Abath was moonlighting as a security guard at the museum when he buzzed in the two men, disguised as cops, who would go on to steal the art. Abath was found with his hands bound and face covered with duct tape the morning after the heist.
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The suspects in the notorious Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist are dead, the Associated Press is reporting. To this day, investigators are still looking into the crime and new video evidence might incriminate Richard Abath, who was thought to be a victim in the heist, the New York Times reports.
Now the FBI has settled the lingering mystery of why no one was ever charged: The suspects are dead. Kowenhoven declined to make their names public, AP reported.
Stephen Kurkjian, author of “Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled off the World’s Greatest Art Heist”, called the video release the most significant development to occur in the case in the past 25 years. He also let the unidentified man into the museum the night before, according to several people familiar with the investigation. On Thursday, August 6, 2015, the U.S. Attorney’s Office released a surveillance video showing an automobile outside the rear entrance and an unauthorized visitor entering the museum 24 hours before the robbery.
The newly released grainy video shows a auto pulling up to the museum that matches the description of a vehicle spotted outside shortly before the heist. The thieves handcuffed the museum’s two guards on duty and put them in separate areas of the museum’s basement.
In 2013, authorities said investigators believe they know who the thieves were, but they would not identify them.
Against museum policy, the guard allowed the men into the museum.
A $5m reward has been offered by the museum for information that leads to the recovery of the stolen artwork in good condition.
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Authorities hope the never-before seen video will spark leads to help recover the 13 pieces of stolen artwork, worth at least $500 million. “These are cultural masterpieces that we are trying to recover”.
