Did a suspect in a famous art heist take his secrets to the grave?
Robert Gentile, 85, died on September 17, according to his attorney. Authorities have long suspected him of possessing or knowing the whereabouts of some precious stolen artwork.
The Netflix docuseries “This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist” chronicles the 1990 theft of half-a-billion dollars worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
It was a brazen middle-of-the-night burglary carried out by at least two people dressed as police officers, according to investigators.
Their uniforms helped them gain entry to the museum, where they were able to tie up the security guards and go through the museum, cutting priceless works of art out of their frames and getting out completely undetected until the sun came up.
Thirteen pieces were stolen, including works by Rembrandt, Degas and Vermeer. They haven’t been seen since.
Gentile’s attorney says his client has always denied having anything to do with the heist or knowing where the art is, despite the FBI’s claims that they received information to the contrary.
Authorities searched a property that used to belong to Gentile as recently as 2016, but their search for any actual artwork came up empty.
He was believed to be the last living person with any knowledge of the heist.
No one has ever been charged in this case. There is still a $10 million reward for anyone with information that leads to the safe return of the art.