Saliera thief gets four years

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Thursday September 7, 2006

Vienna- A 50-year-old man was jailed for four years on Thursday for one of Austria's most spectacular art thefts, of the priceless 500-year-old Saliera sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini which was stolen in 2003 and later discovered virtually undamaged. The sentence on widely-publicised "gentleman burglar" Robert Mang was relatively lenient. The maximum under law for breaking and entering, burglary, and attempted blackmail, is ten years.

Judge Walter Stockhammer pointed out that Mang had made a comprehensive confession and had no previous convictions. The prosecution and defence both gave notice of appeal.

"It wasn't difficult," said Mang about the theft which caused as much amusement as outrage in Austria. In 2003, when he broke in, there had conveniently been a builder's scaffolding and steps going up outside to the first floor at the Vienna Museum of Art History.

His defence lawyer said that one night, going home from a disco, his client had decided spontaneously to steal something. He had already inspected the museum on a previous visit.

Mang confirmed he had been in the museum, but less to view its treasures than admire a group of Italian tourist girls, whom he had followed round the rooms.

As a specialist for security alarm systems, with his own firm, he had noticed how badly the museum was protected. "There were movement monitors of a type which we took down from our customers 15 year ago. They looked like old loudspeakers."

On his return by night, he had taken the Saliera by chance because it was close to the window. He had not known how much it was worth. He had put the object valued at 36 million euros or more into a plastic shopping bag, climbed down the scaffolding, and driven home.

The police could have easily caught him if they had been alerted. He took half an hour to find a parking place at his nearby home, said Mang. He had had no thought of financial gain. He had just wanted "to get in and take something."

For the next two years he kept the Saliera in a suitcase under his bed, before he took it to northern Austria and buried it in a wood. He only hatched the idea of demanding a ransom through media reports.

Early this year, the sensational find of the missing Saliera buried in a crate in a frozen north Austrian wood made national and international headlines. Mang was arrested and confessed to police.

He immediately made headlines as a good-looking and urbane "gentleman burglar" who had stolen the priceless golden sculpture on a whim after having a few drinks.

There was widespread public amusement at the expense of Director of the Vienna Museum of Art History, Wilfried Seipel, who indignantly claimed there had been a premeditated crime committed by a professional. He denied that security was lax and rejected calls for his own resignation.

In court on Wednesday, Mang's lawyer said that some years ago his client had been diagnosed with cancer, and warned by doctors there was a 50 per cent chance of it breaking out again within ten years. He had also gone through a divorce.

"He became inwardly indifferent. He had a feeling of not caring," he began to go to discos a weekends until the early hours as a diversion, said lawyer Richard Soyer.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur