In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, according to the FBI, two white males dressed in Boston Police uniforms gained entranced to the museum by telling a security guard they were responding the report of a disturbance.
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It has been twenty five years since the biggest art theft in history was pulled off at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The thieves then subdued on-duty personnel, handcuffing them and putting them in the basement.
The similar circumstances of what’s shown on the video and what happened the night of the robbery – including the man entering through the same rear door as the thieves – have raised questions about whether the man was practicing before the robbery.
On Thursday, investigators released surveillance video showing a “night watchman open the museum’s side door and grant unauthorized access to an unidentified man at about 12:49 a.m. on March 17, 1990-24 hours before the museum was robbed under similar circumstances”, The Boston Globe writes. “They did not take the video footage from the night before”.
The combined value of the 13 works stolen on March 18, 1990, is at least $500 million. To that end, we support the efforts that the United States Attorney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are making to uncover any and all information related to the theft of our artwork.
The key to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery may lie with one of the museum’s security guards.
Law enforcement officials on Thursday released security footage and are asking the public’s help identifying “an unauthorized visitor” in the video.
The unidentified man can be seen climbing out of the compact auto and being allowed inside by a guard.
The man is also seen getting out of a vehicle matching the general description of one reported to be parked outside the museum minutes before the theft.
“I’m very hopeful that it will generate information that can lead us back to our paintings”, said Anthony Amore, the museum’s director of security.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. He said authorities aren’t ruling out any possibility. Ortiz says that they have been re-examining evidence in the case, and they are hoping to follow any lead that will bring them to recover the stolen artwork. The video surveillance film from the evening of the robbery was seized by the thieves prior to departure.
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Police now wonder if that was a dry run for one of the world’s greatest art heists.
