Beaumarchais’s madcap comedy, The Marriage of Figaro, smashed box-office records when it opened in Paris in 1784. The following year, a team of real-life con artists drew inspiration from a crucial scene in the play as they planned—and pulled off—the swindle of the century.Show notes and full transcripts available at www.artofcrimepodcast.com.If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/artofcrimepodcast.