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The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft was an art theft that occurred in the early hours of March 18, 1990, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. A pair of thieves disguised as Boston police officers tricked the museum security guards into granting them access to the building. They proceeded to tie up the guards and steal thirteen works of art worth an estimated $500 million, making it the largest private property theft in history. The thieves were in the museum for over an hour while the city was preoccupied with Saint Patrick's Day celebrations. The stolen works were among many purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her lifetime, and as with all the art she purchased, were intended to be left on permanent display at the museum with the rest of her collection. Among the stolen works was ''The Concert'', one of only 34 known works by Vermeer in the world and thought to be the most valuable unrecovered stolen painting at over $200 million. Works by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and Govaert Flinck were also stolen. Since the collection and its layout are permanent, empty frames remain hanging both in homage to the missing works and as placeholders for when they are returned. Despite efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and multiple probes across the world, no arrests have been made, and no artwork has yet been recovered. The case remains open and unsolved, with the museum offering a reward of $5 million for information leading to the recovery of the art. In March 2013, the FBI stated it believed to know the identity of the thieves and that a criminal organization was involved; however, no arrests were made. In August 2015, the U.S. Attorney's Office released a new video showing what they believe to be a dry run of the heist. Along with this announcement, the FBI stated that the previous two suspects were now deceased. ==Robbery== Around 12:00AM on Sunday, March 18, 1990, a car pulled up near the side entrance of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum along Palace Road.〔 Two men with fake police uniforms waited for at least an hour in the car, perhaps trying to avoid being noticed by people leaving a St. Patrick's Day party nearby. Later at around 1:00AM, security guard Richard Abath returned to the front desk after patrolling the museum to switch positions with the other security guard. The two guards were the only people in the building. At this time, Abath opened and quickly shut the Palace Road door, claiming he “did it to make sure...that the door was securely locked...() was trained to do it that way.” He claims security logs would show that he tested the door on other nights as well. The FBI seized the logs, but has declined to comment on what they show.〔 At 1:24 AM, one of the two men outside pressed the buzzer near the door and ordered: "Police! Let us in. We heard about a disturbance in the courtyard." Abath knew he should not let uninvited guests inside, but he was unsure on whether the rule applied to police officers. “There they stood," Abath said in his manuscript, "two of Boston’s finest waving at me through the glass. Hats, coats, badges, they looked like cops." With his partner on patrol, Abath decided to buzz in the men.〔 When the intruders arrived at the main security desk, one of them told Abath "You look familiar...I think we have a default warrant out for you." Abath stepped out from behind his desk, where he had access to the only alarm button in the museum to alert police. He was quickly asked for his ID, ordered to stand facing a wall, and then handcuffed. Abath believed the arrest was a misunderstanding, until he realized he hadn't been frisked before being cuffed, and one officer's mustache was made of wax.〔 The second security guard arrived minutes later and was also put in handcuffs. He asked the intruders "Why are you arresting me?" "You're not being arrested," was the reply. "This is a robbery. Don't give us any problems and you won't get hurt." The thieves proceeded to bring the guards to the museum's basement, where they handcuffed them to pipes and wrapped duct tape around the their hands, feet, and heads, leaving nose holes for breathing. Since the museum was equipped with motion detectors, the thieves' movements throughout the museum were recorded. After tying up the guards, the thieves went upstairs to the Dutch Room. As one of them approached a Rembrandt painting, a local alarm sounded, which they immediately smashed. They pulled Rembrandt's ''Self-Portrait'' (1629) off the wall and tried to take the wooden panel out of the heavy frame. Unsuccessful at the attempt, they left the painting on the floor. Next they cut Rembrandt's ''The Storm on the Sea of Galilee'' out of the frame, as well as ''A Lady and Gentleman in Black''. They removed Vermeer's ''The Concert'' from its frame and Govaert Flinck's ''Landscape with an Obelisk''. Additionally, they also took a Chinese bronze gu from the Shang Dynasty.〔 Elsewhere in the museum, not far from a portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner, they removed five Degas drawings and a finial in the form of an eagle. The finial lay at the top of a Napoleonic flag, which they attempted to unscrew from the wall, but failed.〔 To get to the flag, they passed by two Raphaels and a Botticelli painting.〔 Manet's ''Chez Tortoni'' was also stolen from its location in the Blue Room. Motion detector records show that the only footsteps detected in the Blue Room that night were at 12:27 and again at 12:53 a.m. These times match to when Abath said he passed through on patrol. The frame for the painting was found on security chief Lyle W. Grindle's chair near the front desk.〔 The thieves made two trips to their car with artwork during the theft, which lasted 81 minutes. Before leaving, they visited the guards once more, telling them "You’ll be hearing from us in about a year," although they were never heard from again.〔 The guards remained tied and handcuffed until the police arrived at 8:15 AM later that morning.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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