Lawyer is sentenced in stolen art case

Retired lawyer Robert M. Mardirosian was sentenced yesterday in US District Court to seven years in prison for possessing and trying to sell paintings stolen from a Stockbridge home in 1978, one of the largest art heists in state history. Mardirosian, 74, of Falmouth, also received three years of supervised release and a $100,000 fine. The art was returned to its owner, Michael Bakwin, who sold the most valuable, a Cezanne still life, for $29.3 million at an auction. (AP)

The Patrick administration is spending $8 million to create eight new regional homeless networks to help find permanent housing for people living in shelters and on the street. The move is part of the state's push to virtually end homelessness in five years. Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray said yesterday the money would help organizations across the state work together to ease pressure on emergency shelters. One goal is to intercept families on the verge of homelessness and offer them support before they end up on the street. The spending comes despite new warnings that state revenues could plunge by another $749 million. Murray defended the initiative, saying that in the long run it will save the state money. (AP)

Police forced their way into the Dorchester apartment of a murder suspect yesterday, but he was gone - and investigators are seeking the public's help in finding him. Steven Odegard, 41, is wanted in the Jan. 17 stabbing death of Daniel Yakovleff. Prosecutors say Yakovleff, 20, was found dead of multiple stab wounds in Odegard's bed in an apartment on Tuttle Street. Suffolk prosecutors led a grand jury investigation for 11 months that included testimony from 16 witnesses. Jake Wark, a spokesman for the district attorney, said Odegard's lawyer, John Swomley, told police he will advise his client to surrender. Swomley didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Police are asking anyone with information on Odegard's whereabouts to contact homicide detectives at 617-343-4770, the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 800-494-TIPS, or to text the word "TIP" to CRIME (27463).

A 22-bed psychiatric unit at Whidden Hospital in Everett will stop accepting patients today and close by Jan. 2, said Doug Bailey, spokesman for Cambridge Health Alliance, which includes facilities in Cambridge and Somerville. Bailey said the psychiatric unit closure was not directly related to steep state budget cuts the hospital chain is facing. Bailey said administrators hope the closing will be temporary but are uncertain when the unit might reopen. He said about 40 employees who work in the unit will not be laid off.

US Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island says his famous cousin is qualified to hold a seat in the US Senate. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, recently told political leaders in New York that she is interested in filling the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. President-elect Barack Obama has named Clinton as his choice for secretary of state. During an appearance yesterday, Patrick Kennedy told WPRO-AM that his cousin is steeped in politics and has more experience in public life than almost anyone he knows. Caroline Kennedy is president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and a director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. She has raised millions of dollars for New York City schools. (AP)

A Westfield teenager has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and drunken driving charges stemming from a crash that killed a Westfield High School student. The Republican newspaper of Springfield reported yesterday that Alexander Merkulov, 17, was released on personal recognizance and ordered to return to court for a Feb. 20 pretrial conference. Police said Merkulov lost control of his vehicle on a curve and struck a tree in Westfield, killing Carlos Montes de Oca, 16, and injuring three others on Nov. 23. (AP)