[MSN] Part of the art collection of the priest murdered by thieves about a decade ago found in Lithuania

[MSN]

Part of the art collection of the priest murdered by thieves about a decade
ago found in Lithuania

Vilnius, February 14, Interfax - Officers of Lithuanian General Prosecutor's
Office and criminal police in the course of their operation found pictures
from the collection of the poet, art works collector and Catholic priest
Ricardas Mikutavicius murdered about a decade ago.

The case of the priest murder and theft of his collection was considered in
court in 2001. The crime organizer, art trader from Kaunas Vladas Beleckas
(Vladimir Stupakov, before he had changed his name) was sentenced to life
imprisonment, and his three accomplices got from 13 to 20 year of prison.

Father Ricardas lived in Kaunas, and was kidnapped on July 1, 1998. Before
stealing his collection, members of the criminal gang tried to suffocate
him, and then put him into metal gauze and drowned him in the river of Neman
while he was still alive. After a few weeks his body surfaced, but it was
impossible to identify. Later, the priest's grave was opened in the course
of investigation of this criminal case, and he was reburied with honours.

A part of the stolen collection was found in March 1999 (the total
collection value was estimated at $2 to 4 million). Later, another three
pictures from the collection were detected due to joint efforts of law
enforcement bodies of Lithuania, Germany and Great Britain, but almost half
of the collection is still missing.