By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — "Portrait of a Girl", a 19th century painting that went missing six weeks ago, spent time in the bushes and a doorman's bathroom before finding its way home, the New York Post reported.
The doorman, Franklin Puentes, told investigators he found the painting a day after art courier Carl Haggerty claimed he got drunk and lost the expensive artwork after showing it to a prospective buyer, the Post said.
According to the Post, Puentes claimed he spent days looking for the rightful owner, before hanging it in his bathroom. After researching how valuable it was and discovering it had been reported missing, Puentes then went to authorities. Investigators believe Puentes is telling the truth, the New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, Haggerty had found himself in a whirlwind of legal trouble. He was sued by Krystyn Trudgeon, one of the painting's owners.
She then withdrew her lawsuit after a day when she learned the painting's co-owner, Thomas Doyle, pleaded guilty to fraud in a similar case in 2007, the Post said.
Authorities charged Doyle with fraud last Thursday.
Puentes, meanwhile, will have to find some new artwork to hang above his toilet.
While authorities sort out the painting's rightful owner, it will remain in their possession.
