A local framer did not recognize the art which he would re-frame for Nikolaus as being some of Europe's masterpieces. His mother, Mireille Breitwieser (née Stengel), did not realize that the works were stolen and thought they were legitimately bought at auction, only later suspecting that he had not bought them legitimately. Around 110 pieces from his collection have been recovered, leaving another 60 unaccounted for, presumed destroyed. His collection included: Pieter Brueghel the Younger - Cheat Profiting From His Master**, cut with scissors Antoine Watteau - Two Men* François Boucher - Sleeping Shepherd**, which Breitwieser kept by his pillow and his mother put in the garbage disposal Corneille de Lyon - Madeleine of France, Queen of Scotland**, garbage disposal David Teniers - The Monkey's Ball**, shredded with scissors *for those that are presumed destroyed, **for those that are known to be destroyed Breitwieser and Kleinklauss were first caught in 1997, when they walked off with a William van Aelst landscape from a private collection in a gallery, which they were allowed to see with special permission from the owner. Alerted to the theft, the owner ran out and recognized the two as they got into Breitwieser's mother's car. Another artifact was found in the car. Because it was his first offense on Swiss soil, he was given only an eight-month suspended sentence and banned from entering Switzerland until May 2000. However, his job was across the border from France in Switzerland, and he continued working under his mother's maiden name. He also continued his thefts, even returning to museums of prior crimes to steal again. Capture In November 2001, he was finally caught after stealing a bugle dating from 1584, one of only three like it in the world and with an estimated value of £45,000, from the Richard Wagner Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland. A security guard spotted Breitwieser before he escaped. However, he returned to the museum two days later. That day, a journalist, Erich Eisner, was walking his dog on the museum grounds when he noticed a man who seemed out of place in a nice overcoat, surveying the museum. Aware of the recent theft, Eisner alerted the main guard, who happened to be the same guard who had seen Breitwieser at the heist and alerted the authorities, who arrested Breitwieser. Lucerne police awarded Eisner's dog a lifetime supply of food in appreciation. Breitwieser spent two years