BOSTON, MA.- A federal grand jury indicted a retired Massachusetts attorney on charges of possessing, transporting and attempting to sell stolen goods that had crossed United States borders, in connection with seven pieces of art stolen in 1978 from a Stockbridge home - believed to be the largest burglary from a private residence in Massachusetts history.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New England, announced that Robert R. Mardirosian, 72, of 9 Highwood Lane, Falmouth, Massachusetts, and St. Paul de Vence, France, was charged in an indictment with one count of possession of stolen goods, one count of sale of stolen goods, and one count of transportation of stolen property. Additionally, the indictment also seeks the forfeiture of six of the stolen paintings - the seventh painting, a Cezanne, was returned to the owner in 1999.

Mardirosian was arrested on February 13, 2007, in connection with today’s charges as he disembarked a flight from France at Boston’s Logan International Airport. He was later released from federal custody pending the outcome of the case.

On Memorial Day weekend in 1978, seven pieces of valuable artwork, including the Cezanne painting, “Pitcher and Fruits,” were stolen from a home in Stockbridge. According to the Indictment and documents previously filed with the Court, Mardirosian, now retired, practiced law in Massachusetts from the 1960's until 1995. It is alleged that Mardirosian has secretly held the stolen paintings since 1978 after the alleged thief, David Colvin, whom Mardirosian represented in another case, left them with him. Colvin was killed in a dispute with gambling debt collectors in 1979 at his home in Pittsfield.

It is alleged that Mardirosian maintained possession of the stolen artwork in Massachusetts until 1988, when he moved the paintings to Monaco and later to a Swiss bank for safekeeping. It is alleged that Mardirosian intended to return the stolen paintings to their owner in exchange for a finder’s fee or 10% of their value. According to the affidavit, Mardirosian was able to keep his possession of the paintings secret by working through lawyers in London, Monaco and Switzerland, as well as a Panamanian shell company he created, Erie International Trading Co. (Erie).

It is alleged that using the cover of the Panamanian shell company in 1999, Mardirosian attempted to sell the stolen paintings in London. However, an investigation by the Art Loss Register (ALR) determined that the artwork was stolen. ALR is a London-based company that maintains a comprehensive database of stolen artwork. Auction houses, such as Sotheby’s, retain ALR’s services when performing due diligence on artwork to be auctioned.

ALR alerted the Stockbridge owner that his stolen paintings had surfaced and ultimately, on October 15, 1999, brokered a “contract” between the owner and Erie, whereby Erie handed over the most valuable painting, the Cezanne, in exchange for the owner’s relinquishing all claims to the remaining six pieces of artwork. At the time, the six paintings were given a total value of approximately $1 million. Two months later in December, the owner auctioned the Cezanne through Sotheby’s in London for $29.3 million - it had been purchased by the owner’s mother for $500,000 in 1963.

In November 2004, Sotheby’s was contacted by Paul Palandjian of Belmont, seeking to have the auction house sell four paintings for his client. After taking possession of the four paintings, Sotheby’s was informed by ALR that the paintings were among the six remaining stolen Stockbridge paintings. The owner thereafter filed suit in the English courts against Sotheby’s and Erie claiming that the 1999 “contract” he entered into with Erie was void because it had been signed under duress. Ultimately in December 2005, the British court found in favor of the Stockbridge owner ruling that the 1999 “contract” was void. The Court also revealed that the client for whom Palandjian was trying to sell the four stolen paintings was Mardirosian.

According to a search warrant affidavit, Palandjian told investigators that in December 2003, Mardirosian asked him to help in selling the remaining six stolen paintings. Palandjian agreed to do so for a commission. After beginning to make arrangements with Sotheby’s to sell the paintings at auction, Palandjian flew to Geneva, Switzerland and received the six remaining paintings from Mardirosian’s friend, Henri Klein, who had been holding them for Mardirosian. Palandjian had them brought to a Swiss bank for storage, until April 2005, when he arranged for four of the six paintings to be shipped from Geneva to Sotheby’s in London - after which the owner filed his suit seeking to void the 1999 “contract” with Erie. The remaining two paintings were returned to Klein.

The four paintings, “Portrait d’une Jeune Fille” and “Portrait d’un Jeune Homme” by Chaim Soutine, “Maison Rouge” by Maurice Utrillo, and “Flowers” by Maurice de Vlaminck remain in the custody of Sotheby’s Auction house. The remaining two stolen paintings, “Woman Seated” and “Boy” by Jean Jansen are believed to be in the possession of Henri Klein in Switzerland. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of all six pieces of stolen artwork.

If convicted, Mardirosian faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the charges.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Art Loss Registry. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Mitchell in Sullivan’s Economic Crimes Unit. The forfeiture part of the case is being handled by Kristina Barclay, Chief of Sullivan’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.