After keeping it in his house for 2 years, Perugia contacted a Florentine art dealer, hoping to sell the painting in Florence. After coming into contact, the dealer manged to convince Perugia to leave the painting with him, and called the police on him. He was arrested at his house half an hour later. His official reasoning was that he mistakenly believed that Napoleon had stolen it from the people of Italy. For the crime, he served a relatively light sentence of eight months.