French Man Pleads Guilty in Art Heist
An elaborate year-long investigation nets a French art smuggler.
July 11, 2008— -- A French citizen pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell four valuable paintings stolen from a Nice, France, art museum last year in a high-profile heist that led investigators from Europe to Florida and back again.
Bernard Jean Ternus— who faces a maximum federal prison sentence of up to 15 years for the crime and a related charge of visa fraud -- admitted that he and his co-conspirators tried to sell the stolen paintings to undercover agents from the FBI and the French National Police.
"The FBI agents and French National Police officers are to be commended," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hunter. "Their close cooperation resulted in the simultaneous apprehension on two continents of numerous subjects and the recovery of all four stolen masterpieces. These agents and officers showed, once again, that art theft does not pay, and those who try to sell stolen art will be caught and prosecuted."
Ternus's attorney, Richard Birkenwald, refused to comment on the case.
The paintings stolen from the Museum of Fine Arts in Nice, France, include two well-known impressionist works: Claude Monet's "Cliffs Near Dieppe" and Alfred Sisley's "The Lane of Poplars at Moret." The other two, "Allegory of Earth" and "Allegory of Water" were painted by the 17th century Flemish painter Jan Brueghel the Elder.
The August 2007 heist made headlines, not only for the value of the paintings stolen, but for the audacity of the theft.
According to newspaper reports, it only took 10 minutes for five armed and masked men wearing jumpsuits to steal four paintings and damage a fifth that they were unable to carry. The theft of the paintings, valued at $6.3 million, took place in broad daylight.
The elaborate investigation that landed Ternus in jail lasted almost a year, spanned three countries, and involved the cooperation of five national and international crime-fighting organizations.
Related Stories
ABC News Live