At the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, shouts of “Thief!” trigger a security rush that distracts staff and visitors. Stéphane Breitwieser and Anne-Catherine seize the moment to remove a Jan van Kessel the Elder still life on copper from Richard Green’s booth, frame attached, and slip past the exit as guards abandon their posts. They cross into France without incident and install the painting in Mireille Stengel’s attic, where Breitwieser adds a personal note to the back, inaugurating a new ritual.

Breitwieser outlines his preferred “boring” method: slicing silicone seams on glass or acrylic cases to flex panels without unlocking them. He uses this to extract ivories and a tobacco box in France, and a nationally symbolic 1689 trophy from a Rhine castle in Germany, driving past wanted posters unnoticed.

In Switzerland, a case panel catastrophically pops while he reaches for a bronze hunting knife, cutting his hands; after a brief retreat, he realizes no one heard and doubles back to take it. Seeking calm, he and Anne-Catherine sometimes finish weekends sightseeing, yet his insight evolves: stealing during guided tours while acting friendly with staff reduces suspicion. This tactic begins with an unprotected albarello lifted mid-tour and later includes brazen interactions with police while stolen objects sit in their car.

His opportunism extends to opening an antique ironwork cabinet with his own old key, removing an alms box, and to overcoming his “screw” nemesis piece by piece—unscrewing mounts and cases to take a range of objects. He occasionally removes screws over multiple visits and discards hardware afterward to slow discovery.

The escalation peaks near Geneva at the Alexis Forel Museum, where a Hannong serving platter lies under a plexiglass case secured by a daunting number of screws. Against his better judgment, and with Anne-Catherine on lookout, he commits to the task, spinning out thirty screws to free the platter. Though they exit successfully, he feels an undefined danger trailing the victory, signaling risk growing alongside his confidence.