Essay Sample on Who Stole the Paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum?

Isabella Stewart Gardener was a New York born socialite and art collector. During her life (1840-1924) she amassed many rare and expensive works by artists including Rembrant and Michelangelo. Most paintings from her collection are stored in her residence, which is now the Isabella Stewart Gardener museum in Boston, MA. However, in 1990 two individuals broke into the museum. They tied up the guards and stole nearly $500,000,000 worth of art, including pieces by Rembrant and Vermeer ("Investigators hope for new leads in Boston museum robbery"). This is one of the most infamous museum heists, because no one has been caught, no paintings have been found, and the case has gone cold ("5 of the Greatest Museum Heists in History"). Robert Gentle was a Boston mobster who died in 2018. Gentile and the Boston mob are responsible for the Isabella Stewart Gardener museum robbery.

One point that supports this is Gentile's crime riddled past made him more likely to do more illegal things. Robert Gentile has served time in prison for his extensive criminal past. A 2013 search of  his home. They found many illegal items, such as guns, prescription drugs, and most notably: a newspaper article from the day after the heist. Gentile was later sent to prison ("Last Surviving Person of Interest in Gardner Museum Heist Dies"). If a person is in possession of stolen or illegal goods it is not too far out of the question that they have other stolen things, like a few valuable paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Another key point is that Gentile has been associated with other criminals, having people like them in his life could have driven him to crime, like a museum robbery. Gentile confirmed his relationship with other gangsters. Some of which were FBI suspects of the robbery ("Robert 'The Cook' Gentile, who may have been the last living mobster with clues to the Gardner Museum art heist, dies"). Usually one's company will influence their lifestyle and choices. If someone is with criminals they will probably become one themself. Robert Gentile was with criminals and became a criminal himself. Most criminals will keep stealing, and Robert likely fell into this cycle. 

Altogether, the blame for the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist lies at the feet of Robert Gentile. Gentile had a past filled with crime, and kept company with other Boston gangsters. These factors likely drove him to the robbery. The paintings stolen were valued at around 500 million dollars, and none of them have been recovered. The key to finding the paintings is presumably somewhere in Gentile's life.