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A Pablo Picasso lithograph has been found after it was reported stolen in May from a home of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko after an illegal teenage party, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
The Novato, Calif., home's caretaker reported the painting missing the next day. Also stolen were $5,000 worth of computers and candlesticks, the paper reported.
The teens ravaged the nine-bedroom, 19,500-square-foot home before police showed up to break up the gathering.
"They had gotten in and basically ransacked multiple rooms in the house," Novato police Sgt. Eric Riddell told the paper.
The $30,000 lithograph, titled "femme au chignon," was found by a resident leaning against a fence along Burning Tree Drive near the entrance to a trail. Police speculated that it was placed there to be found. The painting is one of 50 that were made in 1957, the paper reported.
Police haven't recovered any of the computers or candlesticks.
Lazarenko is in prison on money laundering charges and is due to be released in November, NBCBayArea.com reported. The home is owned by a holding company that prosecutors have tied to Lazarenko, NBCBayArea.com said.
Lazarenko was appointed prime minister of Ukraine in May 1996 but resigned the next year after a falling out with President Leonid Kuchma. He fled to the U.S. in 1999 and was arrested in New York and eventually transferred to San Francisco, where he was prosecuted on money-laundering and fraud charges.
Marin County, where the home is located, has filed to collect $2.1 million in back taxes and other fees, the paper reported.
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Wow! Maybe the kid(s) who stole it left it there after realizing they could not get away with selling it. Or maybe they just didn't realize the worth. As part of the sentence for money laundering it would sure be nice if Lazarenko would have to give up the Picasso to a museum where many people could enjot it, instead of one greedy crook.
Kinda weird that someone with a Picasso did not have a better security system. How did these teens get into his house. Wish the reporter had more details.
Good thing no dogs were out looking for a fire hydrant.
Never liked his work. Maybe that's why it got left behind ; )
What a coincidence! I found a Monet in the dumpster behind my condo but, sadly, did not have enough wall space left.
Although the man is in prison for fraud and money laundering, it's not exactly a moral victory to have teenagers break into private property to commit theft and property destruction. I just wonder what was on the computers that were stolen.
What is the estimated value of the painting?
Probably where it belonged in the first place...
Picasso was a real con man and had an army of con men to promote his graphic scorn for his lamebrained clientele...
Guess the kid didn't understand what fencing stolen goods actually means ... had to do it
golly, would I have like to put my foot through it!