Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Stolen from the top left pole support for this silk Napoleonic flag was a gilt metal (bronze) finial in the form of an eagle.

By Shelley Murphy Globe Staff May 12, 2015

A $5 million reward for masterworks stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum a quarter century ago has failed to lead to their recovery, prompting authorities Tuesday to announce a new offer: $100,000 for the return of one of the least valuable items, a bronze eagle finial.
The reward far exceeds the value of the 10-inch-high gilded bronze eagle, which was swiped from the top of a pole supporting a silk Napoleonic flag. It was taken along with 12 other pieces valued at $500 million, including masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Manet, in what remains the world’s largest art heist and one of Boston’s most baffling crime mysteries.
Anthony Amore, the museum’s security director, said during a brief telephone interview that authorities decided to focus on the finial because “it’s probably the least known to the public and there is the possibility that someone who might have it does not realize its importance.”
He added that the finial is distinctive and easy to identify by the museum.
The $100,000 reward being offered by the museum for information leading directly to the finial’s recovery is in addition to the $5 million reward it is offering for the return of all the stolen artwork in good condition.
Amore said the museum is promising confidentiality to anyone who provides information about the finial, and those seeking anonymity could enlist a lawyer to approach authorities on their behalf.
“Our goal has been and always will be the recovery of the art,” Amore said.
As to whether the finial could lead to all of the stolen works, Amore said, “We’re always hoping for a crack in the case.”

FBI Special Agent Geoff Kelly, who has spearheaded the Gardner heist investigation for a dozen years, said, “The FBI is extremely supportive of the museum’s decision to offer this new reward for the finial, which continues to be one of the least-recognized pieces that was stolen. We encourage anyone with information to contact the Museum directly.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Amore at 617-278-5114 or by e-mail at theft@gardnermuseum.org.
The thieves cannot be prosecuted because the five-year statute of limitations for the robbery expired decades ago. However, anyone caught knowingly hiding, moving, or trying to sell the stolen treasure could face charges. The US attorney’s office has said it would consider granting immunity to anyone, including the thieves, if they orchestrate the return of the artwork.
Two men dressed as police officers talked their way into the museum on the Fenway in Boston during the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, tied up the two guards, and pulled masterworks from their frames. The stolen pieces include three Rembrandts – including his only seascape, “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” – A Vermeer, a Manet, a Flinck, five sketches by Degas and a Chinese bronze beaker from the Shang Dynasty.
The thieves attempted to steal the Napoleonic flag from a glass frame, but after removing some screws, abandoned that plan and stole the finial instead, according to authorities. The flag was of the First Regiment of Grenadiers of Foot of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard, dating to 1813-1814.
The thieves may have mistakenly believed the finial was gold, according to museum officials.
“I think it’s possible it was taken as a trophy piece, but I don’t know,” Amore said.
The new reward comes a month after a federal prosecutor alleged that Connecticut mobster Robert Gentile recently boasted to an undercover FBI agent that he had two of the stolen Gardner paintings and would sell them for $500,000.
When pressed by the agent about why he did not try to collect the $5 million reward, Gentile said he feared authorities were “going to come after him anyway” and he would never get the reward, Assistant US Attorney John Durham said during a hearing in US District Court in Hartford in April.
Gentile, 79, of Manchester, Conn., never produced the paintings and was arrested in April for allegedly selling a loaded gun while on probation for an earlier offense. He was sent back to prison to serve another two years on those prior charges, and is awaiting trial on the gun charge.
Gentile’s lawyer, A. Ryan McGuigan, has said that Gentile does not know where the stolen paintings are.
Two years ago, the FBI announced it was confident it had identified the thieves who robbed the museum but declined to name them, citing the ongoing investigation.
FBI officials said they believed some of the artwork changed hands through organized crime circles and moved from Boston to Connecticut and Philadelphia, where the trail went cold.
A credible witness claims to have seen Rembrandt’s “The Storm” when someone tried to sell it in Philadelphia around 2003, according to the FBI.
Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymurph.

Gardner Museum Offers New Reward for Item Taken in 1990 Heist

Even today at auction, the Napoleonic finial stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum some 25 years ago would not likely fetch more than $10,000, experts say.

But that didn’t stop the museum on Tuesday from offering a big new $100,000 reward for the recovery of the 10-inch, gilded bronze eagle, one of 13 works of art taken from the Boston museum during its infamous 1990 break-in.

Museum officials said they have not gone flighty. They hope a jumbo reward might trigger someone to study their finial and see if it looks like the one taken from the Gardner, which was affixed to the top of a flagpole of the First Regiment of Grenadiers of Foot in Napoleon’s Imperial Guard.

“The possibility exists that someone who might have it in their possession might not realize its importance,” said Anthony M. Amore, the museum’s security chief. He said the offer was part of an effort to “develop as many new leads as possible” in the frustrating heist.

The new reward is separate, Mr. Amore said, from the museum’s $5 million reward for the recovery of all 13 works “in good condition.” Those items include three Rembrandts, a Manet and a Vermeer.

No one could be charged in the thefts at this point, officials have said, because the statute of limitations has expired.

The Gardner’s finial dates to 1813-1814. It has a distinctive No. 1 on its metal base. Mr. Amore said the museum has information that would help it rule out replicas.

Gardner Museum offers new $100K reward for stolen art piece

Enlarge Photo

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Gardner Museum is offering a new $100,000 reward for the Napoleonic Finial (pictured), one of 13 pieces that were stolen from the museum in 1990.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is offering a $100,000 reward for one of the art pieces in the collection that was stolen from the museum 25 years ago.
The Napoleonic Finial stolen from the Gardner Museum along with 12 other works on the morning of March 18,1990. It is a 10-inch, gilded bronze eagle was affixed to the flag pole of the First Regiment of Grenadiers of Foot of Napoleon's Imperial Guard dating to 1813-1814, according to the museum.
The Gardner Museum has had a $5 million reward in place for the return of all the pieces.
This is the first time the museum has offered a separate reward for just one of the pieces, said Anthony Amore, the Gardner Museum's security director.
Amore said the Napoleanic Finial is the least recognizable of all the Gardner works that were stolen and it is possible that someone could possess it and not know it is stolen.
The offer of a $100,000 reward was not prompted by a recent tip about the Napoleanic Finial, Amore said.
"We're always doing different efforts to reach out and get people to look at our stuff and remember us. We're always trying multiple avenues to recover the art and we're trying to develop leads," he said.