It was almost too simple of an idea. Perhaps that was the beauty of it all... because it actually worked. What's even more incredible was how much they escaped with.
This
is the story behind the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist - the
largest theft of private property in American history with an estimated
value of US$600 million. And (spoiler alert) it remains unsolved to this
day.
The night of the disappearance
March
18th, 1990. Sunday morning. 12:30 AM. It's the early hours of the day
after St. Patrick's Day. The perfect time to commit a high-profile
crime. Any would-be witnesses are deeply inebriated at this point, more
so as the target in question is at the heart of Boston. A stronghold for
the working class and Irish-Catholic guilt - both known to induce a
certain thirst.
In
less than an hour later, two men dressed as police officers would
arrive at the side entrance of the Gardner Museum in a hatchback. Any
sober person would be suspicious of police officers in an unmarked
hatchback, but there were no sober individuals in sight. The two men
buzzed the museum's intercom system and explained they were called to
investigate a disturbance. Fearing a St. Patrick's Day reveller had
breached the newly bolstered security measures, the Gardener Museum's
nightwatchmen let them in. This is where the real finesse began.
Once
in the building, the thieves demanded that all personnel return to the
security desk. While the one other guard was radioed to return, the
guard that had let the thieves in was lured away from the desk where the
only panic button was located. It was a matter of roughly ten minutes
before both guards were handcuffed, bound and blinded with duct tape,
and left tethered helplessly in the basement as the daring criminal duo
began to work their way through to the multi-million dollar goods.
From
there, it became more of a smash-and-grab affair. The thieves broke the
glass frames and used a blade to cut the canvases out of their
stretches. And they were smart about it too.
Among the most
notable half-finished lifts was a large Rembrandt oil painting with wood
instead of canvas, taken off the wall and left to lean against a
cabinet; a detail that lends itself to the theory that their manpower
was limited to the two individuals who had made it in, thereby forcing
them to only take what was easiest to transport.
This detail also
supports the theory that there was no definitive plan to target
specific artworks prior to entering the museum (but more on this
later).
The
final stage before the thieves made their seamless exit involved a bit
of courteous housekeeping. They made sure the guards were comfortable
(actually asked them if they were still comfortable, in fact), then made
their way to the security director's office where they removed footage
from closed-circuit camera and data print-outs of the motion sensors.
The entire robbery lasted eighty-one minutes in total.
The haul was mindblowing. The thieves made it out with:
The Concert by Vermeer
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt
A Lady and Gentleman in Black by Rembrandt
Self-Portrait by Rembrandt
Landscape with Obelisk by Flinck
Chez Tortoni by Manet
La Sortie de Pesage by Degas
Cortege aux Environs de Florence by Degas
Program for an Artistic Soiree 1 by Degas
Program for an Artistic Soiree 2 by Degas
Three Mounted Jockeys by Degas
An ancient Chinese gu
And a French Imperial Eagle finial
Initially,
the FBI had valued the collection of thirteen stolen artworks to be
worth somewhere around US$200 million. That estimate was later raised to
US$500 million by 2000, and currently, suggestions indicate the true
value could be worth closer to a staggering US$600 million. Certainly
enough to justify being labelled the largest theft of private property
in American history.
Vermeer's The Concert alone is
worth half of the total value, with an estimated value of US$250 million
back in 2015. The scale and magnitude of this haul is truly in a league
of its own.
Where the trail runs cold
In criminal investigation, the key to uncovering the story and building a case requires means, motive, and opportunity.
The means and opportunity are both fairly clear. But what has remained a
mystery is the motive (beyond getting their hands on something of
insane value). And that's where the trail runs cold.
For law
enforcement to figure out the 'who', they needed to understand the
'why'. The problem being the 'why' has become muddled with far-flung and
fantastical theories involving the Boston Mafia, the IRA, maybe Whitey
Bulger, and prison breaks.
To make things even more difficult,
aside from witness descriptions of one thief being "... about 5'9"–5'10"
in his late 30s with a medium build..." and the other as "... 6'–6'1"
in his early 30s with a heavier build..." - there really are no further
leads. No useful DNA evidence. No fingerprints that match any star
suspects. Not even a convincing accusation that hasn't been shot down by
a iron-clad alibi.
One
prevailing theory is that a gangster by the name of Bobby Donati
orchestrated the heist in an effort to negotiate the release of his boss
from prison. The chances of verifying this have since diminished
significantly, as Donati was murdered a year after the robbery due to a
gang war within the Patriarca crime family.
Yet another theory - which has a bit more weight to it given the advocacy by individuals such as former Scotland Yard detective turned private investigator, Charles Hill - points to James 'Whitey' Bulger as the key to it all.
Bulger
was the most powerful criminal figure in Boston at the time of the
heist, and Hill believes the haul was handed over to an IRA-affiliated
gang in Ireland as part of some deal. Bulger also had a strong
connection with the local police force, which would explain how the
thieves acquired bona fide uniforms. Though he obviously claimed to have
no knowledge of the theft and even feigned outrage as it occurred on
this 'turf' without proper tribute being paid. The chances of verifying
this has also diminished significantly, as Bulger was murdered in prison
while serving his sentence two years ago.
If you take the time to
search independently, you'll find virtually endless branches of
theories and suspects. None of which have ever been proven nor further
illuminated the issue at hand.
Here's where it gets even wilder...
Suspects
have been offered everything from reward money to freedom in exchange
for useful information - but none have ever revealed anything of use.
Setting this aside, Federal prosecutors have stated on the record that
anyone who voluntarily returns the stolen artwork will not be
prosecuted, as the statute of limitations expired in 1995 - meaning the thieves and anyone else who participated in this heist cannot be prosecuted.
Yet in the current year of 2019, authorities are still none
the wiser. Even with the exorbitant bounty of US$10 million simply for
any information that could lead to the thirteen artwork's recovery, the
ongoing investigation has yielded nought. Keep in mind that those who
were involved could claim this very bounty themselves beyond the cold,
harsh reproach of the law. To date, none of the thirteen stolen
pieces have ever resurfaced. And given the profile of this unprecedented
heist, whoever is in possession of them would be wise to never let them
resurface.
What we know for sure is that they must have a
high appreciation for the arts - or else they would be virtually
worthless sitting in a vault somewhere. Anyone who was in on this purely
for the money would have surely surrendered it at the first chance of
the reward; and there have been multiple chances, each one without legal
repercussions post-1995. And if they'd popped up on the black market at
any point, someone would be talking about it, especially since it's not
just a single artwork.
Or, we can subscribe to the theories that speculate they were used as a bargaining chip.
Either way, it begs the $600 million question that hundreds before us have had...
What the hell happened to the artworks?
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