Attorney Will Testify in Art Theft Case

A former federal prosecutor pleaded guilty to aiding an ex-client’s effort to fake the theft of famous artworks and claim the insurance money. James P. Tierney, 56, who worked as a federal prosecutor in New York and Los Angeles before entering private law practice, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting wire fraud. Tierney told a federal judge he will testify in the prosecution of Steven G. Cooperman, a retired ophthalmologist who was indicted in November on 16 counts in connection with the loss of a Picasso and a Monet, which he had insured for $12.5 million. After they were reported stolen from his Brentwood home in 1992, Cooperman sued his insurers and later won a $17.5-million settlement. Federal prosecutors allege Cooperman enlisted Tierney in 1992 to secretly remove the paintings by providing him with a house key and security alarm code. Tierney told the judge that he transferred the artworks to a third person, who was to hold them until the art market improved. Tierney said he intended that the paintings be returned to the insurers, thinking the higher value of the art would minimize the insurers’ loss. Tierney, who was an entertainment lawyer in private practice, will be sentenced May 10. He faces up to five years in prison. Cooperman’s trial is set to start May 4. Cooperman denies the allegations against him.