'Last Seen' Reporter's Notebook

The Gardner Museum's Anne Hawley answers questions at a news conference in the museum's garden area about the robbery of 13 pieces of art on March 19, 1990. (Tom Landers/BostonGlobe)

Anne Hawley's Best Lead

Over the years, the Gardner Museum director received a lot of crazy tips. But an anonymous letter she received in 1994 remains the most hopeful she had ever been about...

Last Seen

Nov 12, 2018

This undated surveillance photo shows James "Whitey" Bulger, left, walking with his former right-hand man, Kevin Weeks. (U.S. Attorney's Office)

Bulger And The Gardner Heist — A Lot Of Speculation, And Very Little Evidence

Considering his reach in the underworld at that time, Bulger could have known who pulled off the heist, if not where the artwork might have been stashed.

Last Seen

Oct 31, 2018

If Bobby Donati Pulled Off The Gardner Heist, This Man Was The Reason Why

The idea that returning art of major value could act as a get-out-of-jail-free card was not lost on Bobby Donati, who had been working for crime boss Vincent Ferrara.

Last Seen

Oct 29, 2018

Chief Shea of the Natick police books Bobby Guarante on charges of robbing the First National Bank of Natick in September 1968. (Courtesy William Ryerson/Boston Globe)

Why Bobby Guarente May Be The Key In Learning Who Pulled Off The Gardner Heist

In a saga littered with con artists and dead ends, I have come to view Guarente as a legitimate suspect -- and and worthy of further investigation, writes reporter Stephen...

Last Seen

Oct 15, 2018

Former Gardner Museum security guard Rick Abath. (Matthew Cavanaugh for The Boston Globe)

What A Grateful Dead Concert Has To Do With The Gardner Heist

With tickets to a Grateful Dead concert in Hartford that day, the last thing Rick Abath wanted was to be arrested by two cops who showed up at the museum...

Last Seen

Sep 24, 2018

A portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner by John Singer Sargent on display at her museum. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Isabella Left These Artworks In Our Care — 'We Need To Get Them Back'

The most captivating person connected to the largest unsolved art heist in history, someone whose presence I’ve felt every day of this endeavor, is neither a suspect nor a detective,...

Last Seen

Sep 16, 2018

The empty frame of Rembrandt's "Self Portrait" Etching in the Dutch Room at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Why The Gardner Heist Captivates

"It seemed very natural for me to see the Gardner case in a similar way, in need of hard reporting."

Last Seen

Sep 16, 2018