Did lawyer Marcel Baldo, nearly 66 and nearly forty years behind the bar, ask one of his oldest clients and friends, a kleptomaniac and drug addict, to steal a statue of a famous artist for him? “Never”, tries to explain the great art lover, the figure of the Seine-Saint-Denis bar, which cooked this Wednesday, November 12 for more than two hours in front of the judges of the 14th penitentiary of Paris.
He appeared for receiving stolen goods and money laundering, an amount of 50,000 euros in cash was found in his possession. “I made no profit. My life was ruined,” said the criminal lawyer, shoulders drooping, on trial more than eight years after the incident.
With the theft of a bronze by the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero at the Bartoux gallery, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré (Paris 8), on November 4, 2017, the decline of this famous criminal lawyer began. The statue numbered “Maternity” was then offered at a selling price of 425,000 euros.
Therefore, the Bandit Repression Brigade (BRB) “36”, PJ Paris, was in charge of the investigation. Investigators did not take long to identify the thief who left the gallery carrying the 15 kg bronze in his arms, as seen in CCTV images.
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“I told him he was crazy, he would take a lot of money”
In police custody, Bruno Ordon, with 23 mentions on his criminal record for aggravated theft, immediately explained that he had given Botero to Marcel Baldo, the same night the theft occurred. “When he told me what he had stolen, I told him he was crazy, that he was going to take a lot of money. He panicked,” explained Marcel Baldo, in a blue-gray turtleneck and light jeans.
According to the story, Ordon warned him that he would destroy the work with a sledgehammer, bury it, or throw it into a canal. “I told him that if his job was lost, he would take the maximum penalty. He started whining, asking me to get him out of there. I showed weakness. »
Marcel Baldo assured that he agreed to keep the statue while he returned it. Finally he was found with his criminal lawyer friend, in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), three weeks later. Baldo explains that he dropped him off there after learning that Bruno Ordon was in police custody.
“Excessive crust”
“I had to go through a tax audit and a divorce. I felt so overwhelmed. I panicked. » But the art collector categorically denied having placed an order. “Otherwise, I would have told him not to steal any numbered works. It can’t be sold. It’s like buying a stolen Bugatti with its original license plate. » Prosecutor Benjamin Coulon replied: “And if your intention was not to resell it, but to keep it? »
At the home and office of Marcel Baldo, in Sevran, investigators will confiscate a pre-Columbian statue estimated at 6,500 euros, also stolen by Bruno Ordon, on 13 October 2017 at the Furstenberg gallery (Paris VI). “He wanted to give it to me as a thank you, because I often helped him. When he opened it on the living room table, I thought it was worthless. I don’t know anything about pre-Columbian art. »
The investigation determined that Bruno Ordon had stolen the bronze again, on 22 October 2017, from the Hélène Bailly gallery (Paris VIII). “Lioness head on plaque”, by Diego Giacometti (Alberto’s brother), sold for 35,000 euros. “I don’t know anything about that. In fact, it’s an excessive crust,” scoffed Bruno Ordon, with his mischievous tone rising to a high pitch. “Of the three Giacometti brothers, he wasn’t the best,” he joked.
Me Thomas Klotz, attorney for a gallery, argued instead that the defendant was not devoid of “taste.” “There is coherence” in the series of thefts, he stressed.
“A chance in twelve that it’s the only one”
Bruno Ordon explained that Marcel Baldo refused to buy it because he thought it was ugly. To a small trader in Saint-Ouen he resold it, “for a gram or two of coke,” he said, sitting in front of his adviser, Mr. Jacques Semionoff. Until now, this bronze has never been found. Marcel Baldo was not charged on these facts.
On the other hand, he had to take responsibility for the concealment of another work, which was found in a chest of drawers in his bedroom. The sculpture by Guy Geymann — a ferret and a bird — was stolen by Bruno Ordon at the Saint-Ouen flea market on March 27, 2017. “I bought it for 200 euros at the flea market,” argued Marcel Baldo. There are twelve copies of this work. So, there’s a one in twelve chance that it’s the one. »
Prosecutors asked for a three-year prison sentence, including 18 months suspended for Marcel Baldo, with the portion still subject to adjustment. And five years prohibited from carrying out his profession as a lawyer. He asked for a three-year sentence against his partner. A decision will be taken on December 12.
