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Former Sommelier Charged With Swiping Art from Swank Hotels

By DNAinfo Staff on December 2, 2011 7:53pm

Mark Lugo, 31, accused of stealing a Picasso drawing from a San Francisco art Gallery.
Mark Lugo, 31, accused of stealing a Picasso drawing from a San Francisco art Gallery.
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SFPD

MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A former sommelier who served time for swiping a Picasso from a San Francisco museum faced a Manhattan judge Friday for allegedly stealing six paintings worth $300,000 from the Carlyle and Chambers hotels.

Mark Lugo, 31, was charged with multiple counts of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property when he appeared before a judge in Manhattan Supreme Court following his extradition from California.

Lugo, who reportedly worked as a sommelier at several high profile New York restaurants including Per Se, was ordered held without bail at his arraignment.

Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast said there were 13 additional expensive paintings found in his Hoboken, N.J. apartment, including a work by Picasso. Investigators are still trying to determine whether those paintings were stolen and where they came from, she said.

Lugo is accused of taking a series called "Pastel on Board" by artist Mie Yim from the Chambers Hotel on West 56th Street as well a piece called "Composition with Mechanical Elements" by Fernand Leger from the Carlyle on East 76th Street, prosecutors said.

"He also has an open bench warrant from case in New Jersey where he's charged with stealing three expensive bottles of wine," Hast said, without specifying the value of the bottles.

Lugo's attorney, James Montgomery, said that the paintings were allegedly stolen during a two month period when Lugo was experiencing personal problems. He would not go into detail but said that Lugo had no plans whatsoever to sell and profit from the paintings. 

"Mr. Lugo is a pleasant, engaging young man who is in a bit of trouble," Montgomery said of his client outside the courtroom.

The accused thief "is a man who had no commercial motive at all in relation to any of the acts alleged," the attorney added.

The actual value of the paintings would have to be "closely investigated" as the case proceeds because prosecutors may have overcharged Lugo based on the stated value of the artwork, he added.

Lugo, who pleaded guilty to the San Francisco theft in October, is expected to return to court on Feb. 7.