Man who stole Picasso sketch sentenced

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SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A former New York City wine sommelier has pleaded guilty to walking out of a San Francisco gallery with a Pablo Picasso sketch under his arm.

Mark Lugo was sentenced to 16 months in state prison Thursday, with credit for time already served, as part of a plea agreement. He will be sent to New York in November to face additional theft charges, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

Lugo was arrested in San Francisco July 6, the day after he stole a 1965 Picasso sketch, "Tete de Femme (Head of a Woman)," from the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco.

A police raid on Lugo's apartment in Hoboken, N.J., following his arrest turned up 11 pieces of art allegedly stolen from galleries and hotels in Manhattan, including a Picasso etching from 1933, a Jean-Michel Basquiat photo and a Fernand Leger sketch. The art was estimated to be worth about $500,000, the newspaper said.

He had been charged in April with stealing three bottles of wine worth $6,000 from a store in New Jersey.