Questions Remain...
Although this was a fictionalized version of what might have happened, many of the clues and leads were based on facts researched and compiled from numerous news reports, articles, websites, books, and various blogger theories.
There are so many possible suspects and / or shady characters tangentially involved that it wasn't possible to bring in each one. So in order to simplify, in some cases, I combined two people into one, or ignored some persons possible involvement all together. To find out more about the case, do a google search and you will come up with many, many websites with so much information. Or start with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum website or the FBI's website on the art theft:
In truth, James "Whitey" Bulger was captured in 2011, but knowing that would have ruined the start to our game! And right before I started putting pieces together for the digital version of the game in 2013, the FBI announced they knew who had committed the theft. I was praying they didn't come out with the info while we were working on our game! Below you can see the Press Conference held by the FBI.
There are so many possible suspects and / or shady characters tangentially involved that it wasn't possible to bring in each one. So in order to simplify, in some cases, I combined two people into one, or ignored some persons possible involvement all together. To find out more about the case, do a google search and you will come up with many, many websites with so much information. Or start with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum website or the FBI's website on the art theft:
In truth, James "Whitey" Bulger was captured in 2011, but knowing that would have ruined the start to our game! And right before I started putting pieces together for the digital version of the game in 2013, the FBI announced they knew who had committed the theft. I was praying they didn't come out with the info while we were working on our game! Below you can see the Press Conference held by the FBI.
If you find this topic fascinating like I do, I invite you to check out some of the books that have been written about the case, the people, and the subject of art theft. There are even some great novels based around the premise of the theft. You can find most, if not all of them at amazon.com or, even better, have your local book store order them for you.
The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser
Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists by Anthony M. Amore and Tom MashbergThe Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Thief by Myles J. Connor and Jenny Siler
Artful Deception by James J. McGovern
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures by Robert K. Wittman and John Shiffman
Stolen Masterpiece Tracker by Thomas McShane and Dary Matera
The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art by Matthew Hart
The Art Forger: A Novel by B. A. Shapiro
Among Thieves by David Hosp
The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece (P.S.) by Edward Dolnick
The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: On Stealing the World's Most Famous Painting by Noah Charney, Dr. Derek Fincham and Urska Charney
Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft by Simon Houpt and Julian Radcliffe
Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art by Joshua Knelman
A great documentary about hunting down the stolen artworks: Stolen Starring Blythe Danner, Campbell Scott, Harold J. Smith, et al.
and a novel for kids: Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking: A 14 Day Mystery by Erin Dionne
And if you are interested in looking into the career of being a police sketch artist, I recommend these:
Forensic Art and Illustration by Karen T. Taylor
Forensic Art Essentials: A Manual for Law Enforcement Artists by Lois Gibson
The Police Composite Sketch by Stephen Mancusi
Digital Forensic Art Techniques: A Professional’s Guide to Corel Painter 1st Edition
by Natalie Murry
Some Thoughts to Consider...
from a great blog that ponders the Gardner Case and all its many facts (http://arthistorystories.com)
The first questions are “who” and “why”. There were two thieves. Who were they? I think that there are two possible
explanations: either both thieves died shortly after the heist, or David Turner was one of the thieves. Turner’s accomplice could have been Stephen Rossetti or he could have murdered his accomplice. Bobby Donati, David Houghton, George Reissfelder, Lenny DiMuzio, and Charlie Pappas all died shortly after the heist.
Donati, DiMuzio, and Pappas were all murdered, and Reissfelder’s death is suspicious. What do we know about the heist and how can that information be used to determine who was behind the heist?
The heist was carefully planned, otherwise the thieves would have been caught. The thieves took their time, spending 81 minutes
in the museum. Clearly they weren’t concerned with the police showing up and spoiling their fun. The thieves must have done their research and had knowledge of the museum’s security systems. One of the first things they did was ask the guard at the desk to step away from the desk, and away from the only alarm that he could activate to notify the police. The thieves were prepared.
Who was behind the planning and why did they want the artwork?
Myles Connor and Bobby Donati both had experience stealing artwork, and had cased the museum. Ralph Rossetti planned,
but never executed, a robbery of the Gardner Museum in 1982. Did the thieves get the information to outsmart the security at the Gardner Museum from these sources? Did the people behind the heist find inspiration in news headlines? There are similarities to Brian McDevitt’s failed Hyde Collection robbery. The thieves could have used information from experienced art thieves, new reports of art heists, and/or they may have had inside information on the museum security.
Was it Connor, Donati, Rossetti, one of the guards, or someone else who helped plan the heist? Based on the fact that two paintings were cut from the stretchers, the thieves were not acting alone. Thieves smart enough to plan and execute a museum heist would be smart enough to know that cutting art from the stretcher would damage it and greatly reduce its value. The thieves were the muscle doing the job; they weren’t taking the artwork for themselves. Who wanted the artwork, and how did they recruit the thieves for the job?
Myles Connor’s story that David Houghton visited him in prison and confessed that he and Bobby Donati were the thieves is a
tempting explanation. If Connor and Donati cased the museum together, Donati would have gained the information needed to successfully execute the robbery.
But Donati and Houghton couldn’t have been the thieves. Donati was 50 at the time of the heist and Houghton weighted 300 pounds. Even though the descriptions the guards gave of the thieves are not great, Donati and Houghton clearly don’t match. The police descriptions list the thieves as being in their 20s or 30s, and having a medium build.
David Turner matches the description of one of the thieves and resembles the police sketch. Turner also has a history of
committing robberies and Boston mafia connections that could have been behind the heist. He robbed cash from a Boston bar, and he robbed a woman at her home stealing cash and jewelry. The fact that Turner stole jewelry suggests that he had the connections to turn stolen goods into cash. Could he have stolen the Gardner art? Yes. Turner earned the nickname “Teflon Gangster” because of his ability to get away with his crimes. He also had all the right connections. He was close with Stephen Rossetti, whose Uncle was an art thief who planned to heist the Gardner Museum. Both Rossettis and Turner were part of Carmello Merlino’s crew.
David Turner usually stole cash. He wouldn’t have been the person who decided to steal paintings. Who instructed David Turner
to rob the Gardner Museum? Perhaps Turner’s friend Stephen Rossetti recruited him to help with the heist his Uncle Ralph had planned. Turner, Stephen Rossetti and Carmello were friends and associates up until the FBI arrested all three of them for plotting to rob an armored car. Did Turner, Stephen Rossetti and Merlino plan the Gardner heist together? They would have had the knowledge of the museum, and the mafia connections to exchange the artwork for black market goods.
If David Turner was one of the thieves would he
be able to keep quiet about it? Turner had a way of walking away from the crimes
he committed, even when it seemed impossible. The Canton home robbery case
proves that Turner would kill his associates and intimidate the witnesses to
protect himself. Turner is suspected of murdering Lenny DiMuzio, who was an
informant. He may have killed DiMuzio and maybe even Joe Murray (another
informant whose death was suspicious) in order to prevent them from ratting him
out to the police. If Turner didn’t murder them, Merlino could have ordered the
killings.
If Turner was one of the thieves why didn’t he
try to negotiate the return of the paintings for leniency when he was arrested
in 1999? Turner wouldn’t have held onto the paintings, and they could have
changed hands multiple times. Turner could have only used his information on the
heist to negotiate with authorities to help return the artwork to the museum.
What would David Turner do with stolen artwork?
He probably would have passed it along to his mob boss Carmello Merlino who
could have exchanged it for money, drugs, or guns. Merlino had many underworld
connections that he could have used to turn the artwork into something of use to
him. Merlino was close with Robert Guarente. Guarente was friends with Robert
Gentile who was a member of a different criminal organization. Guarente could
have helped facilitate a deal where Merlino exchanged the Gardner art with
Robert Gentile and the Philadelphia based Genovese crime family.
Today, the most critical question in the Gardner
heist case is “where”. The statute of limitations for the theft has expired and
attention should be focused on where the artwork is hiding. The FBI believes
that the artwork is currently in the Connecticut of Philadelphia area. The
Merlino-Guarente-Gentile connection explains how the artwork could have been
traded between criminal organizations, and moved from Boston to
Philadelphia.
What makes the Gardner heist so fascinating is
how complicated it is. There are no clear answers. It is difficult to confirm or
deny that any of the dozen plus suspects were involved in the heist. David
Turner and Robert Guarente seem to be the answers to many of questions of how
the artwork was stolen and where it might be today.
The first questions are “who” and “why”. There were two thieves. Who were they? I think that there are two possible
explanations: either both thieves died shortly after the heist, or David Turner was one of the thieves. Turner’s accomplice could have been Stephen Rossetti or he could have murdered his accomplice. Bobby Donati, David Houghton, George Reissfelder, Lenny DiMuzio, and Charlie Pappas all died shortly after the heist.
Donati, DiMuzio, and Pappas were all murdered, and Reissfelder’s death is suspicious. What do we know about the heist and how can that information be used to determine who was behind the heist?
The heist was carefully planned, otherwise the thieves would have been caught. The thieves took their time, spending 81 minutes
in the museum. Clearly they weren’t concerned with the police showing up and spoiling their fun. The thieves must have done their research and had knowledge of the museum’s security systems. One of the first things they did was ask the guard at the desk to step away from the desk, and away from the only alarm that he could activate to notify the police. The thieves were prepared.
Who was behind the planning and why did they want the artwork?
Myles Connor and Bobby Donati both had experience stealing artwork, and had cased the museum. Ralph Rossetti planned,
but never executed, a robbery of the Gardner Museum in 1982. Did the thieves get the information to outsmart the security at the Gardner Museum from these sources? Did the people behind the heist find inspiration in news headlines? There are similarities to Brian McDevitt’s failed Hyde Collection robbery. The thieves could have used information from experienced art thieves, new reports of art heists, and/or they may have had inside information on the museum security.
Was it Connor, Donati, Rossetti, one of the guards, or someone else who helped plan the heist? Based on the fact that two paintings were cut from the stretchers, the thieves were not acting alone. Thieves smart enough to plan and execute a museum heist would be smart enough to know that cutting art from the stretcher would damage it and greatly reduce its value. The thieves were the muscle doing the job; they weren’t taking the artwork for themselves. Who wanted the artwork, and how did they recruit the thieves for the job?
Myles Connor’s story that David Houghton visited him in prison and confessed that he and Bobby Donati were the thieves is a
tempting explanation. If Connor and Donati cased the museum together, Donati would have gained the information needed to successfully execute the robbery.
But Donati and Houghton couldn’t have been the thieves. Donati was 50 at the time of the heist and Houghton weighted 300 pounds. Even though the descriptions the guards gave of the thieves are not great, Donati and Houghton clearly don’t match. The police descriptions list the thieves as being in their 20s or 30s, and having a medium build.
David Turner matches the description of one of the thieves and resembles the police sketch. Turner also has a history of
committing robberies and Boston mafia connections that could have been behind the heist. He robbed cash from a Boston bar, and he robbed a woman at her home stealing cash and jewelry. The fact that Turner stole jewelry suggests that he had the connections to turn stolen goods into cash. Could he have stolen the Gardner art? Yes. Turner earned the nickname “Teflon Gangster” because of his ability to get away with his crimes. He also had all the right connections. He was close with Stephen Rossetti, whose Uncle was an art thief who planned to heist the Gardner Museum. Both Rossettis and Turner were part of Carmello Merlino’s crew.
David Turner usually stole cash. He wouldn’t have been the person who decided to steal paintings. Who instructed David Turner
to rob the Gardner Museum? Perhaps Turner’s friend Stephen Rossetti recruited him to help with the heist his Uncle Ralph had planned. Turner, Stephen Rossetti and Carmello were friends and associates up until the FBI arrested all three of them for plotting to rob an armored car. Did Turner, Stephen Rossetti and Merlino plan the Gardner heist together? They would have had the knowledge of the museum, and the mafia connections to exchange the artwork for black market goods.
If David Turner was one of the thieves would he
be able to keep quiet about it? Turner had a way of walking away from the crimes
he committed, even when it seemed impossible. The Canton home robbery case
proves that Turner would kill his associates and intimidate the witnesses to
protect himself. Turner is suspected of murdering Lenny DiMuzio, who was an
informant. He may have killed DiMuzio and maybe even Joe Murray (another
informant whose death was suspicious) in order to prevent them from ratting him
out to the police. If Turner didn’t murder them, Merlino could have ordered the
killings.
If Turner was one of the thieves why didn’t he
try to negotiate the return of the paintings for leniency when he was arrested
in 1999? Turner wouldn’t have held onto the paintings, and they could have
changed hands multiple times. Turner could have only used his information on the
heist to negotiate with authorities to help return the artwork to the museum.
What would David Turner do with stolen artwork?
He probably would have passed it along to his mob boss Carmello Merlino who
could have exchanged it for money, drugs, or guns. Merlino had many underworld
connections that he could have used to turn the artwork into something of use to
him. Merlino was close with Robert Guarente. Guarente was friends with Robert
Gentile who was a member of a different criminal organization. Guarente could
have helped facilitate a deal where Merlino exchanged the Gardner art with
Robert Gentile and the Philadelphia based Genovese crime family.
Today, the most critical question in the Gardner
heist case is “where”. The statute of limitations for the theft has expired and
attention should be focused on where the artwork is hiding. The FBI believes
that the artwork is currently in the Connecticut of Philadelphia area. The
Merlino-Guarente-Gentile connection explains how the artwork could have been
traded between criminal organizations, and moved from Boston to
Philadelphia.
What makes the Gardner heist so fascinating is
how complicated it is. There are no clear answers. It is difficult to confirm or
deny that any of the dozen plus suspects were involved in the heist. David
Turner and Robert Guarente seem to be the answers to many of questions of how
the artwork was stolen and where it might be today.