[MSN] Canada. Myriam Bedard's boyfriend sentenced to 6 months in jail

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Myriam Bedard's boyfriend sentenced to 6 months in jail
Irwin Block, The Gazette
Published: Friday, June 29, 2007

Nima Mazhari, denounced as a manipulator by a Quebec court judge, has been sentenced to six months in jail for stealing some 20 paintings from the late Ghitta-Caiserman Roth.

 Justice Wilbrod Claude Decarie yesterday rejected the defence argument that Mazhari, artist boyfriend of Olympic medal biathlete Myriam Bdard, should   do 100 hours of community work. Crown attorney Mario Dufresne had asked for 12 to 18 months in jail.

Using harsh language, Decarie said Mazhari, 52, merited a jail sentence because he showed no remorse and displayed "contempt and arrogance toward the judicial system."

Mazhari, wearing a black shirt, black jeans, and sandals, and carrying a leather bag, clasped his hands and listened intently in the prisoner's as Decarie read his ruling. He has no previous convictions, here or in his native Iran.

He is on social welfare and was not asked to pay for the stolen property.

As for his proclaimed innocence under oath, Decarie asked, "we wonder what planet he is living on?"

Mazhari insisted the charges resulted from a plot by Bdard's family with the connivance of police.

Acrylic paintings and etchings were removed Dec. 26, 2001 from the St. Laurent Blvd. studio Mazhari shared with Caiserman-Roth from July 1999 to December 2001.

As for Bdard's denial of having had some of the works even when shown photographs of them hanging in her apartment, the judge blamed Mazhari.

"Only the hold that Mazhari had over Myriam Bedard can explain her testimony, which can only be described as surreal."

She was never charged for her role in the theft.

The works, which have never been recovered, were valued at almost $100,000.

They disappeared after Caiserman-Roth evicted him from her house on Jeanne Mance St., where he was living, and before a friend removed her works from the her studio.

Det.-Sgt. Alain Lacoursiere, the Surete du Quebec's art expert who investigated the theft,  said the works would be impossible to sell on the open market or to a private collector.

Kathe Roth, Caiserman-Roth's  daughter, said she was "very happy" with the guilty verdict and "happy" about the six-month jail term.

"The most important thing would have been my mother's works, which Mr. Mazhari may know where (they are)."

As for what her mother might have said about the sentence, "I think she would also have said the most important thing would have been to have the paintings back.

"They are part of the heritage of Canadian art."

Asked if she has hope of seeing them again, Roth said, "I don't think I will, but I could be surprised."

A dejected looking Bdard left the court house without comment.

Yves Gratton, Mazhari's lawyer, indicated he planned to appeal.

iblock at thegazette.canwest.com
http://www.canada.com