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Gardner Museum via Reuters
Govaert Flinck's "Landscape with an Obelisk" (1638) is one of 13 works of art stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in a brazen robbery on March 18, 1990.
Who is behind the largest art heist in world history?
After an aggressive 23-year investigation that included law enforcement tracking down and following leads around the globe, the FBI on Monday said officials believe they know who famously made off with 13 works of art from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990, valued collectively at more than $500 million.
But today, instead of making arrests, the FBI, along with the museum and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, is making a plea: bring back the artworks and federal prosecutors will consider not filing charges.
Plus there's a $5 million reward.
“The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence that in the years after the theft, the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region, and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia, where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft,” Richard DesLauriers, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office said Monday. “With that same confidence, we have identified the thieves, who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England.”
"But we haven’t identified where the art is right now, and that’s why we are asking the public for help.”
In what is one of the FBI’s Top Ten Art Crimes, two men disguised as policemen allegedly entered the museum during the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, overpowered the security guards and pilfered 11 paintings and drawings, some of which were cut from their frames and rolled up, and two sculptures, including a 3,000-year-old Chinese bronze vessel.
See the paintings that were stolen in this gallery from the FBI.
The guards, who were not to let any outsiders in, were found handcuffed and duct-taped to chairs in the basement of the museum seven hours later. No one has ever been arrested.
The masterpieces stolen in 1990 from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are now worth half a million out of their frames – it's considered the world's biggest art heist and largest U.S. property theft ever. NBC's Pete Williams reports
The haul, which included three works by Rembrandt, a painting by Dutch painter Vermeer, a Manet painting and five drawings by Degas, was the largest private property theft ever, Harvard Magazine reported. Several empty frames still hang in the museum’s Dutch Room gallery, both as an homage to the missing works and as placeholders for when they are returned.
“With these considerable developments in the investigation over the last couple of years, it’s likely over time someone has seen the art hanging on a wall, placed above a mantel, or stored in an attic. We want that person to call the FBI.” said Special Agent Geoff Kelly, who heads the FBI investigation.
The statutes of limitation have long since passed for prosecuting the the thieves, though the government could still bring charges of receiving stolen property. But the FBI and the Justice Department believe the most important goal now is recovery, not prosecution.
“With this announcement, we want to widen the ‘aperture of awareness’ of this crime to the reach the American public and others around the world,” DesLaurier said. “The successful return of the paintings to the Gardner Museum would be the final chapter in one of the most significant art theft cases in the FBI’s history. And it is a result we would all welcome—seeing these paintings returned to their rightful home.”
Gardner Museum via Reuters
Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee
“It’s time for these paintings to come home,” said Anthony Amore, the museum’s chief of security. “You don’t have to hand us the paintings to be eligible for the reward. 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.”
The $5 million reward is not from the federal government. It was raised by the museum from private donors.
To recover stolen items and prosecute art and cultural property crime, the FBI has a specialized Art Crime Team of 14 special agents supported by special trial attorneys.
The team investigates theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines, with estimated losses running as high as $6 billion annually. The FBI also runs the National Stolen Art File, a computerized index of stolen art and cultural properties that is used as a reference by law enforcement agencies worldwide.
The Gardner Museum was founded by Isabella Stewart Gardner, an art collector who died in 1924. Her will contained very particular conditions on the running of the museum, including the arrangement of her collection and free admission to anyone named Isabella, a practice that continues today.
March 19, 1990: The Gardner Museum in Boston was the target of what turned out to be the largest art heist in history. It was pulled off with shocking simplicity. Two men dressed as policemen walked in, then walked off with numerous masterpieces. NBC's Tom Brokaw and Fred Briggs report.
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This sounds like a fishing expedition by the FBI. "We're close to identifying the perpetrators" Yeah, sure then why don't you just wait until you do and then arrest them? The FBI is hoping to scare some crooks into voluntarily returning the art because they don't have clue one about what happened to the stuff. Get real, FBI you are not dealing with four year olds you can scare so easily.
I'am with you on that one.
Reading the article, maybe they know who bought it, and they are wealthy/important/foreign national. Arresting them on receiving stolen property would be messy or difficult.
At least the Benghazi investigation will not take this long.
Wait a minute......maybe it will.
Read the article; they know who did it, but can't prosecute because the statute of limitations has passed. They just want the art returned.
'cept that they don't WANT the criminals who took them. They want the Paintings. Criminals aren't prosecutable.
they could well know who took the paintings yet not know where they are now.
@Disabledvet The article explains why they they haven't made any arrests. The statute of limitations has expired, and because they don't know where the art is located and don't want to endanger the artworks. No conspiracy here, sorry.
Don't worry Ido, the Benghazi investigation won't take nearly as long as the investigation into Iraq's WMD's.
If they're so close, why the $5 million reward?
Because arresting the thieves may not get the art back - which likely have changed hands a few times over the last 23 years. Possibly the current owners don't even realize they have stolen goods hanging on their walls (though it's unlikely given the hullabaloo the thefts caused back in the day.)
Oh, they know it. They paid a ton of money for each piece. They would not do that without knowing the provenance and that would include that it was stolen. Unfortunately, for some sickos, the theft just adds to the history of the piece.
And unfortunately, art thieves in the past are actually becoming famous among art historians! The art world is loosing it's credibility.
A 23-year investigation? How much did THAT cost?
None of your business Mom.
Same as working every day on whatever theft is current. It's like other law enforcement officials working cold cases - part of the regular job. It's just a higher valued asset they are trying to recover than, say, a brick of coke.
Right? Glad to know my tax dollars are being put to such good use.
Way to go FBI! Only 23 years and your almost there, and even if you find the thieves, you can't prosecute them. All those poor agents, having to fly all over the world to track these villians down.
Could you tell a fake Rembrandt from an original? Only an expert can. Hang the fake on the wall. Where is the market for the original? Sell it to someone to look at in his basement when, he doesn't even know whether what he is looking at is "original" (except for the fact that someone told him so). The point is, it may have been "neat" 20 years ago when you got it, but what are you going to do with it today? Stare at it some more?
Has nothing to do with actually looking at the piece. With owners of prestige pieces of art, it's the simple act of having it that's the bragging point. That's why these people paid to get it, very probably knowing all along it was stolen. This theft is very well known in the art world, has been for two decades, yet the paintings have never surfaced in the public. Because they're sitting on some wealthy ass-hat's wall as a bragging point.
What the FBI and museum are hoping for is that one of the "hired help" will know what they're looking at and turn their employers in for the reward.
If the person that posses the painting is bragging, they would of been caught long ago. People get jealous and love to snitch.
Well they better have a counterfeit $5 million handy in case someone tries to return counterfeit paintings for the reward.
Famous works of fine art are used as currency among the elite of many criminal organizations. They may or may not appreciate the work itself (though I think the people who sponsored the original theft certainly did), but there is a sense of power to be had in owning something that is irreplaceable and has so much monetary and cultural value. Hitler and his crowd at the top of the Nazi food chain greedily plundered Europe's great museums thinking that the ennobling quality of fine art would somehow rub off and whitewash their souls.
In any case, these works are irreplaceable cultural icons that belong to all of humanity. The Rembrandt alone is the only seascape known to have been done by him. They should be in a museum where they can be secure from damage and available to everyone to see.
the fun thing about having real original masterpieces for rich folks is to show they off. I can't see how any American collector could show these off.
My thought is that they are elsewhere...someone suggested Russia.
Note the statement in the article; "The statutes of limitation have long since passed for prosecuting the thieves".
So basically all the FBI is doing is acting on behalf of the museum by attempting to scare whomever actually HAS these stolen pieces into turning themselves in. Or have someone rat them them out, hence the $5 mill reward, which is from the museum themselves via PRIVATE donations.
In a nutshell, there is nothing the FBI can or will do other than MAYBE prosecute anyone who is actually caught with the stolen paintings in the possession. Other than that, whomever actually STOLE the paintings in the first place are beyond the touch of the FBI.
If they know who stole the paintings, then why not just arrest them and interrogate them $5 million worth to recover the paintings?
Statute of limitations has expired on the theft itself. And chances are, if the FBI is taking this to the public's attention now, the statute of limitations on receipt of stolen property is about to expire.
However, I'm sure the FBI could come up with a way to justify kidnapping the thieves and then turn them over to the CIA for them to torture for the information... That apparently is legal in the US now days.
Unless the art was stolen to order by one person, it's unlikely the actual thieves knew who ended up with the pieces. Usually there's a middleman or fence or other third party handling receiving and payment. And after 23 years, some of the guilty parties may be dead.
Yeah. Give me the $5 million, the names of the suspects, look the other way and I'll get the paintings back. :-)
well the art work is worthless as long as it is stolen property so the 5 million is worth the call, the art work? can't be displayed or resold whats the use of having if you can;t display or pass on tto heirs?
Sure the artwork can be displayed. You put it on your wall and let everyone assume it's a copy and not the real thing. Unless you've got an expert art appraiser in your circle of friends, who's going to be able to prove it's the real deal.
That's the other problem with the FBI's approach. The FBI has to be able to obtain a warrant to search for the real painting, which means they'd have to be able to prove to a judge that they had good evidence that the painting was the real painting BEFORE they went in to seize it. Not going to be able to do that on just a phone tip from some maid or limo driver.
However, some forgeries are also now becoming valuable!
my brother, died never knowing, what he had on his walls.
The FBI has no monies allocated to pay any rewards period, That includes the famous Top Ten Most Wanted List. As usual with our government it is all talk and no action.
Too bad the FBI didn't spend the last 23 years investigating the world's largest Ponzi scheme that has been going on in our Nation's Capitol
If the case would have been given to the "Criminal Minds" Team it would have been solved in an hour vs 23 years.
I hope they are returned soon. I visited the museum last fall and it was sad to see there were blank spots were the paintings belong.I would make the long trip again to see them.
Make a big pile, throw a match on them, post on YouTube. Except for the YouTube part best thing to do if they have not sold at this point. Oh ya, take pictures, to hang in empty frames. If your the FBI, some Saudi Prince probably has them by now. Who else would buy them and be out of their reach.
That "artwork" is trash anyways.
that's a long time for the art to be sitting around, it could be moldy or have cat pee on them
"Criminal organization with a base in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England."
CURSE YOU LOBSTER MAFIA!!!!
Must have been stolen by Neil Caffrey.
The art work that was cut from the frames would be easily identifiable because it could be matched exactly to the remaining pieces of canvas left in the frames. Probably someone with no experience getting rid of stolen goods has it, found it was frozen due to its fame, and now has no earthly use for it.
Since two of the pictures were cut from the frames, any commercial framer would recognize them. Of course, if they were whisked away to some gulag, not much chance of getting them back. But I think the FBI is going to pounce soon and come up with the goods.
I wish the FBI would put that amount of Energy into Investigating the Attorney Generals gun running program..Or how about curing the Cancer caused by the Inter-State Criminal Gangs like the Pirus, Bloods, Crips, Black Muslims, Mexican, Russian and Italian Mafia's. Or the Bribery of our Elected Leaders...There has to be at least 50 taking money for whatever they can. I know I felt robbed when I paid my tax bill.... Since Obama came into Office my tax bill has risen every year, I wouldn't mind but I am on a fixed Income and do not have the capability to shake down some Industry for a cash donation like our Polticans do..
Property crime is considered by society to be more serious than crimes against persons.
Eddie and soon, America will rise again with higher taxes. You righties love lower taxes and with lower taxes comes homelessness. Higher unemployment because the rich got tax breaks, at the expense of the middle and lower class. The tax rebate has to come from some place. Can't just print it from thin air, unless your Bush. Might I remind of you 3 rebates under King George. Or have you forgotten those Eddie? FYI Eddie, Americans pay some of the lowest personal income taxes in the world, YES In the world. http://www.stevedennie.com/american-taxes-vs-the-world/
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/how-low-are-us-taxes-compared-to-other-countries/267148/
There is some food for thought Eddie, Chew on it. LEARN SOMETHING YOU MORON! America is broke. We got that way from the GOP giving trillions to the rich. Starting 2 wars that cost trillions. Now Obama has a plan to fix it and it calls for raising taxes. You can't continue to cut taxes and spending and expect America to be solvent. Only the righties think that way. We are $15 Trillion in the hole and just cutting spending WILL NOT solve the issue. You HAVE to raise taxes and if you don't like it. MOVE
Let me ask you this Eddie. IF and IF the tax cuts really do work, as you GOPers have said it does. WHERE are the jobs from the alleged tax cuts? I mean Bush did it 3 times and by the end of his time in office 21 MILLION people lost their jobs. So, am I missing something? NO I see it clearly. Sadly the GOPers are foggy.
Ah, a story of stolen artwork and some DRONE has to bring partisan politics into the mix - just can't refrain.
Borrrrrrring.
Eddie: you are a clumsy liar. Unless your income is over $250k/yr (would you call that a "fixed income"?) your federal taxes have not gone up.
420 Frees the Mind : Raising taxes won't help solve the debt problem; it only gives the politicians more money to give away or waste like a kid in a candy store. Besides, this topic has nothing to do with the article about stolen artwork.
Whitey Bulger is the key when they got him, they got the info!~
heh wonder if he knows
can't remember if he was in hiding before that...I think not
Damm it! I knew those rolls of paper in my grama's attic that I used for bonfire on 4th of July, worthed a few bucks. I knew it :(
I'll admit this is a crime, and we should put forth some measure to seek justice, but there's a point where it seems far more like helping the rich is of far greater concern then helping us peons...
Nah
the Gardner Museum is for the people. It's a private museum but really well loved, really nice. The original owner of the mansion was rich but she left her amazing art collection and house as a museum for the public to enjoy
they even have one night a week free. It's a beautiful place
Sorry, but what the Saudi Royals hide in Mecca & Medina is no one's business except Allah.
we should ask the Bush's if they saw any over there
The FBI doesn't have a clue, it's obvious.
In 1974 the Kolomoki Museum in Southern GA was robbed of priceless pre columbian artifacts.
Some years later, some of it showed in swap meets.........
where it was being sold for ten to twenty dollars.
I somehow think that the price paid for art stolen in Boston,
if indeed it was sold, is much less than it was worth.