SAN FRANCISCO — Convicted art thief Luke Brugnara escaped from the San Francisco federal courthouse in the lead-up to his 2015 trial. But during arguments Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Brugnara seemed unlikely to escape the seven-year sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge William Alsup after a bizarre and often chaotic jury trial.
Once a successful real estate investor, Brugnara defended himself at trial against accusations that he conned a New York art dealer into sending him works valued at $11 million that he didn’t intend to purchase, including a purported Edgar Degas sculpture and a group of Pablo Picasso etchings. Brugnara also faced charges in connection with his escape from federal custody, which resulted in a six-day fugitive hunt.
