 Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga in 1881 and died in 1973 |
A removal man who stole two drawings by Pablo Picasso from the New York flat of a man who had recently died has been sentenced to five years' probation. Nahum "Nino" Kohen admitted taking the drawings some time after art collector William Kingsland died in 2006.
Mr Kohen was hired to move the belongings from Mr Kingsland's Manhattan apartment to a warehouse.
The black-and-white sketches of a mandolin and a guitar were worth more than $60,000 (�29,500) each.
Auction attempt
Mr Kingsland did not leave a will so Mr Kohen was hired to move his items by the Manhattan government department which handles the estates of those who leave no will and have no known relatives.
The department later discovered the Picassos, which had been photographed and added to an inventory, were missing from Mr Kingsland's extensive art collection.
FBI agents also realised that a Manhattan art broker had tried to sell one of the drawings at an auction.
It was traced back to Mr Kohen's mother-in-law, Ori Lellouch, and the sketches were then retrieved from her.
Mr Kohen pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree grand larceny in exchange for his five-year probation period.
Prosecutor Jennifer Kushnor said Mr Kohen was granted the plea deal because he had no previous convictions and the Picassos were recovered undamaged.
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