Who says nothing ever happens in Novato?
Bet you’ll never think about the northern Marin city of Novato in the same way after you read this. Thanks very much to Burbed reader nomadic for this noteworthy news item from the North Bay!
Picasso lithograph stolen from Novato mansion recovered
KTVU.com and Wires, Monday June 11th, 2012
NOVATO, Calif. — A Pablo Picasso lithograph worth $30,000 that was stolen from a Novato mansion owned by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko was recovered Sunday morning, a Novato police sergeant said.
The framed lithograph, titled "Femme au Chignon," was found around 8:20 a.m. propped against a fence along a curb on Burning Tree Drive by neighbors who were driving to a hiking trail, Sgt. Jennifer Welch said.
"It was placed there to be found," Welch said.
The lithograph is believed to have been taken from the furnished but unoccupied residence at 100 Obertz Lane that is owned by Lazarenko, who was serving time in a federal prison in Los Angeles for conspiracy and money laundering.
What a great story! Stolen art, a foreigner with suitcases full of cash, and he’s in jail for not doing a better job hiding the suitcases. Out of control teenfest! But most important: Show-off mansion!
![120616-obertz-satellite[4]](http://www.burbed.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/120616-obertz-satellite4.jpg "120616-obertz-satellite[4]")
Holy crap, this HOUSE has almost a half acre of living space! The tag “ginormous” we use for homes over five thousand square feet simply doesn’t do this one justice. And while Redfin thinks you want the lot size in square feet, Zillow has the sense to translate it into acres: 11.21 of them.
ZEstimate: $5,052,500. Rent ZEstimate: $7,045 a month. That’s a little more house than you can get for that amount in Palo Alto.
Just how many suitcases did the former prime minister have with him? It better have been worth the nine years in prison.
June 17th, 2012 at 6:37 am
When he gets out of jail, Marin county is going to fine him for the color of that pool! Mosquito breeding in progress.
June 17th, 2012 at 9:24 am
“ZEstimate: $5,052,500. Rent ZEstimate: $7,045 a month. That’s a little more house than you can get for that amount in Palo Alto.”
PA better take notice and correct this.
June 17th, 2012 at 10:57 am
No mention of Father’s Day? Well, on behalf of Burbed and the forgetful admin:
To those who are fathers: Happy Father’s Day!
To those who hope to be fathers: Keep trying!
To everyone else: Enjoy the weather, and have a wonderful day!
June 17th, 2012 at 11:00 am
In PA and Atherton, you can find street blocks full of $5M+ houses. It’s hardly worth going to jail for.
June 17th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Foreigner buyers are all over the Silicon Valley market. My realtor says many buyers from Asia like to pay cash.
June 17th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
This $5M+ place has a Rent ZEstimate of only $7,045, so the housing price appreciation must be much better than PA.
June 17th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
The homeowner had a Picasso. Who knows what other artwork was in the house. If he wanted to live large in PA (by PA’s puny standards), he might have had to give up the goodies. Or if not, there certainly would have been much less space to display it.
June 17th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
That’s a nice 11 acres. Overlooks the Marin Country club on one side and greenbelt on the other. Defensible and private.
June 17th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
We’ll wait to hear from The Gilroy Alex as to how defensible this place is.