One charge dismissed in art theft case against Watertown lawyer

(File Photo)

The Cezanne painting at the middle of the dispute.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A federal judge today dismissed one of two charges against a former Watertown lawyer who is on trial for allegedly trying to sell paintings he knew were stolen in one of the largest private art thefts in Massachusetts history.

US Chief District Judge Mark L. Wolf threw out a charge of transportation of stolen property against Robert M. Mardirosian because the transfer of four paintings stolen from a house in the Berkshires in 1978 occurred years later between Switzerland and England, and federal statutes do not apply, said Mardirosian's lawyer, Jeanne M. Kempthorne.

Mardirosian still faces a charge of possessing or concealing stolen property. The case is expected to go to a Boston jury later this afternoon. The trial began a week ago.

Mardirosian allegedly tried to sell millions of dollars worth of paintings, including a major work by Cezanne, that were stolen from Michael Bakwin's house in Stockbridge in 1978. The paintings were allegedly stolen by Mardirosian's law client, David Colvin.

Colvin was shot to death in 1979 but left the seven paintings behind in an office loft owned by Mardirosian, who discovered them in 1980, according to court records.

Mardirosian, who was told by Colvin that the paintings were stolen, did not try to return them, but instead had them stored in Switzerland. In 1999, using a shell company and lawyers, Mardirosian handed over the Cezanne in return for title to the six other, much less valuable paintings, according to records and testimony.

Bakwin testified last week that he considered the agreement extortion. But Mardirosian's lawyers have contended that their client wanted only to collect a finder's fee for the paintings.

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