US lawyer guilty over stolen art

A retired US lawyer faces up to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of possessing six stolen French expressionist paintings.

Robert Mardirosian, 74, was found guilty of the charges by a federal jury in Boston, Massachusetts.

Prosecutors said a former client of Mardirosian's stole the paintings - now worth an estimated £20m - in 1978.

The thief was later shot dead, and the paintings turned up at Sotheby's auction house in London.

The paintings were returned to their owner, art collector Michael Bakwin, following a legal challenge in the UK courts.

A still life by the French master Paul Cezanne was also stolen at the time, according to prosecutors, but this was returned in 1999 and was not part of the charges against Mardirosian.

Outside court, Mardirosian signalled his intention to appeal against his conviction. He will be sentenced on 18 November.

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