The Sweeney Agency

About Bob Arno - Entertainer and Crime Prevention Expert:

From pure comedy pickpocketing to serious lectures on crime prevention, Pickpocket Entertainer Bob Arno is the highlight of any event. Time Magazine called him the world's foremost expert on the techniques of first-rank wires. Years of research and Bob's fascination with real street crime have made him an authority frequently consulted by police, security experts, and television producers.

As a lifelong observer of human social signals, it is Bob Arno's skill at reading people that steers him on stage and off. His uncanny ability to decipher body language has enabled him to identify and track actual thieves out in the real world, and capture their crimes on film.

It was on a photojournalism project in Southeast Asia that Bob Arno ventured into the depths of an underground subculture. Working on assignment for a series on swindles in the Asian marketplace, he tailed shortchange artists, pickpockets, and fake-jewelry hustlers, whose main targets were GIs on R&R leave. His exposés caught the attention of the U.S. Military and he was asked to give lectures on the subject. His presentations, complete with demos and comedy, were so well-received he took his act into show business. Today, his peripatetic lecture-show has been seen by millions all over the world.

Born in Sweden, Bob Arno is a great-grandson of Dr. Axel Munthe, who is most famous for his novel The Story of San Michele. As class clown, it was perhaps predictable that at only age 25 Bob Arno would give his first royal command performance, for Princess Margaret. He has since performed for kings, queens, presidents, sultans, and enthusiastic connoisseurs of comedy everywhere. As a descendant of minor nobility himself, performing for these tough audiences does not make him nervous.

What Bob Arno Talks About:

The Art of the Steal
Bob Arno doesn’t look back. In a swift dash through the audience with a warm handshake here, a Machiavellian greeting there, he darts deftly toward the stage. In 30 seconds he’s grabbed the valuables of many and the rapt attention of all.

Zero to hilarity in 60 seconds. Have you got a minute? Because that’s all it takes for Bob Arno to shift an audience through a full range of emotions: confusion, surprise, admiration, intrigue, and awe. From then on, he maintains a steady pace of hilarity. Comedy, satire, and slick scams are cleverly blended into a superbly-executed professional demonstration of pickpocketing, revealing the sly tricks of pickpockets who plague city streets worldwide.

Exclusive video footage is projected, of actual street crime as it happens. These are not re-enactments, but real pickpocket and other street thieves caught in the act, as only Bob Arno could catch them. As an integral part of the presentation, this film footage informs, amazes, and prepares the audience for Bob’s next segment, a dramatic and comedic take on how it really happens.

Suave and foxy, the gentleman thief doesn’t stop at the usual pinching of wallets, watches, and pocket contents. Nothing a victim possesses is safe from Bob Arno's lightning lifts. Although he makes his brand of thievery respectable, he nevertheless generates a lurking sense of danger, proving again and again that no one is immune to his cunning diversions. His blend of brilliant thievery, pure visual hilarity, and savage wit makes him a first-class sensation at corporate affairs and special events worldwide.

Tasteful enough for the most conservative business affairs, The Art of the Steal is always tailored to suit the clientele. This audience participation format results in a high-impact and exciting entertainment event when the typical stand-up comedian or magician just isn't enough.

This highly visual comedy breaks all language barriers. However, Bob speaks English, French, German, all the Scandinavian languages, and a little Japanese.

The Serious Side of Stealing
Bob reveals the latest scams an ordinary citizen is likely to encounter, common personal theft strategies currently operating in popular travel destinations, and how to avoid becoming a victim. He puts it all in perspective with lightness and humor, and sensitivity to the fun and necessity of international travel. This presentation, given to business travelers as well as experts such as police forces and security professionals, is regularly praised as fascinating, educational, and invaluable.

Current research qualifies Bob Arno as a world expert on street crimes. For the past few years, he has been in the field, tracking and filming real street thieves in action, in the capital cities of Europe and in the Far East. Bob Arno's extraordinary footage reveals the techniques of his less scrupulous colleagues, as well as their victims' moments of terrible realization. As a veteran legitimate pickpocket and an expert on con games, Bob narrates the footage with insight and authority.

Bob Arno's expertise in this rather unusual field is derived from 35 years of research, including extensive interviews with security and police forces around the world, as well as with actual victims and real pickpockets. His knowledge of the latest worldwide trends in street crime covers not only pickpocketing, but also many other forms of rip-off. True identity theft is another devastating scam on the up-rise, damaging the personal credit of ordinary consumers with consequences that drag on for years. How can your identity be stolen? What might be committed in your name? And what does true identity theft have to do with pickpocketing, anyway?

Invaluable information, demonstrations, exclusive video footage, and facts you need to know, will help ensure you never become a victim.