Readers of the blog will recall our view of Master Thieves: the Boston Gangesters Who Pulled off the World's Greatest Art Heist by Stephen Kurkjian. Kurkjian's book is the definitive work on the 1990 robbery of several masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and explores--and dispels--numerous aspects of the infamous case.
Topics: Stephen Kurkjian, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Events, Master Thieves: the Boston Gangsters who Pulled of, Massachusetts Historical Society
As we have often lamented, real news in the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist has been rare, with coverage far more often manufactured around anniversary dates. Last week was an exception at least from the public’s standpoint when the FBI released video footage from the museum the day before the robbery in an effort to solicit the public’s assistance. The FBI posited that the men seen in the video may have been engaged in a trial run for the eventual theft, in which the thieves pretended to be police officers to gain entry to the museum after hours. Most of the recent efforts by law enforcement have focused on Robert Gentile, whom authorities have accused of having information concerning the paintings’ whereabouts. Gentile has consistently denied knowing anything, and has spent time in prison that might have been avoided had he revealed information. Gentile most recently accused the FBI of entrapment, and no progress on that front seems particularly likely, but this approach is a notable shift.
Topics: Robert Gentile, Gardner Heist, Emerald Necklace, Mission Hill, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, FBI, Steven Kurkjian, Richard Jewell, Huntington Avenue, Museums, Master Thieves: the Boston Gangsters who Pulled of, Frederick Law Olmstead, Museum of Fine Arts
In a rare development not manufactured to coincide with the anniversary of the March 18, 1990 theft of thirteen paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a man was arrested this week who has been identified previously by the FBI as a “person of interest” in the theft. So has there been a break in the case? Not really, but the details bear scrutiny. If, as a judge was told by the prosecution, Robert Gentile had been recorded offering to sell the paintings for $500,000, it would be a major breakthrough (and remarkable, given that a $5 million reward is available). But the recording has not been made public, and the FBI has greatly overstated the certainty of various players' involvement before, so the view here is skeptical until further evidence.
Topics: Robert Gentile, Gardner Heist, Robert Guarente, Stephen Kurkjian, John Kerry, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, FBI, Bobby Donati, A. Ryan McGuigan, George Reissfelder, Breitbart.com, Vinnie Ferrara, Museums, Associated Press, Master Thieves: the Boston Gangsters who Pulled of, David Turner, Breitbart, Museum of Fine Arts
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