Winston Churchill portrait thief sentenced to 2 years less a day in jail
The Ontario man who pleaded guilty to stealing an iconic portrait of former British prime minister Winston Churchill from Ottawa's Chateau Laurier was sentenced Monday to two years less a day in jail.
Earlier this year, Jeffrey Wood admitted stealing the portrait and committing forgery.
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Known as 'The Roaring Lion,' the wartime photo of Churchill was snapped by Yousuf Karsh in 1941 in the Speaker's office just after the former prime minister delivered an address to Canada's Parliament.
Toward the end of his life, Karsh signed and donated the portrait to the hotel, where he had lived and worked for many years.
The theft occurred in late December 2021 or early January 2022 but was not discovered for months because the thief replaced the original print with a copy.
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