Stolen Picasso Seized in U.S.

A Picasso painting stolen from a French museum and falsely labeled as a $37 “art craft/toy” was seized at the Port of Newark and is in the process of being returned, according to court papers filed Thursday. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch filed forfeiture papers on the painting, La Coiffeuse, which was taken from France’s National Museum storage in 2001 and had not been seen since it was recovered in December 2014. The Picasso, valued at millions of dollars, was shipped via Federal Express from Belgium and was headed to a climate-controlled facility in Queens, New York. The shipper was only identified as “Robert,” according to officials.