Waiter accused of billion dollar art heist

A French waiter went on trial today accused of stealing dozens of artworks from museums across Europe during a seven year, billion dollar, spree.

Stephane Breitwieser, aged 33, whose mother is also on trial in Strasbourg for slashing some works or throwing them into a canal, has already served time in Switzerland.

He was extradited to France from Switzerland in July where he was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting he stole 239 paintings and museum works.

His most valuable haul was a 16th-century painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Sybille, Princess of Cleves, valued at €7m and taken from a museum in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1995.

Breitwieser faces three years in jail if convicted of stealing 23 works in France, plus two in Denmark and one in Austria.

Prosecutors said that on learning of her son’s arrest, Mireille Breitwieser rushed into his bedroom and chopped up paintings. She also allegedly forced treasures down the waste disposal or threw others into the Rhine-Rhone canal near the Swiss border.

Anne-Catherine Kleinklauss, the son’s ex-girlfriend is accused of receiving stolen items.

The son allegedly stole valuables such as paintings, tapestries, silver and ivory pieces, and books from 140 museums in Europe starting in 1995. Swiss police arrested him in November 2001 when he returned to a museum to wipe away his fingerprints after stealing a hunting horn.

Breitwieser has claimed he stole the works out of a ”devouring passion” for art, and said he had intended to return the works one day. He said he was sorry that his mother had destroyed many works.

In the Swiss court, Breitwieser confessed thefts in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Among his hauls were works by Flemish artist Peter Bruegel and French painters Francois Boucher and Antoine Watteau.

Prosecutors in France – from where more valuable works were stolen – estimated the value of the haul at up to €750m.