$5 Million Reward: Did Museum's Looted Masterpieces Hang in CT?

After the FBI's announcement last week that they know who lifted $500 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 23 years ago, tips on the whereabouts of the missing art have begun to pour in to the FBI's Boston office.

The FBI said they would not release the number of tips, but Chief Division Counsel Damon Katz told the Boston Herald on March 18 that tips have indeed come in, and the FBI is already at work analyzing them.

“The numbers are in line with what we would expect,” Katz told the Herald. “We didn’t have a target number of tips. Our target is just to get that art back on the walls of the museum.”

The Gardner theft was back in the news last year when a reputed Connecticut mobster's home was searched for weapons and the missing artwork. Federal officers used ground-penetrating radar to search for items in Richard Gentile's backyard in Manchester, but came up empty.

Besides a general interest in returning the art to its rightful place, there's a $5 million reward on the line offered by the museum, and potential immunity from criminal prosecution offered by the FBI.

On March 18, 1990, men posing as Boston police officers stole thirteen works of art from the museum. The missing art, including works by Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Govaert Flinck, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet, has not been seen since.

FBI officials said a tip called in in 2010 lead to a big break in the case, and helped them determine the suspect's identities, 23 years after the heist. Through following leads based on that tip, FBI detectives said they believe the artwork was transported to Philadelphia, and then to Connecticut and that a criminal organization with a base in the mid-Atlantic states and New England was responsible. However, since the original crime was committed so many years ago, the statute of limitations on the act of theft itself has expired. 

Now, the FBI said, the main focus is on finding the art, wherever it may be. And that's where they need the public's help, they said. 

“It’s likely over the years that someone – a friend, neighbor or relative – has seen the art hanging on a wall, placed above a mantel or stored in an attic. We want that person to call us,” said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office. 

Anyone with information about the artwork can call the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI (1-800-225-5324) or contact the museum directly.

Editor's note: This part of the article originally was published as a separate article by Fenway-Kenwood Patch in Massachusetts.

FBI: We Know Who Robbed the Gardner Museum

BOSTON, MA -- FBI officials announced Monday they know who committed one of the biggest art heists in history, but they still need the public's help to locate the 13 missing pieces of art. 

“The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence in the years after the theft the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft,”  said Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston FBI office. “With that same confidence we have identified the thieves who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the mid-Atlantic states and New England.” 

After Philadelphia, the trail for the missing masterpieces goes cold. The FBI believes an organized-crime organization based in the mid-Atlantic states coordinated the crime.

Because the investigation is still ongoing, the FBI noted they could not release further details into the identities of the suspects. 

FBI officials also noted that the statute of limitations has passed on the original crime, the thefts of the paintings, but there is still potential criminal liability for concealing the paintings or possessing stolen property. However, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz noted that immunity is on the table for anyone who contributes information leading to the discovery of the paintings.

To help keep the public in the process, the bureau launched a new Gardner heist website. The site features sketches of the thieves, images of the lost art, background on the crime and information for anyone who want to contact the FBI with new information about the crime.

Monday was the 23rd anniversary of the heist, which took place in 1990. According to the Museum's own history of the theft, the robbers dressed as police officers and asked a security guard to let them in.

"Once inside, the thieves asked that the guard come around from behind the desk, claiming that they recognized him and that there was a warrant out for his arrest. The guard walked away from the desk and away from the only alarm button," wrote the museum on its website.

The thieves then had the guard, Richard Abath, call the second guard on duty and the two were separated and bound.

The thieves took 13 pieces of art, including works by Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Govaert Flinck, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet.

In recent months, however, the security guard, once thought a hapless victim, has come under closer scrutiny, according to The Boston Globe. Richard Abath was found bound by duct tape and handcuffs in the aftermath of the robbery.

"Why, they ask, were Abath’s footsteps the only ones picked up on motion detectors in a first floor gallery where one of the stolen paintings, by French impressionist Edouard Manet, was taken? And why did he open the side entrance to the museum minutes before the robbers rang the buzzer to get in? Was he signaling to them that he was prepared for the robbery to begin?" wrote Globe reporter Stephen Kurkjian in a March 9 article.

Abath maintained his innocence to the Globe and in a manuscript he's written. He pointed to two separate lie detector tests as proof he was telling the truth in the case.

The museum has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the return of the lost artwork. Several media outlets have placed the value of the lost art at $500 million.

Anyone with information about the artwork can call the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI (1-800-225-5324) or contact the museum directly.

Editor's note: This section of the article originally was published as a separate article by Fenway-Kenwood Patch in Massachusetts.

U.S. Attorney: Museum Paintings 'Must Be Returned'

FBI officials announced on Monday they know who committed one of the biggest art heists in history, but they still need the public's help to locate the 13 missing pieces of art. 

The announcement came on the 23rd anniversary of the heist at Fenway's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where thieves posing as police officers lifted now-considered priceless pieces of art by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Govaert Flinck, among others. 

Since 23 years have gone by, the statute of limitations on the original crime has passed, meaning officials can only press charges related to the theft, such as possession of stolen property charges against those currently harboring the paintings.

But the threat of an arrest or charges is tempered by a $5 million reward for a tip leading to the successful recovery of the paintings, or potential immunity from criminal prosecution. 

“It’s likely over the years that someone – a friend, neighbor or relative – has seen the art hanging on a wall, placed above a mantel or stored in an attic. We want that person to call us,” said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office. 

Progress on tracking the works of art has ramped up over the last few years, officials said. 

“The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence in the years after the theft the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft,”  said Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston FBI office. “With that same confidence we have identified the thieves who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the mid-Atlantic states and New England.” 

Officials believe the art was smuggled into Connecticut and eventually made its way into Philadelphia. At that point, the trail for the missing masterpieces goes cold. The FBI believes an organized-crime organization based in the mid-Atlantic states coordinated the crime.

To help keep the public in the process, the bureau launched a new Gardner heist website. The site features sketches of the thieves, images of the lost art, background on the crime and information for anyone who want to contact the FBI with new information about the crime.

"I have a great desire to get those paintings back, so that Mrs. Gardner's wishes can be fulfilled," said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

Editor's note: This section of the article originally was published as a separate article by Fenway-Kenwood Patch in Massachusetts.