Man Pleads Not Guilty to Forging Artists’ Works

A man accused of forging art who used to tool about Los Angeles in a white Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini was granted the services of a public defender in a Superior Court proceeding Wednesday.

Anthony Gene Tetro, who is described by investigators as one of the nation’s most prolific art forgers, pleaded not guilty to one count of grand theft and 67 counts that he faked reproductions of the works of artists Marc Chagall, Joan Miro, Norman Rockwell and Hiro Yamagata. He is accused of conspiring with art dealer Mark Henry Sawicki, 32, of Agoura to defraud other art dealers by selling them fake Yamagata watercolors and lithographs of other artists’ works.

Tetro, who had previously been represented by private attorney George Porter, was granted a public defender after an application describing his present financial status was reviewed by the court. Tetro may be assessed the cost of representation, a spokesman for the public defender’s office said.