Mobster linked to art heist released in gun case
HARTFORD, Conn. — A mobster who authorities believe is the last surviving person of interest in the largest art heist in history has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison in an unrelated weapons case.
Robert Gentile, 81, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut. He was given credit for time already served, and is expected to spend about 11 more months behind bars.
Federal prosecutors have said they believe Gentile has 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. Gentile, of Manchester, has denied knowing anything about it.
He asked the judge Tuesday to consider letting him go home to his wife, describing his latest stint in prison as horrifying.