Local News in Brief : Bail Review Set for Art Theft Suspect

An alleged con man suspected of stealing two paintings worth at least $330,000 from an Australian dealer is scheduled for a bail review hearing today. .

Robert Leads, 56, pleaded not guilty to theft charges after his arrest and extradition from Virginia. He was arrested Jan. 29 in Newport News, Va., thanks to tips received after the case was featured on an episode of NBC-TV’s “Unsolved Mysteries” last month. He was flown to Los Angeles after waiving extradition.

Leads pleaded not guilty at his Municipal Court arraignment to two counts of grand theft. He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail pending the bail review hearing.

The charges, which carry a maximum five-year sentence, stem from the theft of Auguste Renoir’s 1916 “Anemones,” worth at least $200,000, and Mary Cassatt’s 1904 “Head of a Girl,” worth at least $130,000.