Sweden: 3 men convicted of unnoticed art theft

[December 29, 2010]  STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A Swedish court has convicted three men of stealing a valuable painting by Edvard Munch from a museum that didn't realize it was missing.

The Malmo District Court says the men, who were not identified, were guilty of stealing the Norwegian expressionist's canvas and two works by Swedish artists with a total value of $1.5 million (10 million kronor).

Police found the stolen goods while investigating other crimes.

The Malmo Art Museum had taken down the paintings, including Munch's "Two Friends," earlier this year and placed them in a storeroom. It was not clear when or how the thefts occurred.

The court on Wednesday jailed one of the men for six months, fined the other two and ordered all three to pay damages amounting to 33,000 kronor.

[Associated Press]

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