In Our Secret Life

The Theft of a $160 Million Willem de Kooning and the School Teachers Behind It - Based on a True Story

by A. Tony Mendoza

A SECRET WORTH $160 MILLION

To the world, Jerry and Rita Alter were nothing more than humble schoolteachers with an insatiable passion for travel. Over their lifetimes, they visited more than one hundred and forty-five countries, managing to embark on multiple vacations each year, despite Jerry’s modest earnings as a New York City high school music teacher or Rita’s salary as a special education teacher in Silver City, New Mexico.

BUT BENEATH THEIR UNASSUMING EXTERIOR LAY A SECRET THAT SHOCKED THE ART WORLD.

In the first electric moment, Rita's eyes catch Jerry sliding a wallet from a stranger's coat, and intrigue sparks within her. From this serendipitous encounter blooms an unconventional romance that propels them across the globe, bound by love and a shared aversion to the mundane. With dreams larger than a teacher's salary could ever afford, she teaches him the delicate dance of pickpocketing. Their ambitions swell, morphing from petty thefts to the dizzying heights of insurance scams and art heists, all to fuel a life of adventure and provide for their family. Yet, beneath the thrill of their escapades lies a constant dread: the fear of an ordinary existence and the terror of their secret lives unraveling before the unsuspecting eyes of their loved ones. Their tale reaches a crescendo with the theft of a painting valued at $160 million—a masterpiece they soon discover is as impossible to sell as it is to ignore the price of their choices.