NOVATO, Calif. – Picasso lithograph stolen when about 100 teens broke into and partied at the abandoned California mansion of an imprisoned former Ukrainian prime minister was discovered Tuesday by the side of a nearby road.
The 1957 print -- titled "Femme au chignon" and worth about $40,000 -- was missing after the illegal May 27 party at the palatial and secluded home of Pavlo Lazarenko, along with candlesticks, computers and clothing, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
Lazarenko is serving time in a federal prison for hiding money in the US. He is wanted in the Ukraine for allegedly embezzling $200 million from the country's government and is believed to have been involved in the murder of two officials.
Marin County resident Greg Atamaniuk discovered the lithograph propped up against a tree Tuesday as he set off for a hike near Lazarenko's nine-bedroom mansion.
"It's something that you don't find usually on your morning hikes," he said.
He handed it in to police.
Lazarenko is being held in a low-security prison near Los Angeles, and is set to be released in November.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox
