New Jersey man arrested due to Picasso theft in San Francisco

New Jersey man arrested due to Picasso theft in San Francisco

2011-07-09 02:30:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

SAN FRANCISCO (BNO NEWS) -- San Francisco police on Thursday announced the arrest of a New Jersey man in possession of the missing Picasso drawing, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday.

Mark Lugo, 30, a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey, was detained for the theft of Pablo Picasso's "Tête de Femme" (Head of a Woman) from the Union Square gallery last Tuesday.

The suspect flew from New York City, where he worked in high-end restaurants, to San Francisco on July 4. The next day he walked into the gallery and stole the Pablo Picasso pencil drawing from the wall, according to the police.

Lugo was arrested at about 9:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Police found the Picasso drawing ready for shipment at an apartment complex in Napa, where he was staying with local friends.

Police Chief Greg Suhr told the Chronicle that the frame that held the drawing at the gallery was not found but otherwise, the artwork "was undamaged." It is believed that Lugo acted alone on the theft of the $200,000-valued drawing.

Lugo's friends were not arrested as police determined they were unaware of his alleged scheme. Before the arrest, Lugo was recorded by a security camera of a local restaurant moments after the theft.

The footage showed a man in a dark jacket walking on the sidewalk with a framed artwork under his left arm, partly covered with a newspaper. Police confirmed Thursday that the man was Lugo.

"Tête de Femme," also kown as "Jacqueline," was drawn by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in 1965. It is a portrait of the artist's second wife who became the most important of all his Muses and models.

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