The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

In November 2001, Breitwieser boasts about stealing a bugle from a Swiss museum without wearing gloves. Realizing he has been breaking her rules, Anne-Catherine is furious and insists they must go to the Richard Wagner Museum and wipe his prints from the crime scene. Breitwieser drives to the Swiss museum and waits outside while Anne-Catherine goes in. She emerges looking alarmed as two police officers approach Breitwieser and handcuff him.

Breitwieser is taken to Lucerne police station and questioned by Inspector Roland Meier. Meier initially believes Breitwieser is a petty criminal, guilty of only two art thefts. The police inspector explains that an employee at the Wagner Museum noticed the bugle’s disappearance. When Breitwieser returned to the museum and loitered outside, the employee recognized his coat from the day of the theft. Meier claims that fingerprints were taken from the scene immediately after the bugle was stolen and have been identified as Breitwieser’s. The art thief guesses the police inspector is bluffing and denies the crime. He plans to call Anne-Catherine and tell her to return the bugle anonymously while he is in custody. Breitwieser’s calm demeanor under questioning leads Meier to suspect he may be a more experienced art-thief than he first surmised. The police inspector is granted permission to hold the suspect in high-security conditions and search his home. Breitwieser is prohibited from making phone calls.

Breitwieser writes to Anne-Catherine and his mother but receives no reply. After 10 days in custody, he admits to the bugle theft, claiming that he stole it impulsively to give to his mother. Meier does not believe him. Twenty-three days after Breitwieser’s arrest, Meier and a colleague travel to France. Along with two French police officers, they go to Breitwieser’s address with a search warrant. Mireille Stengel denies any knowledge of artwork in her son’s possession. When the officers reach the attic, it contains only a four-poster bed.

After 70 days in custody, Breitwieser has still heard nothing from Anne-Catherine or his mother. Meier again questions him, producing a photograph of a 17th-century gold-plated medallion—an item Breitwieser stole shortly before the bugle theft. Meier assures Breitwieser that he will be released if he admits to stealing the medallion. Breitwieser confesses, but Meier continues to produce photographs of many other items (107 in total). Breitwieser admits to stealing them all. A French police report reveals that the items were recovered from a canal in Alsace. An expert estimated their combined value at $50 million. A few days after his confession, Breitwieser is loaded onto a prison train car with a group of other criminals.

Breitwieser is taken to a jail in Geneva, Switzerland. Here, he is questioned by art-crime detective Alexandre Von der Mühll. The police inspector builds a rapport with Breitwieser by revealing his own passion for art and complimenting the other man’s aesthetic taste. Breitwieser does not request a lawyer and provides detailed accounts of how he stole each of the items rescued from the canal. Mühll questions him about other art thefts, and Breitwieser again confesses, believing he will receive a lighter sentence for his honesty. Throughout his admission, he claims that his mother knew nothing about his crimes, while Anne-Catherine was sometimes present but opposed the thefts. Breitwieser admits to stealing 69 Renaissance paintings. He is shocked when Mühll tells him the attic has been searched and the paintings are not there.

In March 2002, Mühll sends for Breitwieser’s mother, guaranteeing her immunity from arrest. Stengel agrees to the arrangement, but Anne-Catherine ignores attempts by the Swiss police to contact her. Stengel denies knowing where the paintings are, even when her son pleads with her to co-operate. Before leaving, she warns Breitwieser not to confess to stealing the paintings.