A Wilmington, Delaware court sentenced a Miami man to 23 months in prison for fraud involved in trying to sell art works that he stole from a Washington gallery:
According to court papers and attorneys, Patmon was inspired by an episode of “Antiques Roadshow” to steal and resell art to regain the lifestyle he lost after a 2001 assault conviction.
Patmon admitted selling a Chagall lithograph and Picasso etching he stole from a Washington gallery in 2007. When he tried to sell Picasso etchings from a Palm Beach, Fla., gallery, a dealer notified police and a Delaware-based federal agent posed as the dealer’s employee.
Florida Man Gets Nearly Two Years in Art Theft, Fraud (Miami Herald/AP)