MIAMI, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Authorities say no charges have been filed, but they are still looking at an elderly Miami man who allegedly tried to sell a stash of stolen paintings.
The man, who identified himself as Jorge S. Villalba, was detained and questioned last week as he met with a Coral Gables art dealer to discuss the sale of seven paintings for $85,000.
The paintings were Cuban modernist works that were among 32 paintings reported stolen from a Miami storage unit last month.
Gallery owner Ramon Cernuda told the Miami Herald that he agreed to meet with Villalba on Friday to discuss the proposed sale and tipped police, who took the 78-year-old Cuban exile and a female companion into custody.
Villalba allegedly told Cernuda he was representing a New York art dealer who had about 100 paintings for sale.
The Herald said Sunday that the lot included the 1969 work "Ravanet" by Domingo Ravanet; however, Cernuda told the newspaper he thought four of the paintings were forgeries.
