Robert Gentile, a reputed mobster who may be connected to a 1990 heist of art worth $500 million, has died, according to his attorney.
Attorney Ryan McGuigan confirmed that Gentile passed away on Friday after suffering a stroke last week. He was 85.
“Robert Gentile was reputed to be the last known person to possess the paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and he was the last of his kind," McGuigan wrote in a statement to NBC Connecticut.
Gentile was believed to be the last surviving person of interest in the largest art heist in history. Prosecutors argued the Manchester resident had information about the still-unsolved 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Thieves stole an estimated $500 million worth of artwork, including works by Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer.
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The art was never found.
Gentile denied knowing anything about it. His Manchester home was also searched three times and investigators never found any evidence.
In 2015 Gentile was arrested in an unrelated weapons case stemming from federal agents' seizure of firearms and ammunition from his Manchester home. He pleaded guilty and was released from prison in March 2019 after serving a four-year sentence.
