting was subsequently sold Bekuinom at Sotheby's for 29.3 million dollars. In 2005 Bekuin filed for a lawyer to court to prevent the sale of the remaining paintings in addition, and in 2007, after the investigation, Mardirosyan was forced to surrender to the authorities.
The elderly offender, the newspaper notes, suffers from dementia. According to the judge, who headed the process, the court took into account this fact, but nonetheless ruled that corresponds to the gravity of the offense.