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Pierre Le Guennec, 75, a retired electrician, and his wife
Danielle, 71, were given a suspended sentence of two years in
prison for handling stolen goods. They were also ordered to hand
over the 271 works, estimated at between 60-120 million euros
($64-$128 million), to the heirs of Picasso, who died in 1973.
Le Guennec, employed by Picasso in his last home in Mougins in
southeast France, told the court in Grasse that Jacqueline
Picasso offered him the box containing unsigned collages,
sketches and paintings with the consent of her husband in either
1971 or 1972.
"One night, Madame called me in the hallway as I was leaving and
told me, 'This is for you'," he testified.
The box sat in Le Guennec's garage for nearly 40 years before
the couple brought it to Paris to be appraised in 2010. After
the discovery of the cache, Picasso's heirs contacted
authorities who opened an investigation.
One of Picasso's sons, Claude Ruiz Picasso, said he was
satisfied with the ruling and said the collection, believed to
have been created between 1900 and 1932, included important
works and could now be exhibited.
"He's got a lot of cheek to try and make us swallow this story,"
Maya Picasso, one of the artist's daughters, told reporters.
($1 = 0.9362 euros)
(Writing By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Ingrid Melander)
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