[MSN] 3 people accused of trying to sell stolen Goya painting are charged in Montenegro

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

3 people accused of trying to sell stolen Goya painting are charged in Montenegro
The Associated Press

Published: October 8, 2006
PODGORICA, Montenegro Three people accused of trying to sell a stolen painting by Spanish master Francisco de Goya were charged in Montenegro Sunday with illegal possession of a stolen painting.
 
There was not enough evidence against the three — identified as Dejan Mugosa, Goran Mugosa and Arsenije Kalezic — to charge them with stealing the painting, said organized crime prosecutor Stojanka Radovic. They face from five to 10 years in prison if convicted.
 
The painting, the size of a sheet of letter paper, was stolen in Turin, Italy, in 2001 by a thief who sneaked it past security during an exhibition in the Torino-Esposizione gallery in the northern Italian town.
 
The painting was found during a raid in Montenegro last year. No other details about the case have been released.
 
Titled "Count Ugolino della Gherardesca," the painting shows Count Ugolino, also known as the Cannibal Count, in the company of two boys.
 
Ugolino was depicted in Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," imprisoned in the tower of Pisa in 1289, starving and compelled to eat the flesh of his deceased sons and grandsons.
 
The painting was initially bought as anonymous work from a private collector in 1999 for US$250, but experts later attributed it to Goya. It was insured for more than US$500,000.
 
 
PODGORICA, Montenegro Three people accused of trying to sell a stolen painting by Spanish master Francisco de Goya were charged in Montenegro Sunday with illegal possession of a stolen painting.
 
There was not enough evidence against the three — identified as Dejan Mugosa, Goran Mugosa and Arsenije Kalezic — to charge them with stealing the painting, said organized crime prosecutor Stojanka Radovic. They face from five to 10 years in prison if convicted.
 
The painting, the size of a sheet of letter paper, was stolen in Turin, Italy, in 2001 by a thief who sneaked it past security during an exhibition in the Torino-Esposizione gallery in the northern Italian town.
 
The painting was found during a raid in Montenegro last year. No other details about the case have been released.
 
Titled "Count Ugolino della Gherardesca," the painting shows Count Ugolino, also known as the Cannibal Count, in the company of two boys.
 
Ugolino was depicted in Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," imprisoned in the tower of Pisa in 1289, starving and compelled to eat the flesh of his deceased sons and grandsons.
 
The painting was initially bought as anonymous work from a private collector in 1999 for US$250, but experts later attributed it to Goya. It was insured for more than US$500,000.

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