FBI agents identify alleged suspects in Gardner heist

Boston Federal Bureau of Investigation authorities announced Monday they have identified the people allegedly responsible for the half-billion-dollar art heist from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 23 years after the crime, but are not revealing the names of the suspects.

Special Agent Damon Katz, chief council for the Boston division of the FBI, said the FBI’s art theft team is hopeful that with more widespread knowledge about the heist and the circumstances surrounding it, they will be able to locate the stolen paintings.

“Bear in mind, we are not just looking for a phone call from somebody who has the art — although that would be great too — we’re looking for a phone call or an email or a tweet from somebody who knows where [they are] now … ” Katz said. “Any piece of information that could lead us to the art is the sort of thing we’re hoping to hear from the public.”

The thieves are members of a criminal organization based in the mid-Atlantic states and New England, according to the press release. The organization attempted to sell the painting 10 years ago, but the FBI’s knowledge is limited on the whereabouts of the paintings.

“We are not releasing any more specific information about any individuals or about the group referenced in the press conference on Monday,” said Special Agent Geoffrey Kelly, lead investigator on the case.

In 1990, two men dressed as police officers subdued the museum guards and left with 13 works of art from figures such as Edgar Degas, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Édouard Manet and Johannes Vermeer. These works, altogether, are estimated to be worth about $500 million, the release stated.“As we have said in the past, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will consider the possibility of immunity from criminal prosecution for information that leads to the return of the paintings based on the set of facts and circumstances brought to our attention,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz in a written statement. “Our primary goal is, and always has been, to have the paintings returned.”

Despite Ortiz’s offer for those returning the art, as well as the statute of limitations for prosecuting the thieves that ended five years after the theft, Katz said putting the culprits in prison was not a priority.

After Connecticut mobster Robert Gentile revealed information about the heist during a questioning for a different case in 2010, the FBI has been able to trace those responsible for the theft between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, said Special Agent Richard DesLauriers, head of the FBI’s Boston office, in a written statement.

“We hope that through this media campaign, people will see how earnest we are in our attempts to pay this reward and make our institution whole,” said Anthony Amore, chief of security at the museum, in a written statement. “It’s time for these paintings to come home.”

Julia Neal, graduate gallery assistant for the Boston University Art Gallery, said for some time, there were accusations that the security was involved with the theft and that the museum was not doing enough to locate the culprits or art.

“There’s been a lot of controversy about the theft,” Neal said. “People say that there wasn’t enough security to protect the works and criticize the museum as not having cared enough to properly protect the works.”