[MSN] Prosecutor demands 6 years for man suspected of Hermitage theft.

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Prosecutor demands 6 years for man suspected of Hermitage theft

13.03.2007, 18.32

  
 ST PETERSBURG, March 13 (Itar-Tass) - The prosecutor for the state demanded
that Nikolai Zavadsky, a defendant in the criminal case over the theft of
artworks from the Hermitage museum, be sentenced to six years in a general
regime penal settlement. 

The theft damaged the prestige of the museum and the whole country, the
prosecutor said. 

The Dzerzhinsky district court of St. Petersburg is expected to return a
verdict for Zavadsky on March 15. 

The prosecutor also urged the court to issue a statement instructing the
Hermitage administration to eliminate the faults in museum security and
storing of artworks. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the court questioned Zavadsky which formally ended the
inquest. 

Zavadsky, history teacher of a city college and husband of a late Hermitage
curator, is suspected of involvement in the theft and sale of stolen pieces.


The Prosecutor General's Office accuses him of stealing 77 artworks worth 15
million roubles. 

Antique dealers confirmed at the trial that late Hermitage curator Larisa
Zavadskaya and her husband Nikolai had visited their shops. 

The whole collection stolen from the Hermitage costs more than 140 million
roubles. 

It follows from antiquarians' testimonies that the stolen pieces were sold
at prices far below their real value. 

Zavadsky's wife Larisa, a Hermitage curator, died of a heart attack after
the mass media highlighted the exposed theft. 

Meanwhile, investigators continue the probe into the main criminal case over
the theft from the Hermitage, separated from Zavadsky's. 

Efforts are made to identify and charge all those implicated in the crime.
The search continues for the missing artworks. As many as 31 exhibits have
already been restored to the Hermitage. 

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