Trending Now - Unveiling the $500M Art Heist: a Boston Museum's Loss
WHO:
ABC News - Geoffrey Kelly, a former FBI agent who led the investigation for over two decades.
ABC News - Rick Abath, a museum guard involved in the heist.
ABC News - Robert “Bobby” Donati, a Boston mob associate suspected in the case.
ABC News - Myles Connor, a known art thief who visited the Gardner Museum with Donati.
ABC News - George Reissfelder, believed to have owned the getaway car.
WHAT:
ABC News - 13 artworks were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, valued at more than $500 million.
ABC News - The museum offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the works, which was later doubled.
ABC News - The heist is considered the largest art theft in history.
ABC News - The artworks included Vermeer’s “The Concert” and Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”
WHERE:
ABC News - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
ABC News - New England, where agents searched houses during the investigation.
ABC News - France, where FBI agents posed as wealthy intermediaries.
WHEN:
ABC News - The heist occurred on March 18, 1990.
ABC News - Rick Abath, the museum guard, died in 2024.
WHY:
ABC News - The heist was carried out by two men dressed as police officers who persuaded a security guard to let them in.
ABC News - The museum's founder, Isabella Stewart Gardner, intended for the museum to remain unchanged after her death.
HOW:
ABC News - The thieves handcuffed the guards in the basement and cut the paintings from their frames.
ABC News - Investigators relied on informants and tips, including leads pointing to the Irish Republican Army and Boston mob figures.
ABC News - FBI agents used surveillance and undercover tactics, including posing as wealthy intermediaries on a yacht.
(UPDATED April 27, 2026 01:23 UTC)
In a stunning development, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was the site of the largest art theft in history, with 13 valuable artworks, including Vermeer’s “The Concert” and Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee,” stolen by two men posing as police officers on March 18, 1990. The museum has since offered a reward that has now reached $10 million for information leading to the recovery of the stolen pieces, while investigators have pursued leads involving notorious figures such as Rick Abath, a museum guard, and Boston mob associate Robert “Bobby” Donati. Over the years, the investigation has included extensive searches in New England and undercover operations in France, with former FBI agent Geoffrey Kelly leading the charge for more than two decades.