By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A former employee of an art-storage business in suburban St. Louis will serve two years in prison for conspiring to steal millions of dollars worth of works by artists including Picasso and Matisse.
Forty-four-year-old Donald Rasch of University City apologized before being sentenced yesterday.
Rasch and another former employee of the now-defunct Fine Arts Express, Biron Valier Junior, pleaded guilty earlier to conspiring to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce.
They're accused of stealing paintings, prints and sculptures in 2002. Prosecutors said the men claimed to own the art when they sold it in 2003 and 2004.
The 133 pieces are valued at up to $4 million.