Almost on the button 29 years ago , two men disguise as police officer weaseled their way into Boston ’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and started murder jimmy artworks from the wall . They made off with 13 renowned paintings and sculptures , representing a value of more than $ 500 million . It persist thelargest place theftin U.S. account , but no one has ever been charge in connection with the holdup .

Now , asSmithsonianreports , the last life person who may have first - script knowledge about the heist will be free from prison this Sunday after process 54 months for an unrelated crime . Robert ( Bobby ) Gentile , an 82 - class - old gangster who was jailed for sell a gas to a known murderer , has been questioned by authorities in the past . In 2010 , the married woman of the later gangster Robert ( Bobby ) Guarente told investigator she had control her hubby give several of the graphics in question to Gentile — a good friend of Guarente’s — eight years prior .

A 2012 maraud of Gentile ’s home also revealed a inclination of calamitous food market prices for the steal items . premature testimonial from other mob associates — coupled with the fact that Gentile had failed a polygraph run when he was oppugn about the graphics armed robbery — hint Gentile might know more about the criminal offense than he has allow on . For his part , though , Gentilesayshe is devoid and cognize nothing about the artistic production or the holdup .

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wikimedia Commons // Public domain

The FBI annunciate in 2013 that it knew who was creditworthy for the museum stickup , but would not break their names because they were dead . Still , the whereabouts of the artworks — including prized paintings byRembrandt , Manet , Vermeer , and Degas — stay on unknown . The museum is offering a $ 10 million reward to anyone who can provide information leading to “ the recuperation of all 13 works in salutary condition , " concord to the museum’swebsite . A separate $ 100,000 reinforcement will be provide for the return of aneagle finialthat was used by Napoleon ’s Imperial Guard .

[ h / tSmithsonian ]