Investigators hope for new leads in Boston museum robbery

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The chief investigator for a Boston museum still working to recover $500 million worth of art stolen in 1990 said Thursday he was hoping for new leads to emerge following the death of a highly scrutinized figure in the case.

A Connecticut mobster who died last week, Robert Gentile, had long been suspected of possessing at one time some of the pieces taken from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in history's largest art heist. He denied having any role or knowledge of the paintings' location up until the end of his life.

But Anthony Amore, who is also the museum's security director, said investigators had not been focused entirely on Gentile.

“One interesting thing is when masterpieces like these are stolen they are often recovered and oftentimes it happens a generation or two after the heist," Amore said in an interview. "And sometimes that’s because somebody passes away or relationships become estranged. And perhaps with Mr. Gentile’s passing, someone will feel liberated to speak about what they know. That’s conjecture. That’s hopeful talk.”

Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Nathaniel Mendell said his office is encouraging anyone with information to contact the FBI.

The museum, which is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the artwork’s recovery, is conducting its investigation alongside and in partnership with the FBI, Amore said.

On March 18, 1990, two men masquerading as Boston police officers got into the museum by telling a security guard they were responding to a report of a disturbance, according to authorities. The guard and a co-worker were handcuffed and locked in the basement while the thieves made off with the 13 pieces of art.

The missing pieces include Rembrandt’s only known seascape, “Christ in the...