June 13, 2007 (Montreal, QC) – Nima Mazhari, Myriam Bedard’s boyfriend, was found guilty by jury last week of theft and possession of stolen goods. The incident relates to 20 missing paintings by the late Ghitta Caiserman-Roth with whom Mazhari (a painter himself) once shared a studio. The paintings are estimated to be worth by $100,000.

Mazhari, who is not in detention, has been asked to surrender his passport. Press accounts described the court case as “soap opera” with a clear dislike of Mazhari being demonstrated by members of Bedard’s family. The federal sponsorship scandal also came back to life during the trial with Bedard’s family claiming that Mazhari pushed Bedard to testify before a House of Commons committee in that affair.

Mazhari accompanied Bedard and her daughter last year on a trip to the USA. Because Bedard’s ex-husband claimed the daughter was taken on this trip without his permission, Bedard was apprehended by US authorities, extradited to Canada, and charged with kidnapping the daughter and breach of her custody agreement. The court date was set for mid-June and Bedard chose to be tried by jury.

Bedard won gold medals for Canada at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in both the 7.5-km and the 15-km biathlon events.