Hitler bookmark seller sentenced

SEATTLE – A Washington state man arrested for trying to sell a stolen Hitler bookmark won’t be losing his place in the next few months.

Christian Popescu, 38, of Kenmore, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in prison and 90 days of electronic home monitoring.

The gold bookmark, which reportedly was given to Hitler by his mistress, Eva Braun, was stolen from an auction house in Madrid, Spain, in 2002. Popescu was arrested at a Bellevue Starbucks last summer when he tried to sell it to an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent for $100,000.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle said it would work with Spanish authorities to return the bookmark to its rightful owner. European art experts have questioned its authenticity.

The bookmark is engraved with a portrait of Hitler and its inscription indicates Braun gave it to him after German forces surrendered at Stalingrad.