Lawyer sentenced in art theft

BOSTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A retired 74-year-old lawyer with early dementia has been sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing stolen art by a federal judge in Boston.

Robert M. Mardirosian was sentenced Monday for possessing paintings stolen in the largest private art theft in Massachusetts history, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf acknowledged Mardirosian has dementia but said it was crucial the sentencing be a warning to other lawyers to resist crime.

Mardirosian was convicted last August of taking Impressionist paintings allegedly stolen by a client, now deceased, and storing them in Switzerland. Seven paintings were stolen in 1978 from the Stockbridge home of Michael Bakwin.

In 1999, Mardirosian returned a Cezanne called "Bouilloire et Fruits" in exchange for Bakwin giving him title to the other six stolen paintings. Bakwin, who testified he considered it extortion but want the Cezanne back, then auctioned the Cezanne at Sotheby's for $29.3 million, the Globe reported.

In 2005, Bakwin sued Sotheby's of London to stop Mardirosian from auctioning the remaining paintings and after a federal investigation, Mardirosian surrendered to authorities last year.