Family awaits return of painting
Stolen in Sharon, it survived Nazis
SHARON - A man who authorities say stole a cherished heirloom painting from a Sharon family has been arraigned, but what the family really wants - the painting's return - remains elusive.
Steven Zaharoff, 57, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on charges of entering a dwelling for a felony by false pretenses; larceny from a person over age 65; and larceny of property valued at under $250. He was released on personal recognizance. He is expected to return to court on Aug. 5 for a pre-trial conference.
Zaharoff had also pleaded not guilty to similar charges in March in Stoughton District Court.
The family of the late Charles Marks is happy that authorities have a suspect but above all, they say, they want the painting returned to its place as a family heirloom and a reminder of the Holocaust in which their ancestors suffered.
The historic painting's value is in memories, not money, they say. Marks brought the painting from Gemany when his family moved to the United States.
"The only thing that's important to the family is trying to recover the painting," said Mitchell Fitter, a son-in-law of Marks.
"Money's not important, but it has significant ties."
The painting went missing last fall when Marks moved from his Sharon home to a retirement home. Family members weren't sure if it was lost during the move, or accidentally given to charity. Marks died, at age 87, not knowing what happened to it.
Last week, police charged Marks's next-door neighbor with the theft.
According to court documents, Marks's daughter told investigators last fall that her father had given Zaharoff a set of keys to his home, trusting his neighbor to keep an eye on the residence while the Marks stayed in Florida during the winter.
In November, Zaharoff told investigators that he found the painting in the bushes between the two residences and put it in his garage for storage. He said that the garage was broken into a short time later and that the painting was stolen. A report of theft was never filed with police.
He also said he had submitted a photograph of the painting for appraisal to Skinner, Inc., a fine arts auctioneer.
Search warrants for Zaharoff's home and Skinner Inc. supported allegations that the painting had been in Zaharoff's possession and that he was attempting to sell it through Skinner Inc., prosecutors said.
The Marks family did not want to comment on the case this week, they said, out of fear of jeopardizing the prosecution.
The painting was one of the few possessions Marks's family took with them when they fled Berlin at the onslaught of the Holocaust. It was slashed by Nazis on Krystallnacht, or "the night of the broken glass" - the 1938 rampage when Nazis ransacked Jewish homes, slashed paintings, and broke glass throughout the streets. The Marks family salvaged the painting and had it restored. But the spot where it was slashed was still evident. Marks would point at it and tell anyone who would listen of his family's history.
"It's a very significant family heirloom, and it is a piece of history that can be traced back to the whole umbrella that we would consider the Holocaust," said Fitter, whose wife, Barbara, is Charles Marks's daughter. "It's historically significant not only to us but to those who have family members who died in the Holocaust; everyone who escaped death at the hands of Hitler in Nazi Germany."
The painting's value is immeasurable and its unique history makes it fit to hang in a Jewish museum, said Steven M. Greenberg, executive director of the Boston Center for Jewish Heritage Inc. The slash marks, lain across the picture of a gloomy winter landscape, stir memories of one of the darkest nights in history.
"It was just a terrible, terrible night, and there was just so much death and destruction from that night," he told the Globe last fall. "It's certainly one of the terrible days we remember."
"When you talk about the bigger frame, it's a very significant historical piece of art," Fitter said.
Milton Valencia can be reached at valencia@globe.com. Manny Veiga can be reached at mveiga@globe.com. 