[MSN] Canada. Bedard's boyfriend says appeal likely after being found guilty of art theft.

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Bedard's boyfriend says appeal likely after being found guilty of art theft 

Tue, 2007-06-05 20:06 
National News 
By: SIDHARTHA BANERJEE

MONTREAL (CP) - A jury found the boyfriend of Olympic champion Myriam Bedard
guilty of art theft on Tuesday but Nima Mazhari says he will appeal.

Mazhari was convicted Tuesday of stealing 20 paintings from the late Ghitta
Caiserman-Roth between 2001 and 2003. He was also found guilty of possession
of stolen goods worth $100,000. A jury of 10 women and two men deliberated
for two days before returning the verdict.

The normally talkative Mazhari offered brief answers after being surrounded
by reporters while he waited for a city bus outside the Montreal courthouse.

Mazhari called the verdict "ridiculous" and said he fully expected to be
acquitted of all charges.

The crimes came to light when Caiserman-Roth's daughter received a letter
from Bedard's estranged father in 2004 accusing him of the theft.

Mazhari called the allegations ridiculous and said his problems started
after Bedard testified at the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal. He
denied stealing the paintings.

The three-week trial was tinged with elements of a family feud as Bedard
family members and friends of the Olympian testified about their dislike of
Mazhari and his influence over Bedard. Mazhari said the same about the
Bedard family, calling them unreliable and his association with them a big
mistake.

Bedard's father, Pierre, told the jury that he would have never sent the
letter if he'd been able to rekindle a relationship with his daughter, who
had ignored his phone calls for about a year.

Pierre Bedard told French news network LCN in an interview that he is happy
the entire ordeal is over, but doesn't expect the rocky relationship with
his daughter will change.

Crown prosecutor Mario Dufresne said he was pleased with the verdict.
Mazhari's lawyer, Yves Gratton declined to comment.

Mazhari said he was surprised by the verdict but that he felt good, "as
always." He would not say whether he has the financial means to pay a fine.
Mazhari was represented by a legal aid lawyer.

Bedard, who has been by Mazhari's side all through the court proceedings,
was not with him on Tuesday. She has her own legal issues to deal with and
is due in a Quebec City court this month to set a date for her own trial on
child abduction charges.

Bedard and Mazhari dominated news coverage at the end of last year after a
Canada-wide warrant was issued for her arrest on charges of abducting her
11-year-old daughter and taking her to Washington D.C., in violation of a
custody agreement with the girl's father.

Bedard won two gold medals in the biathlon at the 1994 Olympics.

Caiserman-Roth died in 2005.

http://www.cjad.com/node/538144

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