Robert Gentile, who was the last known person to allegedly be in possession of the stolen artwork from Boston’s Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, died on Friday from complications of a stroke, his lawyer, Ryan McGuigan, confirmed to Boston 25 News.
In 2014, the FBI told Boston 25 News, in their only sit-down interview about the investigation, that they suspect Gentile helped move the stolen art to Philadelphia, where it was offered for sale in 2000. None of the art has been publicly seen since it disappeared.
On March 18, 1990, two thieves dressed as officers overpowered museum security and helped themselves to priceless work from artists like Rembrandt and Degas. To this day, the art stolen from the Isabella Gardner Museum, worth millions of dollars, has never been recovered.
Gentile had previously been in jail on charges unrelated to the Gardner heist, but he’d been a focal point of the investigation into the stolen Gardner artwork for years. The convicted gangster was released from prison in late 2019.
The feds had previously searched Gentile’s Connecticut home, where they found police paraphernalia and guns, but no artwork. They applied pressure to get Gentile to talk, but he denied any involvement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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