Guests view a desk dressed with plates and glasses for official dinners on the Elysee Palace in Paris, Sept. 15, 2012. AP-Yonhap
PARIS — Three males will stand trial subsequent yr after a silver steward employed on the official residence of the French president was arrested this week for the theft of things of silverware and desk service price 1000’s of euros, the Paris prosecutor’s workplace stated.
The Élysée Palace’s head steward reported the disappearance, with the estimated loss ranging between 15,000 and 40,000 euros (($17,500-$47,000).
The Sèvres Manufactory — which equipped a lot of the furnishings — recognized a number of of the lacking gadgets on on-line public sale web sites. Questioning of Élysée employees led investigators to suspect one of many silver stewards, whose stock information appeared he was planning future thefts.
Investigators established that the person was in a relationship with the supervisor of an organization specializing within the on-line sale of objects, notably tableware. Investigators found on his Vinted account a plate stamped “French Air Power” and “Sèvres Manufactory” ashtrays that aren’t obtainable to most people.
Round 100 objects had been discovered within the silver steward’s private locker, his car and their dwelling. Among the many gadgets recovered had been copper saucepans, Sèvres porcelain, a René Lalique statuette and Baccarat champagne coupes.
The 2 had been arrested Tuesday. Investigators additionally recognized a single receiver of the stolen items. The recovered gadgets had been returned to the Élysée Palace.
The three suspects appeared in court docket Thursday on fees of collectively stealing movable property listed as a part of the nationwide heritage — an offense punishable by as much as 10 years in jail and a 150,000-euro wonderful, in addition to aggravated dealing with of stolen items.
The trial was postponed to Feb. 26. The defendants had been positioned below judicial supervision, banned from contacting each other, prohibited from showing at public sale venues and barred from their skilled actions.
