Art dealer acquitted of knowingly selling fakes

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(12-21) 15:44 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A longtime art dealer at San Francisco's Union Square was acquitted Tuesday of knowingly selling fake prints of paintings by Joan Miró.

Pasquale Iannetti, who ran a Sutter Street gallery bearing his name for 37 years, said he had been unaware he was selling counterfeit prints. A federal court jury in San Francisco found him not guilty of 15 felony counts of mail and wire fraud after 2 1/2 days of deliberations.

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The grand jury indictment charged him with fraudulently selling seven fake paintings from 2005 to 2008 for as much as $17,902. They were advertised as "limited edition" works, signed by the artist and prepared from an impression Miró made or supervised.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/21/BA2U1GTRF4.DTL