Mobster Once Questioned In Gardner Museum Art Heist Faces Charges
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A reputed Connecticut mobster suspected of having information about the largest art theft in history from a Boston museum is facing new weapons charges.
Federal prosecutors said Monday a grand jury returned an indictment charging Robert Gentile of Manchester with illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and silencers. Authorities say the weapons were seized from his home in February.
Gentile has been detained since his arrest in February on a charge of selling illegally obtained prescription painkillers.
A prosecutor revealed in court last month that the FBI believes the 75-year-old Gentile "had some involvement in connection with stolen property" related to the unsolved 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in which masterworks worth a half billion dollars were stolen.
Gentile's attorney called the notion preposterous.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
