Philly/Boston wiseguy Robert Gentile, who denied for years suspicions that he knew the whereabouts of $500 million in stolen art from the Gardner Art Museum in Boston, has died, according to his attorney. He was 85.
Attorney Ryan McGuigan said Gentile, aka “The Cook”, died Sept. 17 after a stroke.
McGuigan told the Boston Globe, “to the government, he was the last person known to have possessed the treasures from the Isabella Gardner Museum…..He denied ever having the paintings til his death. They say he was a bad guy, but he became a friend, He was the last of his kind.”
The art theft was recently the subject of a documentary on Netflix.
Boston 25’s Bob Ward, who’s investigated the Gardner Art Heist for years, reported Thursday that Attorney Ryan McGuigan told him in an interview that there could be something in Gentile’s Will that sheds light on the 31 year old mystery of the stolen Gardner Art.
The FBI in Boston and Philadelphia had for years suspected that Gentile may have transported or possessed several of the stolen paintings that were cut from their frames on March 18,1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It’s believed to be the biggest art heist in history.
Investigators say two men dressed as Boston police officers walked into the museum in the overnight hours, tied up security guards and quickly left with 13 pieces from the art collection, including paintings by Vermeer, Degas and Rembrandt. The art has not been found despite a $10 Million reward.
Years ago, the FBI in Boston and Philadelphia were looking into reports that several of the stolen art pieces may have been brought to Philadelphia through connections with the Philly Mob. Their whereabouts after that are still unknown.
Local mobsters have repeatedly told Mobtalksitdown.com that they had nothing to do with the paintings and scoffed at the idea that any of the stolen artwork were ever in Philly. In fact, the mere suggestion that the Philly Mob was involved drew laughs and sometimes anger from several top ranking mobsters when asked about the artwork.
Sources however, tell Mobtalksitdown.com that as recently as last year, Philadelphia FBI agents were still pursuing leads and interviewing people about the heist and the stolen paintings. The FBI has refused to comment.
A spokesperson for the Philly FBI office did not comment Thursday on Gentile’s death or it’s impact on the investigation.
Gentile, 85, had a long criminal record and served years in prison. FBI agents working the case believed Gentile, a low level wiseguy in the Philly/Boston Mob, had links to individuals suspected of possessing the art after it was stolen.
Gentile, vehemently and repeatedly, denied any involvement with any of the stolen art, including in a recent tv interview in which he again denied any ties to the stolen paintings.
“I had nothing to do with the paintings. It’s a big joke,” Gentile said in a phone interview with The Associated Press in 2019 after being released from prison.
Authorities said the widow of another mobster, Robert Guarente, said her husband gave Gentile two of the paintings, and that Gentile talked about the stolen work while in prison.
A well publicized search of Gentile’s Connecticut home led to his 2013 conviction for illegally selling prescription drugs and possessing guns, silencers and ammunition. He did four years in prison.
At the house, federal agents even dug up the property, but said they found no stolen paintings just a handwritten list of the stolen artworks and their estimated value, along with a newspaper article about the museum heist a day after it happened.
