Evita's stolen jewelry turns up in Milan

ITALY (El Pais) The Italian Carabinieri police discovered a cache of jewels inside a Milan hotel room on Tuesday that once belonged to the late Argentinean first lady Eva Duarte de Perón. They had been stolen two years ago in Valencia. The jewels, including a tiara given to Perón as a gift by the Dutch royal family in the 1950s, are said to be worth six million euros. According to sources, they were taken from a Valencia jeweler on December 17, 2009 when the suspects posed as potential buyers. Italian authorities identified the suspects as seven Gypsies from Serbia. Spanish police worked in conjunction with the Carabinieri in the investigation. Investigators said that a group of men contacted the jeweler after seeing Perón's jewels on display during the Valencia Luxury Fair in the fall of 2009. When they went to purchase them, one of the men switched the briefcase filled with cash with one filled with counterfeit bills. When the jewel shop owner noticed the ploy, they assaulted her and escaped. One suspect was detained last year in Milan after Spanish police identified him through a security surveillance video and issued an international arrest warrant.