MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A former sommelier at top restaurants in the city pleaded guilty to stealing more than $350,000 in art from the Carlyle and Chambers hotels on Tuesday and is expected to be sentenced to one to three years in prison.
Mark Lugo, 31, admitted to swiping paintings from hotels on separate occasions in June 2011 He is expected to be sentenced to prison on Feb. 28.
Lugo, who previously served time for admittedly stealing a Picasso in San Francisco, admitted to taking a series called "Pastel on Board" by artist Mie Yim from the Chambers Hotel on West 56th Street on Tuesday, according to prosecutors.
He also said he took a piece called "Composition with Mechanical Elements" by Fernand Leger from the Carlyle Hotel on East 76th Street, prosecutors said.
Lugo, of Hoboken, N.J., reportedly worked at BLT Fish and other high profile restaurants. He has been held without bail since his arraignment in December.