[MSN] Canada. Bedard's boyfriend tells jury that he misjudged Olympian girlfriend's family

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Bedard's boyfriend tells jury that he misjudged Olympian girlfriend's family
May 29, 2007 - 19:54

By: SIDHARTHA BANERJEE

MONTREAL (CP) - The boyfriend of Olympic champion Myriam Bedard told his theft trial Tuesday that he was a good friend to the artist he is accused of robbing but never should have trusted his girlfiend's family.

Nima Mazhari says his biggest mistake was assuming Bedard's family was as reliable as her when they agreed to go into business together in Quebec City.

"They were not reliable people," Mazhari told the jury. "They'd rather spend their time riding on the bike paths rather than working."

Mazhari is accused of stealing 20 paintings by Ghitta Caiserman-Roth between 2001 and 2003 and is charged with theft and possession of stolen goods worth a total of $100,000.

The trial has been tinged with elements of a family feud as Bedard family members and friends of the Olympian have all testified of their dislike of Mazhari and his questionable influence on Myriam Bedard.

Bedard's father testified last week that he would never have sent an anonymous letter to Caiserman-Roth's daughter in January 2004 if he had been able to rekindle a relationship with Myriam, who had ignored him for a year.

The letter led to the criminal charges against Mazhari.

Marzhari fired back on Tuesday.

He described how he and Myriam Bedard had moved to Quebec City in 2002 with plans of starting up a small business and purchasing real estate.

Mazhari said the family had agreed to help run their 50-seat coffee shop in Quebec City but Myriam Bedard's father and other family members pulled out quickly, leaving the couple stuck with a three-year lease and all other costs.

The cafe was only open 34 weeks, Mazhari said.

"I only knew Myriam, I didn't know her family," Mazhari testified, calling his assumptions about the Bedard family a huge error of judgment. "For me, Myriam is an angel. I could always count on her."

Mazhari also said he had an excellent relationship with Caiserman-Roth before she suddenly became very ill in November 2001.

Mazhari had lived in her Montreal home and shared a studio with her until December 2001, when they parted ways. Even after the separation, he continued to help her by taking her to hospital appointments. He saw her last in April 2002 and Caiserman-Roth died in 2005.

Mazhari couldn't say whether he'd personally seen any of her paintings, photos of which were deposited as evidence.

"I saw a lot of her paintings," Mazhari told the 10-woman and two-man jury. "I can't say if I had specifically seen one."

But when Superior Court Justice Wilbrod Decarie asked whether a signature at the bottom of one of her paintings meant an artist considered it her work, Mazhari answered yes.

"But I don't know why she signed it," he said about one painting of sunflowers. "For an artist the calibre of Ghitta, it was the work of a beginner."

He told the jury Caiserman-Roth liked his "dominant and masculine" character and that he inspired an intellectual exchange that changed her paintings.

The trial continues Wednesday.

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