United States First Circuit

Conviction of defendant for possessing, concealing or storing six stolen paintings, including a rare Cezanne valued at $29 million, is affirmed where: 1) the 1999 Agreement had no bearing on the "stolen" character of the paintings as the agreement was void ab initio as a contract for an illegal purpose; 2) the jury's finding that defendant knew the paintings were stolen at some point after taking possession of them was sufficient to satisfy 18 U.S.C. section 2315's mens rea requirement; 3) district court did not err in instructing the jury that the Agreement did not provide defendant with viable mens rea defense to the charge; and 4) district court's use of Cezanne's 1999 auction price in its calculation of loss was not clearly erroneous.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/14/2010
• Published 04/14/2010

Judges

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel