What to know about the Gardner Museum heist, 35 years later

Thirty-five years ago, the world’s largest art heist took place when 13 works of art were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. 

Decades later, the theft of the works, worth $500 million, remains unsolved. The thieves made off with several Rembrandt paintings, including the artist’s only seascape, Vermeer’s “The Concert,” Manet’s “Chez Tortoni,” and five Degas sketches, among other works.

The museum continues to offer a $10 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen art, while the empty frames remain hanging in the institution as a reminder of their absence and “as symbols of hope awaiting their return.”

Below, a refresher on what to know about the infamous heist as authorities continue to search for the stolen artwork. 

What happened during the museum heist?

As revelers continued their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations around Boston during the early hours of March 18, 1990, a vehicle pulled up near the side entrance of the Gardner, according to the museum. Two men dressed in police uniforms pushed the museum’s buzzer, claiming they were responding to a disturbance and requesting entrance. 

They were let in by a guard. Then the men posing as officers handcuffed the guard who let them in, as well as a second security officer, tying them up in the basement. 

Motion detectors recorded the thieves’ movements, according to the museum. Six works were taken from the museum’s Dutch Room, six removed from the Short Gallery, and one work — Manet’s “Chez Tortoni” — was taken from the Blue Room. 

Some of the paintings were cut from their frames. 

The thieves left the museum at 2:45 a.m., 81 minutes after they arrived, making two separate trips to their car with the artwork:

The guards remained handcuffed until police arrived at the museum at 8:15 a.m., the start of an investigation into the heist that continues to this day.

Now-retired lead investigator has a theory for who’s responsible

Since the heist, theories about who was responsible and where the artwork ended up have abounded. Books, podcasts, and documentaries have delved into the mystery.

Retired FBI agent Geoffrey Kelly, who led the investigation into the thefts for more than two decades, recently told The Boston Globe he suspects the initial plan for the heist was to make quick money stealing the Rembrandts. 

“Then they wake up on March 19 to realize that they’ve committed the heist of the century,” he told the newspaper. 

Kelly said his theory is Carmello Merlino, a mob associate who ran a repair shop in Dorchester, likely sent George Reissfelder — a petty thief — and Leonard DiMuzio — who had been implicated in home invasions — into the museum to steal the paintings, according to the Globe. 

While the guard who let the thieves into the museum, Rick Abath, maintained he had nothing to do with the heist until he died in 2024, Kelly told the Globe he believes Abath was involved. 

Reissfelder’s relatives reportedly told authorities a painting of a man in a top hat — similar to the stolen “Chez Tortoni” — was on the wall in the man’s apartment after the heist, according to the Globe. The artwork was gone by the time the 51-year-old was found dead of an intravenous overdose in March 1991, in what Kelly told the newspaper he considered a “suspicious death.”

Two weeks later, DiMuzio disappeared; his body was found in June 1991 in the trunk of a car in East Boston, according to the Globe. 

Kelly told the newspaper he believes the two men were killed “for the paintings or to keep them quiet.”

Merlino, on whom the FBI focused as part of the investigation, was arrested in 1991 as part of a sting operation and convicted on charges of attempting to rob an armored car depot, according to the Globe. He died in prison in 2005. 

According to the Globe, two other mob associates, James Marks and Robert Donati, were linked to the heist over the years. 

Both men met untimely deaths. 

Marks was shot to death outside his home in 1991, and Donati was stabbed outside his own residence later the same year, according to the Globe. 

Kelly told the newspaper all the deaths within 18 months of the heist had “a chilling effect” on the investigation. 

According to the Globe, investigators believe some of the artwork ended up first with another man with mob ties, Robert Guarente, and then with Connecticut mobster Robert “The Cook” Gentile.”

A search of Gentile’s home in 2013 resulted in his conviction for illegally selling prescription drugs and possessing guns, silencers, and ammunition. The search also turned up a handwritten list of the stolen Gardner paintings and their estimated worth, along with a newspaper article about the museum heist a day after it happened.

Gentile, who died in 2021, denied ever having anything to do with the paintings. 

Kelly told the Globe that over the years, investigators have doggedly pursued leads across the country and overseas. But, he noted, stolen artwork is usually not found again until generations have passed. 

“Someone is going to be looking in an attic and find these pieces,” he said. “There’s always hope.”

What authorities are saying on the heist’s 35th anniversary

In a statement marking the 35th anniversary of the thefts, FBI Boston’s Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen said the agency remains focused on recovering the stolen artwork and returning them to their “rightful places at the museum.”

“We know what a special place they hold in our society, and we are very eager to get them back,” she said. “The FBI’s investigation continues to be very active, and all leads are thoroughly vetted and run to ground.”

Investigators are still asking for the public’s help locating the artwork and asked that given how much time has passed, people refamiliarize themselves with what the stolen pieces look like.  

The missing 13 works could be anywhere in the world, though the FBI said it believes the artwork was separated after the theft, with some moved along the Eastern seaboard through the Mid-Atlantic region down south. 

“Anyone with information about the location of the stolen art is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), the museum, or a third party if you wish to remain anonymous,” the FBI said. “Tips can also be submitted at tips.fbi.gov.”

In a post on Facebook Tuesday, the Gardner Museum staff wrote they “remain hopeful that these stolen masterpieces will one day return.”

The museum is undertaking a multi-year restoration of the Dutch Room, where six of the works were displayed.

“However, the Dutch Room can never be fully restored until the missing works are returned to their rightful home, displayed for everyone to enjoy as Isabella intended,” the museum wrote.