Jasper John aide admits $6.5m art theft

An assistant of American painter Jasper Johns has pleaded guilty to selling artworks worth $6.5m he stole from the artist's studio, BBC News reported.

James Meyer, 52, stole 22 artworks deemed not completed by Johns and sold them to buyers who agreed they would be kept private for eight years.

Johns, 84, is known for his use of flags and numbers in his art.

Meyer, who faces up to 10 years in prison, was an assistant in Johns' Connecticut studio for 25 years.

He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and admitted moving the art works from the studio to an art gallery in Manhattan from 2006 to 2011.

"James Meyer made millions by stealing and selling the valuable artworks that he was entrusted with maintaining," prosecutor Preet Bharara said in a statement.

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