Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft
It has been twenty-seven years since two thieves who were dressed as police officers walked into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and fled with art pieces worth an estimated $500 million after tying up guards. For 81 minutes they pulled and slashed well-known art pieces from their frames stealing a total of 13 pieces including three Rembrandts. Today this theft remains one of the world’s biggest art heist and is still one of Boston’s most notorious mysteries. No one knows why they walked by more valuable pieces, yet chose to take an old Chinese vase and an eagle on top of a Napoleonic flag. None of the works have been found, even though there’s a $5 million dollar reward for any information leading to their safe return. No one has been charged with the crime either.
A few years ago the FBI revealed that they thought they had identified the burglars — two men who had died right after the heist — but did not name them. After investigating they thought the artwork was moved through crime circles in Philadelphia and Connecticut but the trail went cold in 2003. However, the investigation is still ongoing and the FBI urges anyone who has information to contact them, a third party, or the museum.
There are many theories as to why the artwork was stolen and who did it. Some include Corsican mobsters, a Hollywood screenwriter or perhaps common petty thieves. One theory was that a mob associate named Carmello Merlino boasted to two men that he planned to steal the artwork and collect the reward. When he got into trouble with the FBI in 1999 he received offers of leniency, however, Merlino never produced any of the art and later died in prison.
The next mystery is an infamous Hollywood tale of a starlet, but be warned: it is quite disturbing…
